Great Western Golf Tour

My Great Western Golf Tour! Ontario to British Columbia. Ottawa to Chemainus.

Finally I retired. It gave me total freedom to golf!

I promised myself I would do a Tour. This is my Tour Story.

Golf Tour Route

Course Photos

Tour Details

Some of my courses were pre-planned, not all. I started with one small side trip before I really began the Tour.

I had a swing analysis with TaylorMade at their fitting center in Vaughan, Ontario (just west of Toronto). That happened on Friday, August 15 for three hours in the afternoon.

The fitting session is a motion analysis with video cameras that give an "all angles" view of the golf swing. This is a special deal, for which I had to book at least 6 weeks in advance -- they are very busy. A TaylorMade instructor spent two hours with me; they analyzed my swing and gave me a 3D swing video on DVD.

More details on the TaylorMade visit in a separate report.

Golf Tour Route

After the TaylorMade swing analysis, I hit the road for real on August 18, 2008.

The golf tour route will follow a list of courses recommended by friends and gleaned from golf reviews from writers I trust. Also, from people I met along the way. There has to be room for spontaneity and serendipity. Surprises are half the fun.

For a general outline of the journey check the Great Western Golf Tour Map. The pages also provide a summary of Tour details.

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Course Photos

I took my digital camera with me. A Pentax Optio 450. It is small, easy to handle and takes reasonably good pictures. I started out focusing on golf, but soon warmed to the process of combining pictures with my game. I think I became down-right annoying at times to the people I played with. They were all very polite and patient with me.

Bottom line, I took over 3,000 pictures (I didn't really count the exact number, but I have at least this many). I'm so glad I took the pictures I did. I hope they add to the story. I could not do justice to the beauty and quality of the courses I played without showing them here.

The course photo albums (in the order they were played):

Ontario

1. Kingston (Smuggler's Glen)
2. Belleville (Trillium Wood, Black Bear Ridge)
3. Niagra Falls (Whirlpool,, Legacy on the Niagra)
4. Toronto (Copper Creek, Deer Creek, Eagle's Nest)
5. Huntsville (Deerhurst Highlands, Grandview)
6. Gravenhurst(Taboo, The Sands)
7. Sudbury (Timberwolf)

Manitoba

1. Falcon Lake Prov. Park (Falcon Lake)
2. Starbuck (Bridges)
3. Steinbach (Quarry Oaks)
4. Lac Du Bonnet (Granite Hills)
5. Riding Mountain Prov. Park (Clear Lake)

Saskatchewan

1. Regina (Aspen Links)
2. Indian Head (Katepwa)
3. Lumsden (Deer Valley)
4. Saskatoon (Dakota Dunes, Moon Lake)

Alberta

1. Edmonton (Northern Bear)
2. Calgary (Sirocco, Heritage Pointe)
3. Ponoka (Wolf Creek)
4. Canmore (Stewart Creek)
5. Kananaskis (Mt. Lorette)
6. Banff (Banff Springs)

British Columbia

1. Kamloops (Tobiano)
2. Vernon (Predator Ridge)
3. Home (Chemainus, BC)

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Newsletter Suspended Temporarily

Because I was traveling and golfing, my monthly newsletter (Golf Practice E-zine) could not be delivered as normal in during the Tour. Instead, I spent time documenting my trip experiences while on the road. Now I'm posting the stories and photographs as I reflect on the Tour and the wonderful experience that it was.

Detailed Course Experiences

I traveled with my Notebook computer. Wherever I stopped, there had to be internet access. I tried my best to document my travels. I have never driven across Canada, so much of what I saw was new to me. Keeping this website up-to-date was more difficult than I thought. There were too many distractions. What follows is a series of updates from my notes that I hope you will enjoy. Maybe my experience will help you with your own tour.

Kingston - Smuggler's Glen

Trillium Wood Golf Club, Belleville, ON

Black Bear Ridge Golf Club

Legends on the Niagra Golf Club

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