Golf Course Review by: Billy Satterfield
Rankings:
The Takeaway: A dramatic setting, huge elevation changes, and one gorgeous backdrop after another collide with engaging hole designs to produce one of the most fun and memorable mountain golf courses you’ll find. Grade A+
Quick Facts
Designer: Doug Carrick 1999
Cost: $119 - $179 (cart included) Click for current rates
Phone Number: 250-341-4100 or 888-473-9965
Course Website: Official Website - Visit Greywolf Golf Course's official website by clicking on the link provided.
Directions: Get here! - 1860 Greywolf Dr, Panorama, British Columbia V0A 1T0 – CANADA
Photos: See additional photos of Greywolf Golf Course
What to Expect: Greywolf is one of the most dramatic, engaging, and inspiring golf courses in all of Canada; let alone British Columbia. Routed on challenging terrain with huge elevation changes throughout, Doug Carrick’s first mountain design does a masterful job of handling the mountainous terrain with the opening three holes all traveling uphill, but not feeling like a slog, before turning and heading downhill for a pair of memorable holes and then embarking on British Columbia’s signature hole; Cliffhanger. The course doesn’t climax and Peter out though, it just keeps delivering one intriguing hole after another with memorability, variety, and strategy abounding. In fact, the closing hole could be considered the least memorable offering on the course, but everything before that is sure to engage your senses and skills. From a difficulty standpoint, Greywolf is plenty challenging with accuracy, length, and finesse all being tested during your round. If your drive leaves the fairway there is a 50/50 chance of losing your ball, so you'll want to keep a handful of Pro V1s handy in case your driver starts to go squirrely. If you need to get warmed up before your round, the practice range is located at one of the high points of the property with players following a switchback cart path to it and then finding artificial mats to hit from to an uphill range area. One other note is that you are in bear country, so it isn't uncommon to have bear sightings in the parking lot or somewhere on the course. The staff is pretty casual about it being any kind of threat and they encourage patrons to simply give them a call and they will send someone out to help ensure the bear relocates into the woods. Lastly, Greywolf is definitely a cart ball golf course. The terrain is such that walking this course would qualify for Ironman training, so while it doesn’t have a traditional routing, it is certainly a top tier experience. In the end, a visit to British Columbia that doesn't include Greywolf is a huge swing and a miss. It is one of the most memorable golf courses you are likely to experience and is found in a location that is simply awe inspiring.
By the Numbers
| Tees | Par | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | 72 | 7140 | 73.6 | 140 |
| Black | 72 | 6695 | 71.4 | 138 |
| Blue | 72 | 6200 | 69.3 | 134 |
| Gold | 72 | 5608 | 66.5 | 124 |
| White | 72 | 5098 | 65.3 | 118 |
| White (Ladies) | 72 | 5098 | 70.2 | 131 |
| Green | 72 | 4585 | ||
Individual Hole Analysis
Signature Hole: 6th Hole – 200 Yard Par 3 – One of the most recognizable holes in Canada, Cliffhanger is a stunning one-shooter that plays to a peninsula green that plays more like an island built on a rock outcropping with steep falloffs all around it. A forest of evergreens surround the area below the green and continues to ascend up the mountains that create the background. It is a heroic do-or-die hole in every sense of the phrase and is extremely rewarding to watch your ball fly against the mountain backdrop before descending safely onto the putting surface. There are a pair of bunkers just short of the green that can catch balls that would otherwise plummet to their final demise and will be the happiest you’ve ever been to hit a sand shot if you find yourself there. This is a flat out stunning hole and the most memorable shot on the course.
Best Par 3: 15th Hole – 176 Yards – While the 6th is certainly the finest and most exciting par three on the course, Doug Carrick doesn’t let up with the other offerings; including the 9th and 15th that both play over high mountain ponds enroute to their greens. I prefer the shape of the green on the 15th that angles from front left to back right along the water to create easy pins in the front third and very challenging hole locations in the back third. Every course designer faces the challenge of making a course forgiving enough for high handicappers and difficult enough for scratch players, and one of the best ways to do that is with greens where pin locations change everything. This is one of those where Carrick allows the greenskeeper to determine the challenge of the day.
Best Par 4: 4th Hole – 490 Yards – As much as I love the 16th hole at Greywolf, the 4th gets the nod as the best par four on the course. After ascending uphill for the opening three holes, the elevated tee box on the 4th hole represents the the point the routing turns around and begins its descension back down the mountain. So while 490 yards may seem like a stiff two-shotter, the reality is that the hole plays much shorter as it falls nearly 200 feet in elevation and players may have an opportunity to hit a personal best drive if they can catch the downslope. The fairway will kick balls to the right, so tee shots that stay up the left half of the short grass will be rewarded with the most opportune kicks and can put a wedge or short iron in your hand to attack the green with. The back to front sloping green marks Doug Carrick’s effort to change the terrain and provide players with a reasonable chance to hit and hold the green from a downhill lie. If coming in from the left, players will need to aerially clear a pair of bunkers fronting that angle into the green while coming in from the right will allow players to utilize a skipping ground shot; so get to the side that compliments your game.
Best Par 5: 5th Hole – 540 Yards – Greywolf is loaded with wonderful holes, and while I debated whether to give the 14th or 5th hole the nod in this category, I ultimately went with the risk/reward 5th with the exciting terrain and shots it offers. Like the 4th before it, the 5th hole continues the descent down the mountain and allows players to take yardage off each shot while the hole plummets 150 feet in elevation from tee to green. While most players won’t need to worry about it, 330 yards from the back tee is where the fairway terminates into a creek and a new fairway picks up on the opposite side of the water and is positioned further to the right. While the downhill tee shot and mountain background provide an exciting moment to be sure, the second shot is what will often make or break players and they decide how to deal with the crossing river that bisects the fairway and then meanders down the left side of the hole the rest of the way to the green. Big tee shots up the left side will give players the shortest route to the green but will require the longest carry over the water while approaches from the right side will be lengthier and will bring into play the trio of bunkers found on that side. Players electing to layup will find that the second fairway tightens as it works its way to the green, so the widest landing area is just beyond the creek and delivers that element to factor in. So many decisions, so many shot options, so much fun.
Birdie Time: 11th Hole – 339 Yard Par 4 – What an exciting hole! The 11th at Greywolf is a classic risk/reward design from a hugely elevated tee box with the fairway and green straight away while a pond flanks the left side. With nearly 100 feet of drop from tee to green, big hitters can find themselves with an eagle putt after stripping one but have to be leery of the steep drop off on the left side of the fairway that will almost assuredly send balls to the water if they wander off line. Even with a safe layup, players will be left with a scoring club in their hand with an opportunity to go pinseeking to a receptive green. This is a great hole to get things going in the right direction with your score on the back nine.
Bogey Beware: 3rd Hole – 513 Yard Par 5 – While a solid argument can be made that the uphill opening hole is worthy of Bogey Beware status with junk up the left side and perhaps just a mild warmup before beginning, it is the par five 3rd that claims the spot where players will most often put boxes on their scorecard. On the surface, an uphill par five tends to be challenging for most players as they underestimate the severity of the ascent and holes are often designed to send balls back down the fairway as they get close to the green site. In the case of the 3rd hole, it climbs 100 feet from tee to green, features a trio of cross bunkers angling in from the right 100 yards from the green, and boasts perhaps the nastiest green on the course. Two bunkers front the putting surface which will push the player's eyes off to the right where an opening exists into the green, but the nasty slope back towards the fairway makes judging long putts extremely difficult and often results in the notorious three-jack.
