Golf in Coquitlam

Almost 50 years ago, Herb Plasterer—an architect, historian, and artist—acquired 190 lush acres nestled along Thetis Lake, where he envisioned building a public golf course that would preserve the land’s natural beauty. When Herb passed away, his wife, Rose Maria, and their six children decided it was time to realize his dream. Their hard work, along with that of course architect Chris Young, yielded the Audubon-certified Pacific Nine and Highland Nine that golfers tackle today.

While drinking in views of the Olympic Mountains, Thetis Lake Park, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, golfers face close-cropped fairways hemmed in by thick copses of trees and wetlands that swallow balls without even chewing them first. Cybergolf calls the Pacific Nine “truly sublime,” and Canadian Golfer—which lauds the course as being on “the must-play list”—marvels at the tricky contours of its par-4 fifth hole. Although more compact than its sister, the Highland Nine is challenging on its own terms, with uphill approaches that end in fast, unreceptive greens, as well as a number of downhill par 3s.

Before zooming across the fairways in GPS-equipped golf carts, players can warm up at a 300-yard-deep driving range that boasts heated stalls and an illuminated tee line. PGA professional instructors offer guidance during lessons at the golf academy, and students can fuel up for swings with homestyle soups, entrees, and sandwiches at the Range Café, rather than with the usual gulps of petroleum. The café also invites celebratory post-round sips of beer and wine out on a heated patio or next to a crackling indoor fireplace. And to keep guests looking fresh, the course laundromat will even wash sweaty polo shirts right after a round.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 course
• Length of 6,603 yards
• Six tee options
• See the scorecard

Praised by CityVoters as the best course in western Washington, Avalon Golf Links lays out three nines that offer eye-pleasing glimpses of the Skagit Valley below. Though each nine conceals its own unique set of obstacles, every 1 of the 27 holes place golfers amid a picturesque sweep of Northwestern flora, challenging them to bend shots around towering evergreens and send drives screaming against the backdrop of the Olympic and Cascade ranges. The North Nine bookends the toughest stretch on the course in holes four through seven, a rigorous test requiring approaches as steady as the hand of a neurosurgeon playing Operation. Though short in comparison, the West Nine is notable for its tight fairways and frequent East-to-West orientation, yielding panoramic views of the Cascade Mountains. The South Nine punishes poor approaches with challenging greens, where balls frequently run away from their owners when struck too firmly or distracted by a particularly attractive goose egg.

After testing mind and body over 18 holes, Avalon's Sweet Bite Cafe stands at the ready to refuel tuckered-out golfers with breakfast served starting at 7:30 a.m. on weekends and sandwiches served starting at 11 a.m.

Course at a Glance:

• Three nine-hole, par 36 courses

• Total length up to 6,803 yards from the back tees

• Course rating up to 72.3 from the back tees

• Course slope up to 126 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees

• Designed by Robert Muir Graves

A nine-hole, executive course consisting of five par-fours and four par-threes, Royal Oak Golf Club provides tee-to-green fun for clubbers of all stripes with an approachable 1,915-yard layout. The course presents two relatively short par-fours on which long hitters can attempt to reach the green in one with a perfect drive or a well-struck golf ball punt. Those who try to overpower the course must steer clear of its water hazards, which come into play on five holes. To prepare for their round, guests can schedule a lesson with Royal Oaks' CPGA pro Bill Wakeham.

After rounds, Royal Oaks' hilltop clubhouse enchants weary golfers with a lounge equipped with two big-screen HDTVs, dartboards, and free WiFi. The Club's outdoor patio overlooks the first and seventh tees, allowing golfers to enjoy a cold beverage or scold an underperforming nine-iron.

With two distinct layouts that bob and weave through groves of douglas fir, cedar, and hemlock trees, both Eighteen Pastures Golf Course and Tall Timber Golf Course invite clubbers for a day of challenging golf. The more difficult of the two layouts, Eighteen Pastures flummoxes stick-flickers with more than 6,800 yards of topsy-turvy terrain, where precipitous hillsides and bending fairways lined with arbors conceal upcoming hazards, which include 10 ponds and a multitude of sand traps. The course's front and back nines converge at the unique clubhouse, a bright red barn with a tall silo on one end said to contain the souls of every golf ball lost on the course.

An easier and shorter alternative to its grassy brethren, Tall Timber sprawls across 5,921 yards of kempt fairways cleaved through second-growth West Coast forests. The rippling waters of streams and ponds run throughout the course, attracting waterfowl and thirsty golf carts as clubbers hack through the 160-acre landscape.