Monday, June 2, 2014

Mystical Kind of Place

Kokanee Springs is a mystical kind of place, the silence, the seclusion the calmness all combine to provide a truly unique golf setting. 

If you have read “In Search of Shivas Irons” by Michael Murphy (and if you haven’t you should) you would find parallels in the feeling surrounding Kokanee. In the book Murphy travels to Scotland in search of a mysterious Legendary Golf Pro in hopes of discovering the true secret to perfect golf. Along the way he experiences an almost paranormal series of events leading to his fog shrouded meeting with the mythical old Pro. You can feel that sense of mystery and wonder when you walk the fairways of Kokanee Springs Resort.
 

Located in the world's only Temperate Inland Rainforest, the Resort’s foliage is thick and the natural flowers are amazing. When you venture out on any of the many kilometers of hiking trails on the property you will soon find yourself under the canopy in a dark, lush, moist rainforest environment that seems to belong in some tropical location far far away from here. You will hear sounds that you will not hear anywhere else, birds, insects and the wildlife that populate the forest provide an unbelievable soundtrack.

Playing golf  in this setting here at Kokanee Springs is an experience that you will not find just anywhere, come and live the mystery, let your imagination wander, Play The Legend!



Ian Wiber
Director of Golf, Kokanee Springs Resort

ianw@kokaneesprings.com

250.227.2005

Monday, May 5, 2014

If you Play Golf You’re my Friend


Ever notice how you can pick out a golfer in any crowd? There’s something about the way we dress, the way we act, there’s something about all of it that just screams “I’m a golfer!”


The late, great Harvey Pennick, legendary teacher of Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite and author of the famous “Little Red Book”, also authored the lesser known but no less impactful “If You Play Golf You’re my Friend”. Harvey was an old school Golf Professional and almost all of the old school pros that I knew growing up in the business had one thing in common, they could talk golf. Man could they talk golf! They could talk about players, they could talk about courses, and they could talk about the golf swing, and so on, and so on, and so on. If you showed any interest at all they would tell you story after story about the things they had seen the people they had met and the places they had been.


Man I miss those guys, they were humble, and they rarely talked about their own exploits. The game was the thing, it was bigger than anything else and those “old school” guys would do anything to protect and nurture and grow it. It is said that golf is a game of tradition and sportsmanship where honesty, honor and fair play are the most important things. It seems to me that those traditions meant a lot more before the game became so popular worldwide.


Golf is not about how much you paid for your new driver, it’s not about racing around the golf course on a cart in a constant state of impatience. Golf is not about hitting into the people in front of you. Golf is about friendship, a shared passion; it’s about respect for the golf course and your fellow participants.


So the next time you see that golfer in the crowd talk to them and more importantly listen to them, I’m sure they will have some great stories to tell!

Ian Wiber
Director of Golf, Kokanee Springs Resort
ianw@kokaneesprings.com
250.227.2005