In the meantime, we want you to know that green fee rates will not be increased for 2006. And, for your convenience while simultaneously improving the "pace of play", our 2006 rates will include both your golf and a power cart. In addition, we are offering you the limited opportunity to become a 2006 Season's Passholder at very competitive rates also including power carts.

We listened to you during the 2005 season and realized that for some people a 10 game pass is too big a bite, especially without carts, so... we have created a lovely 6 Pack w/carts for $299.00, more affordable for you and for those who wish to give the "gift of golf" on special occasions or at Christmas.

Finally, we know who we are for tournament groups and outings and are excited and looking forward to serving you again in 2006. 2005 was a terrific

Thank you so much for golfing at Garibaldi Springs Golf Resort in 2005 and we look forward to seeing you back again in 2006. Visit us at the Vancouver Golf Show - February 17 to 19, 2006 at BC Place Stadium.

Sincerely,
Janice Grimes
Golf Services & Marketing Manager
jgrimes@garibaldigolf.com

So it is both a surprise and a delight to find a top quality golf course that is genuinely different from the mainstream. Garibaldi Springs Golf Resort in Squamish has pulled off a miracle: it's a beautiful course in a stunning setting that's a pleasure to play and can actually improve your game.

Part of a comprehensive 160 acre residential and resort development, Garibaldi Springs is still in its infancy. The overall project includes the Garibaldi Springs Resort Hotel, course clubhouse and restaurant, as well as residential townhomes. The course takes up 90 acres of the project, surrounding 50 acres of undisturbed natural forest and woodland. Home to a wide variety of aquatic, forest and avian wildlife, it's also in the process of acquiring status as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

Opened as a full 18 holes only since September 2004, Garibaldi Springs fairways and greens are in impressive condition and well cared for.

Where the course sacrifices distance is really only in its lack of par-5s. There are seven par 3s-one more than at Furry Creek and two more than Northlands. The par 4s range in length from 298 yards to 442 yards and you'll find a solid test of your skills on each of them. The opening hole is a 331 - yard par-four dogleg left. You need an accurate shot to a narrow landing area in front of a water hazard before you can see the pin. From the second shot on, you descend into primordial wilderness-emerging only occasionally as you work your way around to the 18th green.

Designed by Les Furber, creator of such memorable facilities as Predator Ridge in Vernon and North Vancouver's Northlands, Garibaldi Springs demands that you bring you're a-game and will challenge you with every shot. If you're stuck in the grip-it-and-rip-it mindset, you'll get your butt kicked. This is a course that makes you think with every shot and as with many things, the more you think, the better you get. It's a great course to shake you out of your golf rut and maybe even examine bad playing habits. It's all about accuracy and playing the shot that is actually in front of you. That's how you improve your game.

The course winds around and through the wetland bird and wildlife habitat, and any shots that stray off the narrow rough are gone. Did I mention the water? Wetland habitat usually means an abundance of water and at Garibaldi Springs,

The second hole is a 134-yard par-3 and if you're still labouring under the misapprehension that this is an executive course, you'll wake up on the third tee. Number 3 is a 365-yard par 4. It doesn't sound like much and on the scorecard there's nothing to let you know what you're in for. Once you're on the tee, however, you see the challenge. A 205-yard carry over the environmental hazard is required from the white tees. From the blues, you need 223 yards. Even then, if you're a little right and a little long, there's a lovely little lake, just waiting for that brand new Titleist you bought the day before.

The fourth is a par-3 138-yard green sticking out into the middle of the same lake. It's a slightly smaller mirror image of Number 14 at Furry Creek, minus the safe landing area running up beside the water. You're either on the green or in the water. The fifth hole is a 377-yard par-4 with a visually intimidating tee shot. The fairway fades from left to right ever so slightly. On the right beside the tee is the lake again, with bulrushes jutting out just before the landing area. The temptation, of course, is to bail left but that's where the forest is. Its gradual rightward arc means that if you have gone left, by the time your ball comes to rest, you could easily find yourself in the trees. Like I did.

I love this course. To call the setting majestic is an understatement. Garibaldi Springs could have easily built a series of lame, placid fairways and greens - it would have been cheaper and still looked 'pretty' - -but they didn't. The people behind the course thought long and hard about what they wanted to create, and then went out and got one of the best designers in the business to bring it to life.

I have yet to talk to anyone who loves golf that's played the course and come away anything other than truly impressed. For me, that's what it's all about. Garibaldi Springs is a real breath of fresh air in an age when other new courses are just 'me too'. If you want to challenge your game, if you think your 'hot', go play Garibaldi Springs, then tell me if you're as good as you think you are.

Just go play it.

Call now and ask to receive our 2006 tournament package. We look forward to hosting your corporate tournament or group outing at Garibaldi Springs Golf Resort.

Download our New Tournament Package, or contact us at 1-866-441-4747 or 604 898-1075.

Congratulations Henry!

Many golfers miss the great opportunity that winter brings to work on their golf swing mechanics. Grip, posture and alignment are crucial components of your golf swing and they can be practiced, and made solid or fixed during the winter months.

Learning to move the golf club the way it has to move in order to hit a good shot is also a very important.

Don't forget to work on your putting too because it is half of your golf score in most cases. I look forward to seeing the rewards of your winter "golf mechanics" in 2006 at Garibaldi Springs Golf Resort.

Claudia Vogel is our sweet and friendly Bavarian frau who has served you in the Pro Shop for the past two years at Garibaldi Springs. This recipe is Tony's favourite Bavarian Apple Torte

1. Preheat oven to 450º F.
2. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla in a bowl until mixture forms a soft dough. Press dough down into bottom and 1½ inches up the sides of a 9" springform pan.
3. Beat cream cheese & ¼ cup sugar. Add egg and vanilla beating until smooth. Pour mixture into pan.
4. Combine apples, cinnamon and remaining sugar in loose layer evenly over cream cheese mixture, sprinkle almonds on top. Bake at 450º for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 400º and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Guten Apetit