TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2017 VANCOUVER SUN C7

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ThisWeekInWhistler

PHOTO BY MIKE CRANE COURTESY TOURISM WHISTLER

Canada’s Premier Golf Destination

BR A D ZI E M E R
As foursomes go, this one
is formidable: Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent
Jones Jr. and Bob Cupp.
Four of the world’s top
designers — a couple of
them pretty fair golfers in
their day—have created a
collection of courses that
have turned Whistler into
one of this country’s pre-
mier golf resorts.
Palmer got things started,
designing Whistler Golf Club,
which opened in 1983. Trent
Jones Jr. followed with Cha-
teau Whistler in 1993. Big
Sky, located twenty-five min-
utes up the road in Pember-
ton and designed by Cupp,
opened a year later, and
“The Golden Bear” complet-
ed the Whistler-area foursome
with Nicklaus North, which
opened for play in 1996.
Golfers have been flock-
ing to Whistler ever since,
helping turn the area into a
true four-season resort.
“What I think is great in
a golf destination is variety
and the variety here in the
golf course architects and
actual designs of the four
courses is fantastic,” says Ja-
son Lowe, general manager
of Nicklaus North. “They
are very different, which I
think is a great attribute.”
The fact that three of
them—Whistler Golf Club,
Nicklaus North and Chateau
Whistler—are located close
together is another plus.
“There are a lot of desti-
nations where the courses
are more spread out,” Lowe
says. “The fact you can taxi
everywhere I think is key,
especially in a resort area. If
you want to let the hair down
a little bit, you don’t have to
worry about driving.”
Alan Kristmanson is the
long-time general manag-
er of Whistler Golf Club,
which this season will wel-
come its millionth visitor.
Like Lowe, he thinks the
variety of the four resort
courses are a real strength.
“You ask people what
their favourite course is and
you get a different answer
every time,” he says. “People
don’t come up here and play
us four times or us three
times and one other. They
try to play them all and that
is what you want to see.”
Chateau Whistler is the
mountainside layout of the
bunch with elevation chang-
es of nearly 122 metres. The
closing holes at Nicklaus
North hug Green Lake and
its patio is marketed—right-
ly so —as Whistler’s best.
Big Sky’s setting is sub-
lime, sitting in the shadow
of Mount Currie. Its new
greens are in great shape
and a five-hole par 3 course
is proving popular with fam-
ilies. Whistler Golf Club, the
resort’s granddaddy, often
offers more than just bird-
ies and bogeys. The course,
which just released a new
app loaded with features, is
renowned for having bears
wandering near its fairways.
All four courses wintered
well and have been open since
mid-May. Stay and play pack-
ages can save you money on
green fees. Visit whistler.com/
golf for more information.

That’s One Tough Mudder!

t ob i a s c . va n Vee n

Revive your senses Every June, a worn-and-

weary horde sporting orange
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headbands strolls through
Whistler Village like glad-
iators returning from the
Valid June 1—September 17, 2017 arena. They are soaked.
SCANDINAVE.COM They are muddied. They
are pumped. And they are
chanting in celebration.
These are the modern ti-
tans, and they have just sur-
vived the Tough Mudder.
If you haven’t seen or
heard of what is probably the
meanest, most insane “race”
on the planet, then here is
what to expect: intentional
bouts of electrical shocks,
heinous slip-and-slides, ice
cube swims, and jungle play-
grounds requiring Tarzan
feats of swinging over—yes—
the requisite pits of mud. Plus,
every year there are a few sur-
PHOTO BY WARREN ZELMAN COURTESY TOURISM WHISTLER
prises. Expect to climb, dive,
slither and scramble your way is more about overcoming ground designed to test your with a Tough Mudder Half
through an obstacle course your fear,” says Matt. It’s limits and put your psyche also available. For those up
like no other. about “facing the risks and to the test. Part of it is even to the challenge, check out
“It’s intimidating,” says doing it anyway.” a psyche-out: sometimes the Toughest Mudder. Go-
competitor Matt Todd. Why do folks undertake those electrical shock wires ing all night, in the dark, the

PEAK 2 PEAK “Some parts are straight-up

scary.” But still, it was do-
360 Season Pass able, he says, and not a “tor-
turous physical challenge”
like the marathons he usu-
Discover new experiences each week. ally runs. That is, until the
end, when he forced him-
self to charge straight up
the ski jump hill. The final
1.800.766.0449
whistlerblackcomb.com / verdict? “Tough Mudder
such a strenuous brush with
the unknown? In part, team-
work. It’s about you—and
your friends—pulling each
other through the thick and
the thin. Camaraderie be-
comes something more than
a mistaken word for French
cheese. The Tough Mudder
is like a race through a play-
aren’t even attached. It’s just
the mental game. And when
you come out the other side,
you are changed forever.
Held in Whistler Olympic
Park, the Whistler Tough
Mudder goes down June
17 and 18. The full Tough
Mudder is 16–20 kilometres
with over twenty obstacles,
hammer drops at midnight
for two unique eight-kilo-
metre loops run circuit-style
for eight hours.
Act fast to get in on the
action—whether as a team
or a spectator eager to watch
feats of strength in action.
Check it out at whistler.com/
events/tough-mudder.

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