Canada’s Premier Golf Destination
As foursomes go, this one is formidable: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Bob Cupp. Four of the world’s top designers — a couple of them pretty fair golfers in their day—have created a collection of courses that have turned Whistler into one of this country’s premier golf resorts. Palmer got things started, designing Whistler Golf Club, which opened in 1983. Trent Jones Jr. followed with Chateau Whistler in 1993. Big Sky, located twenty-five minutes up the road in Pemberton and designed by Cupp, opened a year later, and “The Golden Bear” completed the Whistler-area foursome with Nicklaus North, which opened for play in 1996. Golfers have been flocking to Whistler ever since, helping turn the area into a true four-season resort. “What I think is great in a golf destination is variety and the variety here in the golf course architects and actual designs of the four courses is fantastic,” says Jason Lowe, general manager of Nicklaus North. “They are very different, which I think is a great attribute.” The fact that three of them—Whistler Golf Club, Nicklaus North and Chateau Whistler—are located close together is another plus. “There are a lot of destinations where the courses are more spread out,” Lowe says. “The fact you can taxi everywhere I think is key, especially in a resort area. If you want to let the hair down a little bit, you don’t have to worry about driving.” Alan Kristmanson is the long-time general manager of Whistler Golf Club, which this season will welcome its millionth visitor. Like Lowe, he thinks the variety of the four resort courses are a real strength. “You ask people what their favourite course is and you get a different answer every time,” he says. “People don’t come up here and play us four times or us three times and one other. They try to play them all and that is what you want to see.” Chateau Whistler is the mountainside layout of the bunch with elevation changes of nearly 122 metres. The closing holes at Nicklaus North hug Green Lake and its patio is marketed—rightly so —as Whistler’s best. Big Sky’s setting is sublime, sitting in the shadow of Mount Currie. Its new greens are in great shape and a five-hole par 3 course is proving popular with families. Whistler Golf Club, the resort’s granddaddy, often offers more than just birdies and bogeys. The course, which just released a new app loaded with features, is renowned for having bears wandering near its fairways. All four courses wintered well and have been open since mid-May. Stay and play packages can save you money on green fees. Visit whistler.com/ golf for more information.