AllanKormilo

Well I must say that I played Hawaii Prince 2 days previous and really enjoyed that course. As soon as I drove in to the parking lot…I was approached by a staff member telling me that carts were not allowed in the parking lot. So I grabbed my bag and headed to the pro shop. Guy behind the counter gave me a tag and sent me out to the starter. Who was no where to be found. So I wondered around till he finally came out of the cart storage building. He was a little rude and directed me back over to the pro shop were the carts were. I loaded my bag on the cart. It was quite hot and they didn’t even put ice in the cart cooler…nor a bottle of water for that matter. He then directed me to the 1st tee and asked if I had played the course before. I responded no. He then responded w I should play the white tees then. I found him to be very pretentious. I decided on the blue tees and shot an 83 for my round. Just as I was about to tee off the 1st hole. There was a grounds crew on a cart sitting w his back to me on the hole. He made no attempt to move and was directly in my line of site and shot path. As I approached the 1st green, there were ball marks, scuffs from shoes and even sun flower seed discarded on it. I finished out the hole and moved on. The next few holes were ok. Got to hole #4 which is a par 5 to find three carts full of grounds crew sitting under a tree. Again, I got ready to tee off and had to wait for them to finally disperse before I could hit my drive. As I continued the round the conditions of the greens were consistently full of ball marks, there was garbage on the course and I was not overly impressed w the layout. I would recommend Hawaii Prince just down the road.

Yes, I booked on golfnow at a discounted rate. Yes, I was the first tee time. Yes, I am an average player who would rather play than practice. Yes, the course was in relatively good shape. But, that is no excuse for the grounds crew to act in such a manner. I was having a great round by my standards. I had 3 birdies coming to the 12th tee box and that's when it all came unravelled. The grounds crew had been working the greens and fairways on the back 9. My approach shot on number 12 was to a flag-less green where they had left the flag on the ground and moved on to the next hole. As I moved past that hole I let the grounds crew know politely that it would have been nice to take a shot towards a pin. He laughed and responded with a smug "well did you make the putt". From there it only got worse. I understand that these people have to prepare for the day of play. But on the 13th tee box the guy mowing the fairways looked right at me and just kept mowing away. So, I had no choice but to hit away. Not going to lie the arrogance and stupidly of the guy kind of got in my head. I hit a decent drive and by the time I reached my 2nd shot he had moved into my next hitting area. He ended up moving over and turning the mower throttle down this time. But now I was frazzled. I ended hooking my next shot into the trees. Walked up shaking my head, dropped my ball and shanked the next shot into a creek. Decided I had had enough and moved to the next hole. Luckily a free and clear par 3. But onto 15 and again the same no mind treatment from the next guy. Again on 16. By this time I was ready to walk right off the course. I am generally not one to complain. But was infuriated and decided to make a mention in the proshop. Two young kids behind the desk apologizing. So, I asked if there was anything they could do for me. No no sorry nothing we can do sir. Asked to talk with the manager as I felt this needed to be handled in a professional manner. Kid walks back and says our manager is in a meeting and offered me a couple range tokens. WOW, I was in appalled. I own a business and understand the importance of addressing customer concerns and the value in great customer service. If anything, I hope this review helps the next guy make a more informed decision to play here or not for that matter.

Have played this course at least a dozen times or so. Always well maintained and in good shape mid summer. Unfortunately played with two members...who although knowledgeable about breaks in the greens. Didn't know how to use a divot repair tool to save their lives. Can't teach etiquette I guess. Overall an enjoyable day...minus putts jumping all the way to the hole.

I am sad to say that the golf course was very disappointing. I have been coming to castlegar for 11 years and have played the course numerous times each trip. The course conditions have been declining for years...yet the rates keep going up. Even booking through golfnow as a hot deal...I feel the value does not mesh with the price. If I was to play this course for the 1st time and pay rack rate of $75 with a cart. You can bet that I would never come back...ever. Personally, I recommend driving the hour to play other courses in the area, such as Redstone or Balfour. Golfers want value for their dollar...it's not rocket science.

Went to university on the island and have played this course numerous times. Now own a business which takes me to the island a few times a year. Always make arrangements to catch a round at this wonderful track. Well worth the drive from central island. I would suffice to say even Victoria. Play this course, I promise you will not be disappointed.