Granite Pointe Golf Club

Few golf destinations in British Columbia carry quite the same dramatic backdrop as Nelson, a mountain town perched above the west arm of Kootenay Lake in the province's interior. Granite Pointe sits on the benchland above the city, where the Selkirk Mountains frame virtually every shot and the elevation changes remind you constantly that you're playing genuine high-country golf — not a flatland course that happens to have a mountain view painted in behind it.

Nelson itself is a famously characterful place: a well-preserved Victorian-era city with a strong arts community and outdoor culture, drawing visitors who come for skiing at Whitefish and Red Mountain as much as for summer recreation. Golf here is a seasonal pleasure, which tends to concentrate a real enthusiasm among local players when the course is open.

The course plays to a full par 72 across 18 holes, and the terrain does the heavy lifting architecturally — in this corner of BC, the land has enough drama that a course rarely needs much embellishment to feel memorable.