Rockies Golf tour 2. Copperpoint, Eagle Ranch, GreyWolf, Predator Ridge

Golf, Golf and yet more golf and, oooh …. the odd bear.
Wildlife spotting has kept us busy during very slow and sometimes wet rounds of golf.

Five delicious courses to challenge us over the past few days:
Firstly, a visit to the region around Invermere; complete with its own Lake Windermere.
The golf courses were the highlight although the local lake had lots of turtles.

Copperpoint Golf Club has 2 courses: The Ridge and The Point.
https://copperpointgolf.com
We played both:

The Ridge in stormy conditions (9 holes only with a few twice just so that we could stay warm and to keep it interesting as a 2 ball behind several slow 4 balls)

Captured by the 1st green from the hotel whilst some of the rest of our group started drinking on the balcony.

The Point in steady drizzly rain –


Sarah had a fabulous round and won herself a beanie and cash first prize.
I spent most of the day in a possum merino beanie huddled in a golf cart trying to keep warm and dry.



















Our group (Ann, Linda, Jo and Karen) posed before a difficult par 3.

Eagle Ranch
https://www.eagleranchresort.com

Lots of long carries over ravines on this course. You need to think your way around this course and avoid the bunkers. Neither of us managed to navigate it very well.

Grey-wolf
https://www.greywolfgolf.com
A gorgeous day at Grey wolf golf course.

Ranked amongst the top 15 courses in Canada and #1 in BC, Greywolf features fabulous scenic holes and several deer.

The best par 3, 6th is called the Cliffhanger unquestionably one of the best in the world. A very challenging layout, but every hole looked a picture.

Time for Jo to win the comp with a subpar back 9.



















Next up, a move to the area near Vernon and Predator Ridge golf resort.
On the way we stopped at a very strange museum like place calling itself the ghost town, called Valley Gap,

full of stuff (one person’s memorabilia is another person’s junk) including full recreations of old buildings.

 Recognise any of these motors?

 Inside a chemist shop

Sarah takes a bow in the old time theatre

We were following the route of the Pacific Railroad.
Sarah in front of a very long freight train at Eagle Pass (place where the last spike was driven into the railroad connecting East and West coast of Canada)

Predator Ridge. A large golf resort complex, still being built. A bit like Millbrook except here the houses are disguised well by woodland and natural valleys.
https://www.predatorridge.com/golf
Finally, a couple of 30C days and beautiful weather.
View from our balcony looking at the 18th of the Predator.

We played The Ridge course twice as we enjoyed it so much. Once at 06:30; the only time we have ever been asked to slow down (we were going too fast for the green staff to finish their mowing)

Looking back down the first hole

It is full of long thin fairways, plenty of bunkers, water and marmots.
Sarah with Elli

 View of the 3rd

Jo with Terry and Mark

 Marmot hazards on 9th green

The Predator is more of an inland links course but it looks just as gorgeous.

With a day off in between golf competitions, we took the opportunity to go for a 50km cycle via 50th Parallel vineyard.

Perhaps carrying a bottle of wine might slow Sarah down, but no chance.

Finished the cycle along the new rail trail (not yet finished) via Wood Lake and Kalamaika Lake. Sarah went swimming amongst the trout.