Redstone Resort in the Kootenays: They'll build it and bring you to it too

Chris Baldwin,
Contributor

ROSSLAND, British Columbia — In the Kootenays, the opening of a Wal-Mart is huge news. Heck, the debut of a new little mom-and-pop hardware store can set the region abuzz.

This spread out collection of towns in the Canadian Rockies that's an hour flight from Vancouver and a 2 1/2-hour drive from Spokane, Wash., is still pridefully small town in feel.

So it's no surprise that a new master-planned golf community and resort is causing quite a stir. The Kooteneys has long been recognized as a great ski spot for those in the know. But it's plentiful, good, inexpensive golf largely remains a secret. Your phone records are more open in the U.S. than Kootenays golf.

Redstone Resort in Rossland — a town of 3,500 — is trying to change that. Redstone is adding nine holes of Canadian favorite Les Furber designed golf to the existing nine-hole Rossland course and building alpine style homes around it.

The planned completion date of the course, which will be called Redstone Resort Golf Club, is July 2007. The homes are on sale now.

Only Redstone is not using your conventional sales techniques. This may turn out to be the most enjoyable house shopping excursion you've ever had. Husbands could be dragging their wives out to see these homes.

For Redstone flies in perspective buyers it deems serious, puts them up in a nice new hotel, gets them out to a few area golf courses to play for free and gives them an inside golf architectural tour of Furber's work so far.

"We let them see the golf course from the beginning," Redstone marketing director John Reed said. "We drive them around the course, let them see the gravel getting put in, the irrigation system being worked on. It's a pretty technical, ornate, inside look at a golf course in construction.

"We've been surprised by how many people are interested in that. The inside golf's really been a popular part of the experience."

Redstone's sales strategy is simple. Get people there and let the Kootenays sell itself. When the golf's good and the name recognition virtually nil, freebies can save the day.

"Our biggest battle is to get people here," Reed said. "Once they see it for themselves, they look at it in a new way. I think the Kootenays experience is different and speaks for itself."

The biggest converts have come from Texas, Minnesota, Washington and Idaho. While Washington and Idaho can be explained by proximity, the rush of Texas buyers is more baffling — at least at first glance.

"Texas has a lot of money with the way the oil industry is going right now," Reed said. "Calgary's much the same way. We're getting a lot of people for second homes from those locations."

It doesn't hurt that the average summer temperature in Rossland is 77 degrees compared to 100-plus in many parts of Texas. It's a little more golf pleasant. In a region that's small-town feel is exactly what attracts Baby Boomers dreaming of what they imagine life was like when they grew up.

"It's like living in 1965," said Cary Fisher, one of Redstone's lead developers. "We're trying to change that a little."

The golf course itself will be very modern in approach, with the new nine featuring a 611-yard par 5, elevated greens with large putting surfaces, clear views of Red Mountain and much more water. This back nine will be on the south side of the creek, "the more scenic side," as Reed puts it.

It all will make for a striking departure from the original quirky, character-filled Rossland nine, which was built in 1926. Furber's team is also set to renovate this nine, with that set for 2008.

The plans call for an abolishment of arguably the most distinctive hole in all of the Kootenays, the rope tow hole. This severely uphill par 3 has one of those mechanical pulley line systems used to bring skiers up a mountain.

Only here, it helps golfers get up to the green. In truth, it's really not needed. If you're in any kind of shape, you could get up the hill without a rope's help.

And the hole itself is no great golf marvel. But it's cool nonetheless to use a rope tow on a golf course.

Now, that's on the chopping block of progress.

Of course, the Redstone Resort team will let you play it first, as they try to sell you on the future. Kootenays golf is moving forward with its own celebrity golf architect design and alpine golf-course-overlooking houses.

There's no going back to the future now.

June 6, 2006

Chris Baldwin keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation.