Royal Colwood Golf Club

Overview: Royal Colwood is a private 18-hole parkland course in Victoria, British Columbia, designed by A. V. Macan in 1913. The club’s 135-acre property is framed by very old Douglas firs and Garry oaks, giving the layout a strong Pacific Northwest identity. Macan’s design philosophy favoured well-planned shots to the greens and putting surfaces with hogbacks, crowns and undulations. Current official material does not publish one stable par and full tee yardage for the exact course, so those fields remain open.

History: The club’s chronology records construction in 1913 and first official play in 1914. Royal Colwood received its Royal designation from King George V in 1931. The club’s historical account also records the original clubhouse, later wartime use and the course’s close relationship with Macan, whose work shaped much of golf architecture in British Columbia. The layout is described as virtually unchanged from his original plans, though the club has evolved around it.

Did You Know? Macan’s design rules asked that par fours require two planned shots and that greens should not be flat. Those principles remain visible in Royal Colwood’s crowned and undulating putting surfaces. The surrounding Douglas firs and Garry oaks are also unusually old, so the course reads as a mature forest landscape rather than a newly planted resort setting.