Founded by former PGA Tour professional Richard Zokol, as an exclusive private retreat, the Sagebrush Golf & Sporting Club is set on a hillside beside the unspoiled Nicola Lake, an hour south of Kamloops. The course was primarily designed by Rod Whitman, in association with Zokol and his partner Armen Suny.

Despite some precipitous land and a generally difficult piece of property, Whitman did a terrific job with his routing here by converting the areas that did offer stable ground into interesting, attractive and engaging golf holes. He tended to route longer holes up the steeper sections, and kept things manageable by offering golfers generous playing corridors and building fun, undulating green complexes. Some of the greens are quite large, with the 16^th apparently the biggest in Canada.

Beyond the greens and rugged, naturalistic bunkering, the key feature of Sagebrush is strategy, and how the designer’s continually reward driving accuracy with preferred approach angles. Examples include the bending 3^rd, the short par four 13^th, played alongside a manufactured dam, and back nine par fives at the 14^th and 16^th. The short holes are also beautiful, as is the contouring toward the rear of the 9^th green.

Despite its obvious quality, Sagebrush is fairly remote and has struggled since opening to attract members and establish a sustainable operating model. The course is now fully accessible to the public, which may not please the original investors but is great news for eager golfers across British Columbia. The scenery, the bouncy fescue surfaces and fun of playing such varied and interesting holes should make it popular with the visitors.