4 Greater Victoria courses crack Top 100 in Canada
Published 12:15 pm Tuesday, August 4, 2026
It takes both breathtaking scenery and world-class design to remain a titan of Canadian golf, and Victoria Golf Club has always had both in spades.
Now, it has once again been recognized among the country’s elite, as ScoreGolf ranked Victoria Golf Club (VGC) 14th in its 2026 Top-100 Golf Courses in Canada rankings. VGC led four Greater Victoria courses that earned spots on the biennial list: Royal Colwood placed 36th, Bear Mountain’s Valley Course came in at 62nd, and the Mountain Course rounded out the region’s representation at 79th.
B.C. accounted for 17 of the country’s Top-100 courses, second to only Ontario.
Published every two years since 1988, ScoreGolf’s rankings are widely regarded as the country’s premier golf course rankings.
The magazine’s 2026 edition is its 14th national ranking and is determined by a panel of more than 90 golf experts, who score each course out of 10 across nine categories: beauty, design, challenge, strategy, conditioning, par-3 holes, par-4 holes, par-5 holes and fun factor.
VGC received an overall score of 8.14 out of 10, dropping one spot from its 13th-place ranking in 2024. The par-70 was also ranked as the second-best course in B.C., trailing only Capilano Golf Club, which placed sixth nationally.
Founded in 1893, the Oak Bay club is Canada’s oldest 18-hole golf course operating on its original site. Originally built as a 14-hole course, it expanded to 18 holes in 1895.
ScoreGolf praised both its scenery and architecture.
“Victoria Golf Club is as good of a setting as there is for golf in this country. With several front-nine holes on the stunning Pacific Ocean, where ocean rock and vivid blue waters contrast wonderfully with green turf and golden fescue, the A.V. Macan design is a visual delight. The back-to-back par 3s in holes 8 and 9 on an ocean point are unmatched in Canada.”
Although the course measures just over 6,000 yards from the back tees, the ever-changing coastal winds present a different challenge each round.
Royal Colwood followed at No. 36, down two spots from 34th in 2024, with an overall score of 7.72.
Designed by A.V. Macan, like VGC, in 1913, the Colwood course winds through towering Douglas firs and Garry oaks. It received its Royal designation from King George V in 1931, making it one of only a select few golf clubs in the country to hold the honour.
“Royal Colwood most certainly puts a premium on precision given the towering, 500-year-old Douglas Fir trees that line its fairways. But its narrow corridors shouldn’t outweigh the sensational ridge-filled terrain on which A.V. Macan’s design sits. Great greens add to Royal Colwood’s quality,” ScoreGolf said of the 6,721-yard, par-70 track.
Bear Mountain completed Greater Victoria’s showing, with both of its courses making the list.
The Valley Course climbed 20 places from 82nd in 2024 to 62nd this year, earning a score of 7.52.
“It’s subtler than its Mountain Course counterpart, but dramatic thanks to its rocky and wooded terrain. While roomy off the tee, the course is defended by tiered greens and waste bunkering,” described ScoreGolf.
Opening in 2009, the newer of the two circuits plays as a par-71, tipping out at 6,807 yards.
The Mountain Course made one of the biggest jumps in the rankings. After sitting just outside the Top-100 in 2024 at No. 105, it climbed to 79th this year with a score of 7.42.
“The visually stimulating Jack and Steve Nicklaus design has some thrilling holes that climb uphill and plummet downhill,” wrote ScoreGolf. “Of particular note is the cliffside par-3 14th overlooking Victoria Harbour, which once upon a time was a bonus hole.”
The Mountain, also a par-71, plays a mere three yards further than the Valley from the tips, at 6,810 yards.
For the complete 2026 ScoreGolf Top 100 Golf Courses in Canada rankings, visit ScoreGolf.com.