There is no improvement upon perfection at Rivershore

By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf

There are four words that sum up what one finds at the Rivershore Estates & Golf Links in Kamloops — Robert Trent Jones, Senior.

That master of golf course architecture who molded this layout in the early 1980s, did such an outstanding job that to this day, nothing on this 18-hole gem has been altered.

“You said it best – Robert Trent Jones, Senior,.” said course General Manager, Kevin Oates, when asked to describe what the public will encounter here. “What does that mean for us? We’re links-style. Lots of bunkers. Very playable. Built in 1981 which is only a little over 40 years ago but it feels old school. That’s where we go here. You embrace the history, which is quite different from the new, modern type courses.”

And that’s the beauty of this layout that runs alongside the South Thompson River, which does come into play, sort of, near the end of one’s round. But before you get to the penultimate and final holes of the day there are 16 other challenges awaiting you. And you best be ready for those.

From the tips, Rivershore is close to 7,000 yards but with a total of five starting points here, anyone and everyone can tee it up and enjoy their day. From the furthest point forward, boxes move down in distance to 6,700; 6,300; 6,000; and 5,400 yards.  The one hazard that is visible on essentially every hole is the bunkering. After all, there are 97 sand trips here, set in strategic spots.

Oates noted that a well-struck shot here is rewarded with a good lie and a basically unobstructed pathway into the putting surface. Mis-hit a shot though, and things aren’t necessarily easy from that point onward.

“These are properly placed, so to speak,” the GM noted of the bunkers, likely the most feared hazard on a course, other than water. “When you end up in one of his (Trent Jones, Sr.) bunkers you haven’t hit a very good shot. I mean, good shots here are rewarded. You don’t hit a good shot here and go, ‘I hope that’s going to be OK.’ You know it’s going to be OK. And when you hit one offline and it’s going toward the sand, you’re not upset that you hit it there, you’re upset you hit a bad shot.”

Of the putting surfaces here, Oates said the greens aren’t small and difficult to hit on approach shots. Then again, they aren’t the humungous designs you see with construction from later time periods.

“I would say they’re medium-sized with subtle breaks. They’ll quite often break more than you think. Lots of pin placements. I mean they’ve been unchanged. We haven’t had any greens’ reconstruction or anything since they were built in 1981. That’s kind of exciting because it shows the quality of the work they did 45 years ago.”

Now, about those last two holes, a lengthy par-3 of 178 yards off the middle set of tees and then a closing par-5, of just under 500 yards from that same tee, that again asks for some big shots to get home when you’re bird hunting. And oh yeah. That river and its shoreline are both right there alongside you just to keep things interesting.

“We have two holes, 17 and 18 that are right on the edge of the river. But, there is quite a bit of vegetation between us and the river. A shot that goes off of the golf course, you end up in the river bank vegetation” where it’s likely unplayable/unfindable, “as opposed to ball in water. We don’t see a lot of splashes, so to speak.”

However, if you’ve looking to make a splash with your golfing buddies on your next journey into the Kamloops area, or even if you live here but have never played this old beauty, make sure you tee it up at the Rivershore Estates & Golf Links for a taste of how one of the greatest every golf course architects left his mark in BC.