Bowen Island Golf Club

Bowen Island sits just a 20-minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay on BC's Sunshine Coast corridor, making this one of the more unusual commutes in Canadian golf. The island has long attracted artists, weekenders, and those looking to step outside the pace of Vancouver — and the golf club fits that spirit entirely. A par-70 layout signals a course that leans on precision and shot-shaping over raw distance, rewarding players who think their way around rather than overpower it.

The terrain of Bowen Island itself — forested, hilly, laced with ocean views — is the kind of setting that tends to define a golf experience as much as the architecture does. Courses in this corner of coastal British Columbia contend with towering Douglas firs, unpredictable marine breezes off Howe Sound, and elevation changes that make flat lies a luxury rather than a given.

Getting there is part of the appeal. Arriving by ferry, with the Vancouver skyline receding behind you, frames the round before you've even pulled on a glove.