The Vancouver Parks Board owns and operates three championship-length public golf courses. All have been updated to meet the demands of the golfing public, and each has its own charm. Fraserview, one of the busiest courses in Canada, maintains a high degree of playability on a challenging layout.
Langara, which I visited last month, is B.C.'s oldest public course and a piece of living history in the heart of Western Canada's largest metropolitan area.
The third, McCleery, is on the north bank of the north arm of the Fraser River and tends to fly under the radar a bit with recreational golfers. Yet, in its own way, it is every bit as historic as Langara and kept in as good condition by the grounds crew as almost any course (public or private) in the Lower Mainland.
In the 1860s, the area was settled by the McCleery brothers - one of the first pioneer families to settle in British Columbia - who operated it as a dairy farm until the 1950s. In 1956, the Vancouver Parks Board purchased the land and developed it into a golf course, which opened for play in 1959.
Like all the Vancouver Park Board courses, it has been rejuvenated over the years to keep the playing experience enjoyable. In 1996, McCleery was completely redeveloped to a Ted Baker design. The new facilities were opened by Kathy Shave, a great-granddaughter of the founding McCleerys who had also unveiled the course to the public in 1959.
Unlike the other city courses, McCleery is located alongside the last vestige of farmland in the city of Vancouver: the Southlands neighbourhood.
With semi-agricultural zoning, Southlands is home to livestock, mostly horses, and an active equestrian community. The pace of life is a little slower and the roadside waterways home to frogs and fish, attracting herons and eagles, songbirds and coyotes.
The terrain is ideal for golf. It is no surprise that there are four other golf destinations nearby taking advantage of the topography: the private clubs at Marine Drive, Point Grey and Shaughnessy and the bustling golf learning centre at Musqueam.
Today McCleery is a lively centre of play, practice and instruction. There is a 32-stall driving range, a golf academy, a fully stocked pro shop and a beautiful clubhouse from the 1996 renovation with a licensed patio looking out on the 9th and 18th greens.
Designed by the venerable AV Macan, who also designed next-door Marine Drive and nearby Shaughnessy, McCleery remains an expression of his egalitarian philosophy that the people who worked hard and paid their taxes should have the opportunity to get out in the fresh air and play the sport he loved.
This is a course without gimmicks. There's no need. The setting is the star of the show and the relaxed rural vibe is contagious, adding to the enjoyment.
I was joined on a recent weekend by friends Ed Zoblotny,
Dan Rothenbush and Lance Olson. For Olson, it was a return to his golfing roots. His very first rounds as a young teen were played at McCleery and he knew the course well.
It had been wet and we were expecting a semi-soggy round, but the course was in spectacular shape, well drained and ready for play. The fairways and greens were in excellent condition and the rough was thick, lush and grabby.
If you have downloaded the Vancouver Golf app on your smart phone, the GPS system gives you accurate distance readings on each hole for greens and hazards. It's a big help, is free and well worth doing.
The course begins with a 501-yard par-5 that leads south away from the clubhouse towards the river. It's a nice start and gives you a chance to find your rhythm. There is a pair of bunkers guarding the putting surface and I can tell you for a fact that they are well tended and make for a nice shot to the green.
Holes 2 and 3, a 337-yard par-4 and 216-yard par-3 respectively, thread their way back and forth along the east side of the driving range and lead you to the first real water hole, the 4th.
At 415 yards from the tips, it's rated ninth most difficult. It's a longish dogleg right with the water on your left from the back tee boxes. The frogs and red-winged blackbirds add to the soothing ambience. A tee shot to the left centre of the 150-yard marker gives you a good look at the pin. Too far right and there are trees and the driving range netting.
At 410 yards from the black tees, Number 6 is rated most difficult on the course. Its narrow fairway snakes along the western boundary of the course and there's water on the left of the landing area. The rightward bend toward the green makes it look tighter than it actually is and the right side is blocked by a big cypress tree.
The prettiest hole on the front half of the course is the 161-yard par-3 7th. This generous green is fronted by a good-sized pond and you're better off long than short. Rothenbush made it look even prettier with a well-judged tee shot for birdie.
The 8th hole is a dogleg left and the view from the tee is a narrow chute to the fairway beyond and the right side is trouble. The green is slightly elevated and just beyond is the Fraser River. It's a nice spot to pause and simply enjoy the moment.
The front ends as it began, with a par-5. Number 9 is a straight-away 482-yards with water down the right. It's easy to over-correct and go too far left into the trees. There's also a sign by the 9th tee box with the phone number for the kitchen so you can call ahead and have a snack waiting for you after you putt out. It's another good idea courtesy of the parks board and helps with pace of play. We finished the front nine in two hours spot on.
The back nine begins with a 435-yard par 4. It's a long trek to an elevated green at the north end of the course property. It's ranked second most difficult, but the four of us managed to make an eloquent case for moving it up to top spot.
Beside the 11th tee box at the highest point of the course is a rock wall made from parts of the original McCleery farm house. It's a nice reminder of the area's history and a touchstone to a vanished age.
Number 11 gives you a lovely panorama of the course as you look south to the river and Richmond beyond. At 536 yards, it's the longest hole on the course and there's water before the fairway begins and another pond down the left. If you tend to hook off the tee, you might want to club down a bit.
The 12th hole has water left and right and curves left around a stand of evergreen to the putting surface. Zoblotny knocked his second shot to within a few feet of the pin and carded one of the better results of the day.
Holes 14 and 15, at 534 yards and 388 yards, lead you south along the western edge of the Marine Drive club and back to the river. Here the tee box gives you a good look at the ships and barges scuttling back and forth along the busy waterway. It's a 190-yard par-three with water left and right and a trio of bunkers to the left of the green.
Olson's putter was on fire and he made a very nice sand save for par.
The final hole is a very nice finish to your round. At 378 yards, there's water down the left and the course's largest bunkers to left and right of the green. With the clubhouse and mountains in the distance, it's a quietly charming prospect.
Afterward, over a beer on the patio, we were all very impressed with the level of service and conditions of the course. It may be a little farther from the North Shore than the other two city courses but McCleery is exceptional value for your golfing dollar.
If it's been a while since you played there, put it on your 2014 to-do list.
