By Tony Dear
For a world-class international golf getaway, there’s no need to look past our own Northwest Borders.
The minutes from Arbutus Ridge’s Nov. 14 Greening Committee meeting say a lot about where the course’s priorities lie. Sprinkled liberally throughout the document are words and phrases like “composting,” “recycling, “habitat management,” “Audubon certification” and “aggressive conservation program.”
Chairing the Greening Committee is Gracie Wilcox, who works in the golf shop and who is clearly determined to make a difference at Arbutus Ridge, located in the Cobble Hill community 10 miles north of Victoria, British Columbia’s capital city.
“I just didn’t want to feel helpless about waste and the impact it has on our environment,” she says. “Golf courses have a bad reputation when it comes to the environment. I really felt I needed to do something.”
On top of her duties in the pro shop, Wilcox seemingly exists to reduce Arbutus Ridge’s carbon footprint.
“That’s our goal,” says Wilcox. “To become totally self-sufficient and completely carbon-neutral.”
It’s taking a while, but the improvements to the course and clubhouse that have resulted from the committee’s actions are beginning to be noticed.
“We have over 80 bird species out on the course now,” says Wilcox. “There are 30 species of mammal; moose, bears, rabbits, cougars, deer, raccoons and so on. But we don’t make a big deal of what we do. Our guests are certainly beginning to notice the impact, though.”
All this is obviously good news — and not just for golfers with a similar desire to improve the environment around them. Those for whom green issues don’t weigh as heavily as, say, the speed of the putting surfaces or the price of a post-round beer, also benefit.
“We definitely think the visitor’s experience has been enhanced,” says Wilcox.
Visitor experience is a big deal for Vancouver Island courses which, like other destination courses in North America, have a great deal of competition and can’t rely solely on scenery to attract guests (although in the case of Vancouver Island, the scenery does go a long way).
You’d think it wouldn’t take much to enhance the golfer’s experience here — this is the Pacific Northwest (or rather, the Canadian Southwest) at its best, with regal mountains capped with snow; forests dense with evergreens; lakes, rivers and streams so clear you can see the markings on a Steelhead, Cutthroat, Coho or Sockeye eight feet down; wildlife darting across the fairways or poking a head out from behind the pines.
It is only in the last few years, however — specifically, since the 2003 opening of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Mountain Course at Bear Mountain Golf Resort,?just a few miles north of Victoria — that Vancouver Island has become a genuine option in most Canadian and American golfers’ travel plans.