Golf Vancouver Island

For Immediate Release
Contact: Tom Cade, PNGA Manager of Communications
Tel: 253.214.2918; Cell: 206.890.5339
Email: tom@thepnga.org

Bear Mountain Resort Recognizedby Pacific Northwest Golfer Magazine
Mountain Course’s 19th hole selected as one of ‘Great Holes of the Northwest’

Federal Way, Wash. (Tuesday, June 30, 2009) – In the upcoming July issue of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine, the Bear Mountain Resort’s par-3 19th hole is recognized as one of the “Great Holes of the Northwest”, one of just four holes selected each year by the Northwest’s premier golf magazine.

The iconic 19th hole sits perched on a hillside behind the 14th green and 15th tee of the resort’s Mountain Course. Sitting apart from the established 18 holes, the par-3 is used for settling bets and placing bets, but more often is used by those who come to take in the view it provides – a sweeping vista overlooking Victoria, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and beyond to the Olympic Mountains of Washington state.

With a yardage anywhere between 64 yards and 141 yards, the par-3 is easily playable for all, but is a target hole, with no room for bailout on any side of the green.

Bear Mountain Resort, located in Victoria, British Columbia, recently opened its Valley Course, and is Canada’s only resort community with 36 holes of Nicklaus Design golf – the Mountain Course, which opened in 2003, is a Jack and Steve Nicklaus co-design, and the Valley Course is a Nicklaus Design layout.

With few courses opening in 2009, the resort opened its Valley Course without hesitation. “We decided to move forward with our plans,” said Len Barrie, president and CEO of Bear Mountain Resort. “The wheels were already in motion (to open the course), and our feeling is that once the economy turns around, and it will, we will be ready.”
Visit www.bearmountain.ca for more information.

The two golf courses at Bear Mountain Resort are members of the Golf Vancouver Island consortium.

With a direct-mailed circulation of 123,000 households, Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine has been the voice of golf in the Northwest for 15 years. 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. For more information, visit www.pacificnorthwestgolfer.com.

The PNGA is a 501(c) 3 charitable, international amateur golf association dedicated to preserving the true spirit of the game of golf and promoting activities beneficial to golfers in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Over the past 110 years, the Association has been a pioneer in developing competitions and services to its members. Today, the PNGA remains committed to being a truly "regional" organization providing benefits and services to its members and member clubs throughout the Northwest. The PNGA currently has 687 member clubs and approximately 225,000 individual members.

Attached photo: Photo by Rob Perry