An elevated green with the backdrop of a waterfall is typical of Olympic View Golf Course, also on the western side of Victoria. The 12th hole is where nightmares are born: a precise tee shot to a narrow fairway beside a long water hazard, followed by a second precise shot to an elevated green! This is just one of many challenging holes here. A golf cart is recommended for the hills. Olympic View has the best equipped practice area on any course on Vancouver Island.

Well-groomed greens, sculpted fairways and panoramic ocean views make Cordova Bay, on the eastern shore of Victoria, one of the finest courses you'll find on Vancouver Island. Four sets of tees allow you to choose the challenge that best suits your game.

Sometimes you find a hole where you'd like to have a serious discussion with the course architect, like at the Crown Isle Golf Course, where a fine tee shot put me 12 feet in front of the hole. I putted about 18 inches past it, then the unthinkable happened: my ball found a groove and rolled at a right angle to the line of my putt - off the green, within inches of the water hazard! My chip back onto the green was just short of the hole. Yes… it rolled right back to me! My fourth shot could not be short, so I blew it 10 feet past the hole. I putted tentatively towards the hole and the gap that 'eats' balls. Naturally, I putted light and in great disgust, got a six.

The Crown Isle Resort has some of the best facilities of any course on the Island. It's typical of resort courses with housing developments nearby. The club house is spectacular.