When looking to get into full swing in the Cowichan Valley, the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is above par. The club started as a nine-hole dream, after the Arbutus Ridge Living Community project near the Cobble Hill coast line north of Mill Bay had its initial planning stages in 1984. The 225-acre site, which had been owned by the Patrick family for the previous 15 years, was subsequently purchased in 1986 by Canadian Retirement Corporation Developments. The largest and most expensive vision for the emerging community catering to those 55 and older was a new golf course. The nine-hole course was designed in 1987 by Bill Robinson of the firm Cornish & Robinson, who had become well know for his golf course creations across Canada. Course construction commenced on March 17, 1987, and was in full swing for its official opening on May 13, 1988. By the fall of 1988, 52 more acres of adjoining land had been purchased by CRC Developments. After a proposal for an addition, nine holes received a 90 per cent in-favour at a general meeting of the Strata Corporation on Jan. 17, 1989. Cornish & Robinson were called back to get on course design. Construction commenced in April 1990 by the firm Hall & Lindsay, who were retained to do the entire job from the initial land clearing to maintaining the course through the third cutting of the fairways. The additional nine-holes officially opened and operated as such until April 1991. Fore-sale GolfBC Group announced on July 12, 2019 that it had closed on the sale of Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, which then became a semi-private golf club owned and operated by the Yi Jing Golf Club Inc. In 2019, Arbutus Ridge went under the ownership of Central Walk, which also owns some of B.C.’s biggest malls such as Woodgrove in Nanaimo, Mayfair in Victoria, and Tsawwassen Mills on the mainland. Thriving with drive the Arbutus Ridge facility has continued to provide outstanding value to residents of the community as well as golf enthusiasts both on the 18-hole golf course and inside the clubhouse. Very proud of its sustainability efforts, Arbutus Ridge has earned numerous accolades including the 2017 Tourism Vancouver Island Employer of the Year award. Arbutus Ridge Golf Club administrator Agata Atmore, beverage cart manager Danielle Yin and golf pros Andrew Hajer, and Jayme Young who had nothing but wonderful things to say about their time and experiences with the club. Atmore, who has only been working at Arbutus Ridge for about six months, was born in Poland, raised in Alberta and has been a resident of the Cowichan Valley for the last 12 years. A golfer of 13 years Atmore describes herself as a just for fun golfer and loves to try and get on the course at least a few times a year and since starting in her new role, being a mother herself, she loves seeing kids in action. “I have love to meet new members and see people have fun,” said Atmore. This is Yin’s fourth year with Arbutus Ridge and in addition to managing the course beverage cart, she also works in the Pro Shop and administration office. She said what she has loved most is getting to know all the members from as young as juniors to those age 99. “I really like all the members here,” said Yin. “I’ve gotten to know a lot them very well so I really enjoy those relationships.” Hajer, who has been in the golf industry for nearly 25 years, moved to the valley from the lower mainland 12 years ago. He has been a golf pro for nine years and celebrates his ninth season with Arbutus Ridge where he is currently the Head Golf Professional. Hajer admits while he still has some loyal clients that he teaches he now focuses more of his attention on the business aspect of the golf operations. Young, who has worked with Arbutus Ridge for 28 years, has been a golf pro for the past 25 years and what he loves most about his job is teaching kids ages four and up. He starts by showing them the basics such as stance, posture, grip, and ball position. “I love seeing the look on their face when they finally hit that shot that they hadn’t been able to do and see that moment of wow I did that,” said Young. “It is super important that you have those fundamentals down in order to make the proper and efficient swings,” said Hajer. Young also teaches a lot of junior camps throughout the year, as well as the Shawnigan Lake golf team. “We’ll see 200 junior students throughout the year within the various camps and clinics,” said Hajer. “Jayme runs a phenomenal junior league,” said Atmore. “He’s a highlight for all the juniors for sure. I personally know 10 kids who just dropped out of hockey to pursue golf because of him.” Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, which is open 12 months a year and only closes on the days that Mother Nature makes the green white, currently has about 400 members that play on the course. They offer annual memberships and their full play no-restriction membership is $3,650 for the year. “We are also open to the public, and also host public players and public events,” said Hajer. “Anyone can come and use the driving range, dine in our restaurant, or play golf here. A membership allows full access to the course, and golfers can play as much as they want. It also gives discounts in our restaurant and golf shop. Another benefit of being a member is that we have an opening and closing day event, our club championship, inter clubs that play against other courses on the southern island, as well as our Mens and Ladies Day, and Couple’s Day.” They also offer Men’s Nights on Tuesday for a drop-in fee of $75 per night, which includes 18 holes of golf as well as dinner and prizes. A Ladies Night is also offered on Mondays for $45 which includes nine holes of golf, prizes, and dinner is optional. These nights run from mid April to mid September; the last event for this season took place on Sept. 16. “We usually average between a $1,500 and $2,000 prize table every Tuesday thanks to our sponsors,” said Hajar. Arbutus Ridge hosts plenty of public events for golfers of all ages and abilities throughout the year. They celebrated their third year hosting a two-person team event this past July which Hajer said went great and sold out. “It’s a great format, and people have a lot of fun,” said Hajer. One of their biggest annual tournaments is the Arbutus Ridge Amateur, which is typically hosted during the second week of June. It is slotted for the June 6 and 7 in 2026. “We will host about 130 to 140 of the top amateur players from mainly Vancouer Island but it also extends to golfers throughout B.C.,” said Hajer. “This has become a very popular event for us and we sell out in usually just a few weeks.” Things were in full swing as the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club hosted the 2025 – BC U17 Boys and Girls Provincial Championship, which consists of one practice round followed by three competitive rounds. One hundred seven younger golfers took part in the four day event from Aug. 18 to 21. At Arbutus Ridge Golf Club any tee time is a glee time but golfers of any age can embrace their inner Happy Gilmore and break out their hockey stick nine iron and favourite NHL jersey for the club’s popular hockey themed golf tournament ‘Power Play of Prizes. Always quick to sell out and held in October, this year’s event takes place on Oct. 25. “Out of all our events and tournaments, this is my favourite,” said Yin. “It’s just really fun, everyone is happy to play even if they are not playing well. They just like to be with their friends and have a few drinks which is good for me.” “It’s a scramble tournament,” said Hajer. “You create a team of four, play a scramble format, and compete for prizes.” The cost is $600 per team to register with the opportunity to walk away with tons of golf related prizes such as clubs, clothes, shoes, bags and more. “We do a shootout from the top of the balcony down to the 18th green below,” said Hajer. The glass on the restaurant balcony is exchanged for a hockey rink board that the players hit between, so if by chance a bad shot is hit, it does not go into the crowd. Atmor said that last year part of the patio was turned into VIP seating. While the Power Play event is open to the public, membership does indeed have its benefits as those who have played in previous years get first priority booking. Hajer said they often only need to fill a small number of spots. Not all 144 participants get to have the fun of hitting from the deck; players have to qualify for the shootout within their team on the day and then the top 30 get to slice from the sky. But Hajer’s favourite hole is five. “It’s a fun tee shot and you have to hit it over water, and then between two treed areas, then once you navigate that you have a really tricky green,” said Hajer. “Where you place the ball on the green really sets you up and you can have no chance if you get it into the wrong part of the green. So it’s really about that challenge off the tee, and then that challenge once you get on the green. That’s my favourite hole here.” Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is still accepting new members. Those interested can either reach out to Agata Atmore at admin@arbutusridge.com [http://admin@arbutusridge.com] or to Andrew Hajer at ahajer@arbutusridge.com [javascript:location='mailto:\u0061\u0068\u0061\u006a\u0065\u0072\u0040\u0061\u0072\u0062\u0075\u0074\u0075\u0073\u0072\u0069\u0064\u0067\u0065\u002e\u0063\u006f\u006d';void 0]. Another thing sports enthusiasts will ‘LOVE’ is the three indoor tennis courts that Arbutus Ridge Golf Club has to offer. The courts are a separate entity from the golf membership and are also open to the public for bookings. For more information on all the club has to offer visit arbutusridge.com [https://arbutusridge.com/about/us]. Their new website will be launched soon. “It is the only indoor tennis court facility from Victoria to Nanaimo,” said Atmore. All four staff shared a common thread when it came to their favourite part of the job, which they all agree makes coming to work fun: the club members and the regular pubic they see and the relationships they get to build on a daily basis. The hope is that all golfers enjoy the well-groomed golf course that the grounds crew provides for them, as well as their experience with every staff member such as Yin who keeps players in ‘good spirits’ on the course. “We just want them to want to come back and to make Arbutus Ridge their home away from home,” said Hajer. “We just want golfers, whether new or seasoned, to take the passion and the love for the game. That is what we want to instill with everybody that we interact with. “We want to make them want to come back and to hit another bucket of balls or to book another tee time with us because they also enjoyed their interactions with us.”
More
Less
.webp)
