83 km of drainage pipe now installed at Vancouver's Langara Golf Course

Installation of new drainage at Langara Golf Course. (Vancouver Park Board)

Will Langara Golf Course no longer be regarded as one of the most unplayable golf courses in the Lower Mainland during the winter months?

The newly completed multi-million dollar project of providing Langara Golf Course with a comprehensive drainage system directly targets this known problem at the City-owned and operated golf course.

According to the Vancouver Park Board, just in time for the wettest season to come, 83 km of drainage pipe has been installed across the 114-acre, 18-hole golf course, located just east of Cambie Street and south of West 49th Avenue. The clubhouse is a seven-minute walk from SkyTrain Langara-49th Avenue Station.

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The sprawling web of new drainage should turn Langara Golf Course into an optimal year-round facility for golfing. In fact, according to the Park Board, the investments will solidify British Columbia’s oldest public golf course as the driest golf course in the Lower Mainland.

“We are embarking on a new chapter for Langara Golf Course, pioneering benchmarks in playability and environmental sustainability through this groundbreaking drainage initiative,” said Park Board chair Scott Jensen in a statement.

“Overcoming its historic playability challenges during shoulder and winter seasons, Langara now confidently stands as the leader among our championship golf courses, welcoming an influx of winter players.”

Installation of new drainage at Langara Golf Course. (Vancouver Park Board)

Throughout the lengthy upgrade project, Langara Golf Course remained partially open through a hole-by-hole upgrade process to minimize disruption to players and reduce the impact to revenue streams.

The Park Board’s top revenue generators of 2022 from its business services were the golf courses, which saw $11.6 million in revenue, followed by VanDusen Botanical Gardens at $4.5 million and concessions at $3.4 million.

The leading revenue source of golfing is generated by the facilities of the Fraserview, Langara, and McCleery golf courses, and the Stanley Park, Rupert Park, and Queen Elizabeth Park pitch and putts.

Previous Park Board reports indicate Langara Golf Course typically accounts for roughly 25% of the annual total revenues from golfing. But a drop in the number of rounds played during the shoulder and winter seasons suggested many golfers preferred to play other golf courses during the wettest periods of the year.

“This major capital project represents a substantial investment not only in our golfing community but also in our broader recreational future,” said Jensen. “The revenue generated by our golf courses is critical for supporting and expanding public programs and recreational activities.”

The golf course was built in 1926 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and designed by golf course architect Vernon Macan. The Park Board bought the golf course from the CPR in 1973, and the most significant redesign concept was created by Tom McBroom Golf Design in 1994. Many of the current features and facilities were completed in the late 1990s.

Langara Golf Course’s waterlogged reputation stemmed from the 1990s renovation, which called for the removal of the upper layers of the subgrade and the replacement with a sand-based soil. But due to budget constraints, a decision was made to screen and reuse the existing soil instead of replacing it with imported materials as recommended. The drainage issues began to appear a few years after this work was completed.

In the 2010s, there were some discussions amongst Vancouver’s elected officials on the potential of downsizing Langara into a nine-hole executive golf course to accommodate other recreational uses and possibly even housing.

Langara Golf Course. (Vancouver Park Board)

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