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By Mark Stone
If you’re not a big fan of golf, one look at the new golf course at Predator Ridge may just change your mind. The Carrick, Predator Ridge’s newest course designed by award-winning golf architect Doug Carrick, includes a complete renovation of the current nine holes of the Peregrine course along with the creation of nine new holes to create a complete 18-hole Carrick golf experience.
Carrick joined the Predator Ridge team last Thursday afternoon to proudly unveil the course to the media, and many of the holes are nothing short of spectacular. Also on hand was Kevin Layden, CEO of land developer Wesbild, who has partnered with Predator Ridge in the development of its community. While Carrick was describing the layout of the seventh hole – which features a stunning view of Lake Okanagan – Layden pointed out, “Many people are not aware how much land is owned by Predator Ridge. These views are stunning, and we’ve capitalized on the vast amount of land that they have here.”
Carrick is proud of his design and the team he assembled to make it all come together. “This is a great opportunity to work on a great project with a company with a strong reputation. It’s a real team effort putting a golf course together like this and I couldn’t have done as good a job without these people who have created this vision,” Carrick says. “We wanted Predator Ridge to be the best golf community in Canada. There aren’t too many developers who won’t compromise their vision and work with the land and the environment.”
After viewing some of the difficult holes, I asked him if he felt somewhat sadistic while designing the more challenging layouts. “I‘m known for using a lot of bunkers in my golf courses. Some say I’ve got a bit of a mean streak, yes, but I’ve toned them down so that they’re there more to accent the course. There are only 44 bunkers on this course, which is pretty low.” In designing the course, Carrick was striving to strike a balance to suit both pro and amateur golfers alike. “We wanted to create a golf course to be fun and playable for the average golfer but would still provide some challenge for the expert golfer. We had to soften some of the original features, but really tried to work with natural landscape and change things to work with this setting.”
Having spent the day with Carrick, it’s apparent that he is very fond of the spectacular surroundings of the Okanagan. “Predator Ridge has some of the most beautiful scenery in Canada with beautiful views over Lake Okanagan to some of the surrounding mountain peaks. The new golf course weaves though a beautiful landscape with lot of dramatic elevation changes and some beautiful rock layouts framing many of the holes.” Take his word for it. Or, take a look for yourself at the photo gallery that demonstrates the kind of experience waiting for us when the course opens next July.
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The seventeenth hole of The Carrick
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A turtle habitat near the fifteenth hole
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View from the fifteenth hole of The Carrick
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View from the fourteenth hole of The Carrick
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View from the thirteenth hole of The Carrick
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View from the twelfth hole of the Carrick
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The eleventh hole of The Carrick
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The ninth hole of The Carrick
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One more view of the seventh hole
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Another stunning view from seventh hole of The Carrick
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View from seventh hole of The Carrick
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View from ninth hole of The Carrick
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View from fourth hole of The Carrick
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View from fifth hole of The Carrick
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View from second hole of The Carrick
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Designer Doug Carrick explains how his new golf course came to be (photo: Mark Stone)
