Victoria Golf Club Webcam – Seaside Fairways in Oak Bay

The Victoria Golf Club Webcam looks down the 4th hole at one of the oldest golf courses in Canada, laid out on Gonzales Point in Oak Bay at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. From the tee the fairway runs away between tall pines and sand bunkers, and beyond the last trees the water of the strait opens up, with a line of mountains on the far shore when the air is clear. Cargo ships can often be seen passing on the horizon. Four more cameras from the same club cover the 11th tee, the 6th fairway and 10th green, the short game area and the 18th green by the 1st tee, so you can switch between them with the tabs above the player. Morning shadows stretch across the grass, foursomes walk through the frame all day, and the light over the water changes by the hour.

About Victoria Golf Club

A group of Victoria businessmen and merchants founded the club in 1893, thirteen years before Oak Bay itself was incorporated in 1906. Members first played over rough grazing land that belonged to Joseph Despard Pemberton, the former colonial surveyor, before taking a lease and forming the club. The course opened with 14 holes and grew to 18 in 1895. It is the oldest golf club in Canada still on its original site, and the oldest in North America west of the Mississippi River. The present layout settled in the mid 1920s, after the club resolved the routing around Beach Drive.

The club covers 38.1 hectares (94 acres) of rocky shoreline on Gonzales Point, looking out over Juan de Fuca Strait and Haro Strait. It plays to a par of 70 for men and about 5,500 meters (just over 6,000 yards) from the back tees. Arthur Vernon Macan, the most prolific golf course designer in the Pacific Northwest, was a member and reshaped much of the course. The mock Tudor clubhouse, designed by Charles Elwood Watkins and finished in the late 1920s, is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Long before any golf, the point was Kukeeluk, a village site valued by the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations.

The club also claims the oldest international golf fixture in North America: an annual interclub match against the Seattle Golf Club that began in 1895. It hosted the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1993 to mark its centennial.

Weather and Climate in Oak Bay

The Victoria Gonzales weather station sits on the hill just behind the course, so its numbers describe what the Victoria Golf Club Webcam shows almost exactly. July averages daily highs near 20.6 C (69 F) and lows around 11.9 C (53 F), and it is the driest month of the year with about 14 millimeters (0.6 inches) of rain. Summer on the webcam means firm, sunlit fairways, long evenings and a sharp outline of the mountains across the water.

Winter is gentle for Canada. January highs average 7.8 C (46 F) with lows near 3.8 C (39 F), and the course is open about 360 days a year. The Olympic Mountains put Greater Victoria in a rain shadow, so Gonzales records only around 608 millimeters (24 inches) of precipitation a year and about 2,193 hours of sunshine, the driest spot on the British Columbia coast. More than 60 percent of that rain falls between November and February, when the webcam often shows low cloud over the strait and wet, green fairways. Snow is light, averaging about 26 centimeters (10 inches) a year across Victoria.

Things to Do Near the Victoria Golf Club

The Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point sits at the edge of the golf club, on a sloping point facing the Olympic Mountains. The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association bought the site in 1903, choosing it for its feng shui, and it was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. The twin towers of its ceremonial altar still stand above the shore. From there Beach Drive follows the coast north past Gonzales Bay toward Oak Bay Marina and Willows Beach, where the Lkwungen seaport of Sitchanalth once stood at the mouth of Bowker Creek.

Oak Bay Village, along Oak Bay Avenue, is a short drive inland, and the Uplands neighborhood, laid out in 1912 on former Hudson’s Bay Company land, lies to the north. Heading west along the water leads to Ross Bay, the Dallas Road waterfront path and Beacon Hill Park, with downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour a little further on. Access to the course itself is through the club, so visitors should contact Victoria Golf Club directly about playing.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More seaside and golf course cameras to try next:

• White Rock Webcam
• Teugega Country Club Webcam
• Paarl Golf Club Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Victoria Golf Club located?

The club is at 1110 Beach Drive in Oak Bay, British Columbia, on Gonzales Point at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. It is a short drive east of downtown Victoria and faces Juan de Fuca Strait.

What can you see on the Victoria Golf Club Webcam?

The main camera looks down the 4th hole toward the sea and the mountains beyond. The other tabs show the 11th tee, the 6th fairway and 10th green, the short game area, and the 18th green with the 1st tee box.

How old is Victoria Golf Club?

It was founded in 1893 and expanded to 18 holes in 1895, making it the oldest golf club in Canada still on its original site.

What is the weather like in Oak Bay?

Mild and dry by coastal standards. Summer highs sit around 20 C (68 F), winter highs around 8 C (46 F), and annual rainfall is only about 608 millimeters (24 inches) thanks to the Olympic Mountains rain shadow.

Can you see the ocean on the Victoria Golf Club Webcam?

Yes. Several holes look out over Juan de Fuca Strait and Haro Strait, and on clear days the mountains across the water are visible from the 4th hole camera.

Who designed the Victoria Golf Club course?

The layout grew from the original 14 holes of 1893. Arthur Vernon Macan, a club member and the most prolific course designer in the Pacific Northwest, made many of the changes that shaped the course played today.

Is Victoria Golf Club open in winter?

Yes. The mild, dry climate keeps the course open around 360 days a year on average.

Source: Victoria Golf Club