JEFF PATERSON . . . Golfing My Way

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I was fortunate enough to play --- or perhaps it’s more accurate to say I had the chance to experience --- Richard Zokol’s new Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club near Merritt, BC.  Carved from a remarkable tract of rolling ranch land overlooking Nicola Lake, Sagebrush is a realization of the former PGA Tour veteran’s dream to create something totally unique in this province.

What Zokol and his partners are offering isn’t just a day on a brand new and very challenging golf course, but a day of golf, fly-fishing and relaxation at the Hideout – which serves as the club’s bar and grill, but is so much more and truly has to be seen to be believed (it’s a Mongolian yurt --or round hut -- perched between the 13th tee and Sagebrush’s fishing hole. Like any good yurt, this one features a fully stocked kitchen, sizeable eating area and comfortable couches set up in front of a large hi-def flat screen TV. Outside, a large wooden patio houses the Hideout’s grill and overlooks the prime fishing spots and on to the 13th green below).

As for the golf itself at Sagebrush, Zokol and co-designer Rod Whitman aimed to bring many elements of the origins of the game to the British Columbia golf scene. They have borrowed from the minimalist philosophy of golf design moving as little dirt as possible, relying on what the land gave them and giving players options to both fly the ball and run it along the ground on as many holes as possible. They have tried to add to the growing list of popular North American courses designed in this manner – Sand Hills in Nebraska and the courses at Bandon Dunes in southern Oregon to name a few. Overall, Zokol and Whitman have succeeded with their Sagebrush creation.

It took a few holes to get used to the fact that the teeing grounds are just that – conventional tee boxes, but with no markers on the deck. Just pick a spot, stick a tee in the ground and swing away. There are also no rakes in any of the many bunkers on the golf course. Zokol believes that bunkers should be penal and at Sagebrush they are as difficult as they are spectacular, designed with jagged edges and framed by native grasses. The brilliant bunkering is one of Sagebrush’s strongest features in both appearance and playability.

The greens at Sagebrush are massive (take the largest green at your club or local muni and triple it – yes, they’re that big). In a few cases, they are unnecessarily large. But with their spectacular contours, they offer equal doses of challenge and fun to putt on -- and add to the entire experience.

There are a number of very strong holes at Sagebrush. One of the best views on the golf course comes early in the round with Nicola Lake serving as a stunning backdrop on the downhill par-4 second hole. The par-5 seventh rises and tumbles with the topography and ends with an approach to massive green located in a swale well below the fairway. The 11th is a sharp dogleg par-4 to an elevated green, but one that allows players to challenge the corner and bite off as much as they want -- yet danger looms with a pair of deep fairway bunkers. Although listed at close to 600 yards on the card, the par-5 16th features a sizeable drop from fairway to green and with a steep slope gives players a reasonable chance of getting home in two. The closing holes, while not spectacular in design, both played straight into the teeth of the wind and offered more than enough of a challenge to end the day.

In addition to their 14 clubs, visitors to Sagebrush must pack along plenty of trust and acceptance. While some of the shots may not look right to the eye, it’s imperative to trust the suggested line of play on several holes. And based on the design principles of Zokol and Whitman and the course they have created, players have to accept that not every shot – regardless of how well struck – will reach its intended destination. In fact, at Sagebrush, the only way to accurately judge the success of any shot is to wait for it to come to a complete stop because shots that look good off the club don’t always wind up that way and there were examples of poorly struck shots that benefited from the slopes and worked their way back into favourable positions.

Sagebrush is not without its faults. There are a few too many blind tee shots and the elevation changes make it impossible to know where on the large greens many of the pins are located – and with some of the greens, there can be a three club difference from front to back. In addition, due to the sheer size of the property and its relative infancy, navigating between holes is sometimes confusing and more than a few golfers will likely lose their way. There a few spots where better signage is needed. Any player would surely benefit from a second trip around the grounds to know where to go, where to hit the ball – and, on many holes, where not to hit it. The Sagebrush founders are banking on players coming back for more.

Sagebrush is a difficult golf course designed and created by very good players for good golfers. Higher handicappers may find it too tough at times. But regardless of one’s ability on the course, there is no question that all golfers will enjoy the Sagebrush experience – during and after their rounds. There is nothing quite like it in British Columbia.

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Anyone interested in experiencing Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club can do so for the remainder of the 2009 golf season. Sagebrush is offering a one-day package of unlimited golf with carts, fly-fishing, lunch and dinner ($700 per foursome).

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RICHARD ZOKOL
International. . . . . . . . . 1980 International Champions (Morocco)
Brigham Young U . . . . . 1981 NCAA Team Championship
RCGA amateur . . . . . . . 1981 Canadian Amateur Championship
Turned professional . . . 1981
CANADIAN TOUR . . . . . 1982 British Columbia Open
STATE TITLE. . . . . . . . . 1984 Utah State Championship
PGA TOUR . . . . . . . . . . 1992 Greater Milwaukee Open,
PGA TOUR . . . . . . . . . . 1992 Deposit Guarantee Classic
NATIONWIDE TOUR . . . .2001 Samsung Canadian PGA Championship