James Island Recognized by Pacific Northwest Golfer Magazine
Par-4 fourth selected as one of the ‘Great Holes of the Northwest’
In the December 2021 issue of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine, the par-4 fourth hole at James Island Golf and Ocean Club is recognized as one of the “Great Holes of the Northwest,” one of just four holes selected each year by the Northwest’s largest and longest-running golf publication.
This short par-4 runs low on the ground alongside Sidney Channel. A fescue-covered waste area in the middle of the fairway will force a decision of whether to hit driver over it, or lay up short of it. Pot bunkers guard the left and right side of the small green, which slopes toward the water.
James Island Golf and Ocean Club is located in the Southern Gulf islands off the southeast coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, about a mile and a half from Sidney.
Located on the 780-acre privately-owned James Island, the number of people who have played this course can be counted on maybe two hands.
James Island was purchased in 1994 by cellular communications pioneer Craig McCaw, who proceeded to convert the island into an eco-friendly self-sustaining destination. He brought in Jack Nicklaus to take the existing rudimentary 12-hole golf course and transform it into a full-length championship-caliber layout, which opened in 1997.
Remote and private, the grounds crew themselves are ferried to the island in the morning to work the course and then ferried home at the end of the day.
James Island was purchased in 2020 by Discovery Land Company, which plans to continue the sustainability initiatives on the island, while also transforming the property into a destination with world-class amenities. Click here for more information.
With a direct-mailed circulation of 123,000 households, Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine has been the voice of golf in the Northwest for over 20 years. It is the only Northwest golf publication with a verifiable demographic of its readership. Pacific Northwest Golfer is all about golf, and dedicated to golfers, and is the model by which other regional golf publications have used. It is the official magazine of the British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, Washington State and Pacific Northwest golf associations, as well as the Pacific Northwest Section PGA. Published by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, a 501c3 charitable international amateur golf association, Pacific Northwest Golfer is a member benefit delivered to member clubs in British Columbia and to those who utilize the USGA GHIN Handicap System through member clubs, either public or private.
(Photo by Rob Perry Photography)
