Great White North turns green

Golf’s master designers deliver true mountain golf north of the border in Whistler

BY BART POTTER • CG STAFF WRITER

In 2010, the world came to Whistler.

As nothing else could have, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in February of that year certified Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, as a world-class winter sports locale.

Golf, as we know, was not on the schedule of events for the Olympiad. But the bar had been set high for any kind of sport or recreational pursuit that would follow or already thrived at Whistler – cross country and alpine skiing, snowboarding and sledding in the winter, mountain biking, hiking and whitewater rafting in the spring, summer and fall ... that’s not even to mention ATVing, bungee jumping, zip lining ...

And golf. 

Today, the four golf courses under the Whistler umbrella – each designed by an internationally esteemed golf architect – are renowned for their quality, individually and collectively, and their mountain-cut beauty. 

With the immediacy of lodging, dining and shopping in the Whistler Village, minutes away from golf, the Whistler Resort – 350 kilometers (217 miles) from Seattle, 125 kilometers from Vancouver, B.C. – stands alone in western North America as an all-in golf destination.

“For people that haven’t experienced true mountain golf, I think that’s the number one thing,” said Jason McClean, sales and marketing manager for Tourism Whistler. “They get up here and they get to play four very unique courses. No course plays similar to the others.”

In February 2010, the golf courses were out of sight and out of mind for Winter Olympics patrons. Now, as spring 2025 turns toward summer, the courses are very much open for business.

The marquee names on the designer list at Whistler are as big as they get in golf architecture: Arnold Palmer crafted Whistler Golf Club, which opened in 1983; Jack Nicklaus designed Nicklaus North Golf Club in 1996; Robert Trent Jones Jr. laid out Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club in 1993; and Bob Cupp designed Big Sky Golf Club in 1994.

Each course bears grace notes of the signature characteristics these designers imprinted on their work.

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Whistler Golf Club

Whistler Golf Club (whistler.com/activities/golf/whistler/) grew from a desire by the resort association to create a four-season destination. Whistler was a ski resort, obviously, but there wasn’t much going on in the summer.

“And they thought about golf,” said Alan Kristmanson, general manager and director of golf at Whistler GC. “And, you know, they brought in Arnold Palmer.”

The biggest name in golf came to Whistler in 1983 to begin work on the first golf course at the resort. Palmer was on hand for a huge opening day, an event documented in a raft of photos on the golf shop walls.

The par-72 Whistler GC, at 6,722 yards, is playable for everybody, Kristmanson said.

“I know you hear that a lot,” he said. “But we’re not trying to beat anybody up. If you want a test, go to the back tees, and you can definitely get a test.”

It’s the greens, Kristmanson said, that best show Arnie’s handiwork. 

“Typical Palmer greens, you know. The greens have a nice rolling slope to them. You’re going to have to be creative when you putt here.”

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Nicklaus North Golf Club

Nicklaus North Golf Club (nicklausnorth.com/golf_course) has the virtue of bordering, on several holes, the spectacular Green Lake. The float plane dock next to the clubhouse is a nice touch.

As for the golf, the par-71, 6,961-yard Nicklaus North has reasonably wide fairways, a Jack Nicklaus staple, according to Gavin Eckford, general manager of Nicklaus North. But it’s the five challenging par-3 holes that are, to Eckford, the meat of the golf course.

“I think we have the best set of par 3s definitely in Whistler, but probably a much broader scale than that,” said Eckford, a 30-year golf industry veteran and a CPGA professional. 

The par-3 12th takes aim at a semi-island green with an Augusta-style bridge. No. 17, another par 3, is the course’s signature hole, requiring a tee ball over the edge of Green Lake.

“A lot of the par 3s favor a high cut, which was kind of Jack’s shot back in the day,” Eckford said. “You can see some elements of him designing for himself in there.”

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Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club

Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club (whistler.com/activities/golf/fairmont-chateau) is an example of “play it as it lies,” seen through a golf design lens by Robert Trent Jones Jr.

“He really tries to use what he has and leave it kind of untouched,” said Paul Heritage, head CPGA professional at Fairmont Chateau Whistler GC. “There wasn’t a lot of demolition happening when (Jones Jr.) created this golf course. He really used the landscape as part of the picture he wanted to paint.”

The result, at the Whistler course shortest in length (6,635 yards) but highest above sea level, is drastic elevation gains and drops, especially through the first half-dozen holes.

“We’re built through the mountains,” Heritage said, “which is a fantastic way to enjoy a game of golf.”

Chateau Whistler’s signature hole is the 8th, a scenic par 3, 212 yards from the back tees. Like many holes on the course, the tee ball on 8 must carry water in front of the green, a pond in this case.

Many streams cross the course, Heritage said. As Jones Jr. might say, play them as they run by.

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Big Sky Golf Club • Pemberton

Big Sky Golf Club (whistler.com/activities/golf/big-sky) is the only Whistler course not adjacent to Whistler Village. Golfers around here don’t seem to mind a bit by the 25-minute drive north to Pemberton, B.C., to play Big Sky. (Marketing guy McClean recommends the 12-person vans of VIP Whistler [vipwhistler.com/] if you don’t feel like driving).

Big Sky is the most serene of the four courses, says Corry Butler, Big Sky general manager, sitting as it does at the foot of the massive Mount Currie. It’s pure golf, he said — no houses on the course, no trails. Each hole is individual.

“You don’t feel like you’re on top of other golfers,” Butler said.

The longest course in the Whistler sphere (7,001 yards) is also the most walkable, Butler said.  At 600 feet above sea level, it’s 1,800 feet in elevation lower than the Whistler-adjacent courses, and therefore warmer earlier in the spring 

Given all that, it’s challenging — requiring creativity around the greens, Butler said — but it’s playable for all skill levels. It’s all here, in the relaxed vibe of Pemberton, and it’s worth the trip to experience it.

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The Village

The Whistler Village is destination-worthy by itself, even if all you want to do is eat and drink and lounge. The pedestrian-only village is huge but laid-out in such a way that — as the locals say — nothing is more than two minutes by foot from anything else.

Check out the Raven Room for good cocktails and eats … or grab a sake and crush some Hamachi at Sushi Village, one of the first Japanese restaurants in Whistler.

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Stay & Play!

Three nights and three rounds at any of the four courses starting at $209 USD per person per night is a popular package, and shorter or longer durations are easily accommodated. Call (800) 944-7853 or visit Whistler.com to book.

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