Any golfer will tell you, as you “make the turn,” moving from the front nine holes to face the back nine, the pressure often mounts.
This is the halfway mark. Nine holes down, nine holes still to go. It’s still anyone’s game. This is your opportunity to regroup, stay focused, to keep your eye on the ball. (And maybe grab a sandwich and a beer at the halfway hut.) It could be argued that “making the turn” is as much a mental state as it is physical.
As the golf industry now faces a new reality with a resurgence in numbers in the wake of the global pandemic,
is it primed to “make the turn” as it looks to its long game? For years, the pundits have been talking about the slow death of golf. Is it time to prove them wrong?
Whistler, for one, is primed to capitalize on the swing in golf’s fortunes as it looks to the summer ahead.
AT WHISTLER'S GOLF COURSES, THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Anyone who has tried to book a tee time in Whistler in the last three years can tell you: it’s busy. There’s a lot of demand for a finite number of rounds.
In the summer of 2019, for example, before the world had heard of COVID, Nicklaus North hosted 20,000 rounds of golf; by that measure, it was a successful summer.
Two years later, the pandemic hangover still with us, that number had jumped to 26,000 rounds, an increase of a staggering 30 per cent.
In fact, since the outset of the pandemic, Nicklaus North has posted its two best summers on record in its almost 30-year history, riding the wave of the COVID boom.
“It’s massive for us,” admits General Manager Gavin Eckford.
Nicklaus North is not an anomaly. In fact, it’s not lost on the local golf industry insiders that COVID was a boon for business when it was so challenging for so many other industries, like tourism, food and beverage, and entertainment.
“The golf industry understands how lucky we were,” says Ro Davies, long-time sales manager with the Whistler Golf Club. “We were really blessed to be allowed to work and offer this kind of thing.
“2020 took us to a level of basically selling out every single day, regardless of weather.”
It was unprecedented in Whistler.
THE WHISTLER MICROCOSM
In the last decade or so, as golf faced mounting pressure—too expensive, too staid, too time-consuming, not accessible enough—Whistler was building a name for itself as a golf Mecca.
Davies isn’t shy when it comes to where Whistler ranks among the great golf destinations of the world. He puts Whistler in the same class as Ireland, Hawaii and Pebble Beach.
“We are a golf destination that is desirable,” he says.
Don’t believe him? In the 2022 Top 125 Courses in Canada, ranked by SCOREGolf Magazine, Whistler’s four championship courses all make the cut—Big Sky, in Pemberton, is No. 42, Nicklaus North is No. 80, Fairmont Chateau Whistler is No. 86, and the Whistler Golf Club is No. 125. Not bad having four top-notch championship courses within a half-hour drive, three of them within a five-minute drive.
BUILDING ON THE MOMENTUM
With thousands of new rounds over the last few years, the trick is figuring out how to maintain that pace and build on momentum.
“For us it’s a function of making sure the product is good,” says Eckford.
Unlike the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Whistler Golf Club, Nicklaus North is a semi- private course with about 350 members and a lengthy waitlist to get in. Part of making sure that the “product is good” is to “build a sense of community.” Nicklaus North is a gathering spot, pulling golfers and non-golfers to the ever popular Table Nineteen restaurant overlooking Green Lake.
The company has invested in staff housing, doing everything it can to make sure it's fully staffed and operating at full capacity this summer. Conscious of the demands on rounds, the goal is to try to satisfy all golfers from the members to the last-minute bookers.
“We’re trying to keep some spots open for people who book last minute,” says Eckford.
The same is true at the Whistler Golf Club, with a focus on course conditions and retaining key staff to make the experience the best it can be. “We put a lot of focus into pace of play,” says Davies, highlighting the extensive work that’s done on course to keep the game moving and prevent backlog.
And yet, as things settle back to normal, travel resumes around the world, life’s demands make us busy again, and the pandemic becomes a sad and strange chapter in our collective history books, Nicklaus North is preparing for a slight dip in the numbers this year. But not by much. Those new golf round numbers might be the new reality with golfers here to stay. It’s an optimistic time in the industry.
Destination golfers are back, says Davies. Group business is rebounding. And new golfers are hooked.
“(The pandemic) set a new level that we are all operating as normal now,” he says.
“It’s certainly a nice role to be in, selling a golf course these days."
WHISTLER HELI-GOLF
Whistler golfers also have the option to tee off from the so-called 19th hole, located at the peak of the majestic Mount Currie (Ts’zil). Accessed via helicopter, this
is a golf shot unlike any other, overlooking the bucolic Pemberton valley. From 2,000 metres, golfers can practice their swing, crushing wooden balls which are designed to be minimally invasive to the environment. Not a bad way to top off a round! For more info go to: blackcombhelicopters.com.
WHISTLER DISC GOLF
Whistler is home to a 27-hole disc golf course at Lost Lake Park. Open from dawn until dusk, it’s guaranteed fun for the whole family; all you need is your own disc (or full sets with everything from drivers to putt discs), and a few hours! And, it’s free. The first nine holes are considered the easiest, followed by the most difficult nine holes, winding over steep rock and forest. The final nine holes are moderately difficult. The aim of the game is to get your disc in the basket. Lost Lake Park is a popular place in the summer, so be aware of bikers, hikers and other park users while playing disc golf. The course can be accessed through Spruce Grove Park, behind the field house.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of Whistler Magazine.
