Bear Mountain Golf & Country Club (Valley course)

Bear Mountain Resort (Valley course): The Bear Mountain luxury resort, located just north of British Columbia's capital city of Victoria, offers two captivating 18-hole championship golf courses. Both layouts are products of the Nicklaus design team, but each is strikingly different from the other.

Six years younger than the Mountain course, the equally impressive Valley course was originally heralded as the easier-going of the two (you be the judge!). It is certainly no less dramatic, nor does it lack the challenging character of its older sibling. The many elevation changes are just as pronounced.

True to its name, the Valley sits at a lower elevation than its companion, but boasts the same spectacular mix of pine forest, dramatic rock formations and occasional water features. It is debatable who or what takes top honours for the Valley course. You have to applaud Nicklaus Design for laying out such a fabulous and visually arresting course. But a higher power must take credit for providing the design team with such a stunningly natural setting.

First time out, you'll get a wonderful surprise at every hole as you look out from the typically elevated tees. Generous width fairways tumble through exposed rock formations and glide past occasional creeks and lakes. All is framed by towering pines and fir trees. Putting-out on the huge greens poses one of the course's key challenges, while the rough-edged bunkering sports a minimalist look, complementing the layout's sublimely natural surroundings.

The out-and-back routing ensures you don't return to "civilisation" until the par-5 18th, when you climb out of the valley and back up to the imposing resort hotel.