Bowen Island Golf Club

Bowen Island Golf Club occupies one of the more singular pieces of real estate in Canadian golf — a small, forested island in Howe Sound, reachable only by a short ferry crossing from Horseshoe Bay on the North Shore of Vancouver. That journey alone sets the tone. You leave the city behind entirely, and by the time you step onto the course, the pace has already slowed. The island has long attracted artists, weekenders, and people deliberately stepping off the grid, and the golf club fits that character well.

The course itself is a compact, unpretentious layout that works with the island's wooded, hilly terrain rather than against it. Trees are the dominant feature — tall Douglas firs and cedars frame virtually every hole — and the routing demands accuracy and course management over raw distance. It plays as a genuine test of shot-shaping in tight quarters.

For Vancouver golfers, Bowen Island offers something genuinely different: a round that doubles as an escape. The ferry ride, the old-growth surroundings, and the unhurried atmosphere make it a day-trip worth planning rather than just another tee time to squeeze in.