The sun set at 4:43 p.m. Wednesday, just as Ryan Cheung eyed the 18th green at the Fraserview Golf Course. He’d laid up roughly 90 feet from the pin and in the dimming light, pulled his 56-degree sand wedge.
“I hit a full swing,” he said. “I was four or five feet from the hole — I was pretty happy with that but I missed the putt.”
At 5:05 p.m., the glow bouncing off the overcast sky was from city lights, not the sun. Cheung, 36, and Silva Kwok had finished one of their first rounds of winter golf at the public course. After work, they fit in 15 holes.
Winter golf in Vancouver means withstanding colder, wetter weather but can also bring glorious, crisp days and a different view of your favourite links — as your breath hangs in the air. Plus there is rarely a wait to play and the city’s public courses, like Fraserview, offer significant discounts. The midweek rate in August, before tax, is $58.50 while the same rate right now is 10 dollars less at $48.50. The super-sunset, which means teeing off without enough time to finish all 18 holes, costs $22.25 in the warmer months and $19 through the winter. In the winter, the sunset rate begins at 1 p.m, but longer days in the height of the season mean the same rate begins at 6 p.m. in summer.
Because Fraserview is on a southward slope that drains into the Fraser River, the course doesn’t become a boggy mess like other, flatter courses in the Lower Mainland. But that doesn’t mean the rain doesn’t soak players from above, said Derek Thornley, a PGA of Canada professional and the director of instruction at Fraserview.
“They almost dare each other to go out in the bad weather,” said Thornley, who continues to teach 12 months of the year. “It scares a lot of people but is quite pleasant because there are not a lot of people on the course.”
Like everything else during a Vancouver winter, dressing properly can make all the difference. The Vancouver Golf Tour hosts a winter season and membership comes with a Fenix Golf Canada pull-over for additional warmth. They play up to three times a month until March.
“If you have the rights shoes and a jacket, you’re fine,” said Thornley. “The equipment doesn’t really change too much but because the air gets colder, the golf ball doesn’t travel as far as when it’s warm and dry.”
The cold air compresses the ball ,and golfers don’t get the same distance they would during the summer. For this reason, Thornley said many will leave some clubs at home such as their 4, 6, and 8 irons and carry only their 3, 5, and 7 irons.
“Since you have an umbrella and other heavy gear, it makes the bag lighter,” he said.
The par-72 Fraserview course plays differently in the November rain than in May sunshine, but the driving range is covered, heated and open year-round. “You can continue your golf and your improvement,” said Thornley, who started at the course in the past year after he was the head professional at the Richmond Country Club. “You don’t always play the course itself. It’s a good time to work on their game for people who are serious.”
Andrew Johnson, the assistant golf shop manager at Fraservew, was spoiled by several seasons working in the Okanagan. Now, despite growing up on the North Shore, the 34-year-old is a fairweather golfer. Never mind the snow, he said, "I don't even golf here in the rain."
But Johnson, who studied golf course managemetn at Selkirk College in the Kootenays, knows a thing or two about golfing in colder climates. He doesn't like the bulk of added layers and said golfing in the snow is difficult and even dangerous because the ground is frozen solid. "You're got to be careful," he said.
One advantage is that the water traps are likely frozen, too. "The ball bounces off the top of just sits on top," he said.
Cheung golfs 12 months a year in Canada and in places like China, Thailand, Phoenix and Vegas — warm and even tropical locations he visits for work and play. Through the winter, he plays three or four times at Fraserview.
“We go until sunset with white golf balls and then when it gets to the point where you just can’t see them anymore, we switch to these neon yellow balls. Then, if you really want to get hard core, they make these balls now where they glow. There’s a light inside. They work. The darker it gets, the more effective they are,” he said.
“We don’t always finish 18 holes but we get in as much as we can."
