We’re lucky here in Vancouver to have an extended golfing season due to our mild (though sometimes rainy) weather. And when the wet and colder weather does arrive, Tapestry at Wesbrook Village has the solution – a golf simulator.

The simulator offers golfers a choice of 20 well-known courses around the world. Using real golf balls and real clubs, it’s a great way to practice your swings and putts year-round.

For one group of four men who all live here, it’s a weekly commitment to both fun and friendship. Reg, Ted, Alex and Larry meet up every Monday afternoon to play at least nine holes.

Alex, who has lived at Tapestry the longest of the four men (eight years), says his introduction to the golf simulator was quite dramatic. He and his wife had attended an event for prospective residents, which included a competition to see who could “break” the most windows by hitting balls in the golf simulator. “I got up there and broke two windows and won the prize, which was a bottle of whiskey,” Alex says. “It sealed the deal as far as moving in here,” he adds.

Alex is a lifetime member of the Point Grey Golf Club, and still plays nine holes outdoors twice a week. Now that he is having some issues with limited mobility, he very much enjoys being able to golf indoors.

“My greatest joy is being able to hit the ball and see it go where I want it to,” says Alex. “Maintaining the accuracy is not easy to do, and the element of competition helps, even if you are just competing with yourself.”

Another member of the group is Larry, who learned to golf at age 12 because his father was a golfer and they lived near a course. He says he didn’t have much time to play during his professional career, but once he retired he started playing again and now golfs at the nearby University Golf Club once a week.

Larry says the social aspect of the weekly golf get together is important. “We support each other, we groan at each other’s bad shots, and we give accolades for good ones,” he says.

“The people who you make friends with are the people who you do things with,” he says. “Ted and I play golf together and we also play billiards and socialize at dinner. At Tapestry, you can be as busy as you want to be.”

Reg says it’s “the love of the game” that keeps him heading to the golf simulator every Monday. After moving to Vancouver in 1981, Reg played at a number of different courses in Richmond and Tsawwassen and still plays as part of a group of eight every Thursday at Meadow Gardens in Richmond.

Now that he has some mobility issues, Reg says having the use of the simulator “takes the pressure off” of having to golf a perfect game. “I generally consider myself to be in pretty good health. To have the ability and also the resources provided here at Tapestry to continue to enjoy golf and benefiting from the social interaction – it’s a real value to me,” Reg says. “And I think it keeps a person young,” he adds.

Ted, who says he has golfed on and off for 65 years, including with the University Golf Club men’s group for 10 years, had given away his clubs before he moved into Tapestry. “I was athletic all my life, and I wore out my knees,” he says. Tapestry’s golf simulator gave him the chance to take up the game again.

Ted also joins some of the other men to play pool, bridge and Tapestry’s “Cranium Crunch” (a trivia game).

Besides being fun and active, Ted says a big bonus of the golf simulator is, “you don’t lose any balls.”

At each of our four Tapestry locations, we offer a wide variety of activities and resources that give our residents so many choices every day. Depending on the location, you can golf, attend a variety of different types of fitness classes, and exercise your brain with activities like trivia and choir or by attending a lecture or book club meeting.

If you’re looking to start the new year off with a move to an exceptional community for retirement living, Tapestry may be the perfect choice for you! Contact us today to schedule a personal tour and complimentary lunch.

It would be our pleasure to find you the perfect suite and Tapestry community!