The excuses began days before we left to visit Seven Hills Golf & Country Club.
“Geez, I guess I haven’t golfed since last year,” I told J.R. Rardon, my coworker and golf partner for the day.
“I haven’t golfed in, man, must be TWO years,” he replied.
Damn, not even on the course yet and he one-upped me. That, however, proved to be an ominous omen — Rardon spanked me throughout the nine holes we played at the truly spectacular course, just a short distance down Hwy. 30 — the Port Alice Road — and another left a couple of klicks down at Seven Hills Road.
I won’t make excuses for my poor play. I didn’t tell Rardon about my two sprained ankles and the unexplained double-vision that suddenly affected me, starting on the very first hole of the beautifully maintained nine-hole course that — if played twice — is a par 70, 6,300 yards off the blues, 5954 off the white tees.
A member-owned course, the club has all the amenities any golfer would expect: putting and practice greens, driving range, a fully stocked pro shop, restaurant/lounge and a clubhouse.
The pro, Kevin Black, is a personable fellow with a deep knowledge of the course and a handicap so low just hearing it scarred me for life.
(Just a quick aside here to tell you I had the best hotdog I’d ever eaten at the club’s restaurant. Called the Double-beagle it’s described as “a massive, naturally smoked dog on a thick piece of garlic toasted bread with cheese melted in the middle.” Plenty of fixin’s are available — I had mine with fried onions and a couple of condiments — and starts at four bucks. It was a heck of a deal and required four or five napkins.)
Anyway, back to the golf.
Part of what makes this course such a pleasure — and a challenge — to play are the frequent elevation changes and the undulating greens that really take a good eye and a steady hand.
For those who might have heard me swearing on those very green, those were simple words of affection for something that challenged me so much. I for one, don’t mind the odd three-putt. It was those $#%&# four-putts that drove me to use words usually reserved for Quentin Tarantino movies.
Still, the course is easy to walk, if you like that kind of thing and don’t mind not having somewhere to put your beer.
SCOREGolf, which calls itself the “voice of Canadian golf” had this to say about Seven Hills: The highest rated golf course at this facility scored 6, making it strong local course — only a few small areas for improvement.
I say pshaw, the only room for improvement on that course lies with the guy swinging my clubs.
As for value, this is about as reasonable as it gets folks: nine holes for $20 — 25 bucks on Saturdays — and $35 for a full 18 holes throughout the week. Cheap enough for me to get revenge very, very soon.
Call 250-949-9818 for more info.
