Vancouver Island is a great place to live and visit, especially in summer when the days are long and the sun is shining. We’re highlighting some of our favourite summertime activities — things we think everyone should try to fit in before fall comes around again.
The signature hole at Blenkinsop Mini-Golf isn’t as hard as it looks.
A straight shot under the waterfall, hard by the castle and onto the hump will pretty much do it.
It’s part of a classic 18-holer at 4239 Blenkinsop Rd. that opened in 1991, and has a driving range right next door for those who prefer the more traditional side of the game.
The capital region is also home to several other mini-golf spots, all with their own special qualities.
Mini-golf is a sport (or maybe activity is the proper word) for young and old, big and small, pretty much anybody who can pick up a putter.
The game has long been a favourite of cool aunts and uncles looking for something to keep those nieces and nephews out of trouble and temporarily amused. Birthday parties and summer days bring out the crowds, as well.
A typical outing with youngsters in tow can see at least one of them two or three holes ahead, another hitting the wrong ball and still another holding the putter from the business end.
There’s nothing like potting a hole-in-one at mini-golf, and on a recent sunny day at the Blenkinsop course eight-year-old Keenan Mynott and his grandfather Don Wilcox each had five of them by the 15th hole. Grandmother Donna Wilcox was a bit behind with two.
“We come here all the time,” Don said. He said he and Donna live in Kelowna and mini-golf is a preferred stop for them and Keenan when they visit.
Keenan is a big fan of the course.
“It’s good,” he said. He pronounced the castle hole as his favourite.
Also on the course were Mitch Nicholson-Selly and six-year-old daughter, Juliette, who were playing for the first time in awhile.
“I had a day off so I thought I would bring her here,” dad said.
General manager Nick Poon said the course is a busy, busy place in the summer.
“As soon as school’s out in June it’s just crazy.”
Players range from two or three years old to a couple in their 80s who visit the course twice a day, every day of the week.
“They’ve just sort of made it their home,” Poon said.
School groups, special-needs groups and kids’ organizations are also frequent flyers.
While there is no official course record, Poon figures he had a round that is in the running.
“Four years ago we had a staff tournament and I had nine holes-in-one.”
Poon said that one of the most popular holes is No. 9 — the cottage hole — where the ball disappears inside a fairy-tale style cottage and comes out a chute on a lower level.
“It’s a mystery,” he said. “We always say the gnomes are in there doing something with the golf balls.”
Here are some of the other mini-golf courses around the region:
• Mattick’s — 5325 Cordova Bay Rd. A visitor’s testimonial says it is a “nice and shady” place to go on a hot, summer day.
• Island View — 7081 Central Saanich Rd. One Tripadvisor review calls the plant-filled site “mini golf at a mini Butchart Gardens.”
• Haunted Manor — indoors at 711 Yates St. “Fun for the whole family,” according to an online rating.
• City Centre Park — 1089 Langford Parkway. Features pirates, skeletons and a gold mine.
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