Through the golf gossip grapevine I heard about this magical place in Canada where the fairways are lined with gold, the lobsters grow on trees, and it rains cookie dough ice cream. This land of enchantment was called Prince Edward Island (PEI). Needless to say, the expectations were high as I stepped off of the plane at the small airport in Charlottetown on PEI.
As it turns out, the lobsters grow in the nearby sea, the fairways are lined with manicured bent grass, and they serve ice cream at COWS creamery. So the rumors were not entirely inaccurate. The official tag line for Golf PEI is “Over 400 fairways closer than you can imagine.” The statement is a fitting one because the golf is good, it is plentiful, and all of the courses that we played on this trip were within a 30 minute drive from our boutique accommodations at the Hillhurst Hotel.
The 2nd hole at Glasgow Hills Golf Club
As I sat in the restaurant of the Hillhurst Hotel getting ready for our early morning round at Glasgow Hills, a gentlemen across the way asked “Are you Patrick?” “Why yes I am.” I replied. It turns out that this man was no gentleman. It was the sometimes reclusive and often eccentric “Bogey Train Bobby.” Bobby hails from Bali and has a passion for mediocre golf on high end golf courses. He strives for excellence but is perfectly content with lipping out for par and tapping in for 5. The bogey fist pump is alive and well with this man and I was excited to document the magic of his passion for mediocrity. We jumped right into the golf action at the nearby Glasgow Hills.
Head Professional, Woody Bishop showed us the ways around Glasgow Hills.
Bogey Train Bobby gets the bogey party started at Glasgow Hills.
Below you will find our first block of Instagram stories from Bogey Train’s PEI adventure. The man loves oysters and eats lobsters with no regard for human decency. On his home land of Bali, he is referred to as the “Lobster Man” because of his passion for the delicious sea crustacean.
The next course on our PEI agenda was another little gem called Andersons Creek. We never figured out who Anderson was but we enjoyed his creek thoroughly. We even made a couple of golf ball donations. I think Bogey Train put 3 in the creek on #4. The course is scenic and a lot of fun to play.
Things heat up on the 3rd hole at Andersons Creek.
Bogey Train hammers one into the trees on the right of 15.
The 2nd hole at Anderson Creek.
Rain threatened but never showed up for our round at Anderson Creek.
After several rounds in the books for Bobby and I, it was time to welcome the rest of our PEI crew. This group was rowdy and ready to go.
Sarah Moodie - Nicknamed Smooderoo on the gram, she’s not an alcoholic golfer, she just plays one on Instagram.
Sean Ogle - Founder of Breaking Eighty, breaks eighty… sometimes.
Klea Armstrong - Amazing golf ball whacker girl.
The Weekend Golfer - If it’s a weekend, you know what he’s doing.
After an unbelievable dinner at Fishbones Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, we headed out for 36 holes at the Dundarave and Brudenell River Golf Courses. Both courses are on the same piece of land but they play very differently. The Dundarave course is a Hurdzan and Fry design that opened it’s doors in 1999. With a number of spectacular holes along the river, the course is a must play when visiting PEI.
The signature hole on the Dundarave course is a short yet challenging par 4.
The finishing hole on Dundarave.
The Brudenell River course opened up in 1969 and is a local favorite with just about everyone. If there was a golf popularity contest on the island, Brudenell would easily win the popular vote. The golf course is more scorable than the Dundarave course and the two courses make for an excellent day of 36 holes.
The finishing hole at Brudenell river is short and sexy.
The opening hole on the Brudenell River Golf Course
Sarah Moodie rips one down the middle on the penultimate hole at Brudenell River.
Up next we have our second installment of the Bogey Train Bobby highlight reel from Instagram stories. The hot tips and clutch bogies flowed freely from Bobby. I tried my best to sit back and soak up the experience, the pearls of wisdom were coming fast and furious. I hurriedly scribbled down as much knowledge as I could on the inside of the scorecard.
At this point it is important to pause and recognize the deliciousness and abundancy of the lobster on PEI. I set a new personal best by having lobster for dinner 4 nights in a row. Since, I did not have lobster even once in 2018, I was pretty stoked about the situation.
When most people think of golf on PEI, they think of one course in particular, The Links at Crowbush Cove. The Thomas McBroom course debuted in 1994 as Canada’s best new golf course and has since hosted a number of premier events. The most notable being the 1998 Skins game featuring Mark O’Meara, Fred Couples, John Daly, and Canada’s own Mike Weir. Crowbush is recognized as the premier golfing experience on PEI and our crew was eager to play.
Things get sexy as you turn towards the ocean on the 6th and 7th holes.
The 8th and 15th holes at Crowbush
Crowbush eases you into the round for the first 5 holes or so and after that it’s a golfing experience that you won’t soon forget. The course edges out to the ocean several times and comes back inland again providing a nice flow all the way through to the finish. We played right up until sunset and then headed back into town to experience another amazing dinner at Sims Steakhouse.
The 9th hole at Crowbush was one of my favorites.
The 16th hole at Crowbush is one of the best on the property.
As we prepare for the recap of our final round of golf on the island, let’s take another dive into the world of Bogey Train Bobby. This man misses more putts for par than anyone I know and quite frankly, doesn’t give one damn. It’s all about the experience for Bobby. “Yeah, I do make some pars from time to time, but a bladed wedge over the green allows me to visit a part of the course that most people don’t get to see.” It’s apparent that Bobby just doesn’t feel comfortable riding a hot 2 hole par streak. “When I put together 2-3 good shots in a row, my body just naturally shuts down and the next thing I know I am hanging up a smooth 6 on the scorecard,” says Bobby.
For the Prince Edward Island finale we were scheduled to take on Green Gables Golf Club. After such a high at Crowbush our crew wasn’t expecting another stunner of this magnitude. I might even put the round of golf at Green Gables above Crowbush. Absurdity you might say, but Green Gables has such a cool classic feel to it that I was instantly a huge fan.
The deliciously fun 5th hole plays over a small creek.
The Weekend Golfer golfing on a Wednesday!
Doing my part to speed up the cattail seed dispersion process. @golfpei pic.twitter.com/4Phk7w2gRT
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) August 21, 2019
The 18th and final hole of our Golf PEI adventure at Green Gables
Because Prince Edward Island is so much more than just great golf, it was fitting that the adventure ended with one of the most fantastic dining experiences that I have been a part of. World renowned Chef Michael Smith has put together something that he calls the Fireworks Feast at The Inn at Bay Fortune. The experience starts with a guided farm tour, moves into an oyster hour at 6pm, and culminates with the Fireworks Feast in the evening. I was expecting bottle rockets and M80’s but instead I got a stomachful of delicious goodness. As an amateur food critic I don’t believe that my food palate was capable of doing this event justice.
Chef Michael Smith gave an inspired toast and posed for pictures with Sean and I.
The 6pm oyster hour… easily the best oysters I have had.
The fire altar is serious business.
If a trip to Prince Edward Island comes across your plate, I would highly suggest that you jump on the opportunity. Lush fairways, great people, and plenty of amazing food await your arrival. Your golfing destination starts here with Golf PEI.
