
Photo Review: Langara Golf Course
Reading Time: 4 minutes The best municipal golf course in the country, Langara is a Macan & McBroom design near downtown Vancouver
Information:
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Public – Daily Fee
- AV Macan (1926)
Municipal golf in Canada isn’t like the United States. We don’t have Bethpage’s, Torrey Pines, or any of the famous Ross, Tillinghast or any other internationally famous architects who did a few city-owned golf courses. That doesn’t mean there isn’t quality golf courses out there that are accessible to everyone.
Enter: Langara Golf Course, an Arthur Vernon Macan design from 1926 that got a Thomas McBroom facelift a few years back. For those who have been following the last few posts on the site, AV Macan is responsible for Marine Drive, Shaughnessy, as well as one of my favorites (Kelowna Golf & Country Club) and some local favorites (UBC Golf Course and Fraserview are both accredited to him, both in Vancouver).
I’ll confess that I might be slightly biased because I love classic architecture, and I also love AV Macan courses. I find the green complexes amazing, but the tee shot interest and strategy can sometimes be lacking. Langara is that template: sometimes a little boring off the tee, yet around the greens it’s a lot of fun.


















Langara is good, and to the best of my knowledge, it’s the best municipal golf course in Canada. I head out East in August, so we’ll see if there’s some hidden Stanley Thompson city golf course in the Toronto area, but it’s tough to beat a solid round of golf.
Sure, it’s only 6000, and it may not be for everyone, but if you can’t score a round of golf at Shaughnessy, Marine Drive or Capilano, Langara is the next-best option for the architecture nerd. An enjoyable round of golf for a maximum of $65 peak season. Golf needs more of this!