Doug Hawley didn鈥檛 even know Redwoods Golf Course had earned a distinguished regional ranking until a regular golfer came in and congratulated him.

鈥淔or what?鈥� asked Hawley, the general manager of the Walnut Grove course.

Turns out, Redwoods was ranked among the top 10 best golf courses in the Lower Mainland recently by Vancouver鈥檚 Best Places.

鈥淭his took us by complete surprise,鈥� Hawley said.

They were the only course in 91原创 to make the list, receiving a spot out of 10, beating out Swan-e-set Bay Resort in Pitt Meadows, the UBC golf club, and Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what their criteria was鈥� It was likely customer driven鈥� but whatever the case, it鈥檚 good news,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 validation for the staff that we鈥檝e been doing something right.鈥�

In the years immediately after Redwoods opened back in the 1990s, it was very common for the course to receive different awards and recognition.

鈥淥ver the last few years, I guess with all the new courses coming on board with new style layouts, we haven鈥檛 received much, or we just haven鈥檛 noticed,鈥� Hawley said.

People are drawn to the course because of the driving range, the customer service levels, the stunning views, various events hosted at the 88th Avenue facility, and his team鈥檚 ongoing efforts to think 鈥渙utside the box.鈥�

Hawley and his 104-member staff have been focusing much of their efforts in the past few years on charity golf tournaments.

While the course has a faithful group of 鈥渉ard-core golfers鈥� who come out week after week, the fundraising events are each different and tend to be more challenging for the staff.

鈥淲e find them more satisfying to do,鈥� he added, noting that the team is always anxious to help organizers (whatever the charity) to raise more money than they did the year before.

鈥淓veryone has been touched by a charity somewhere along the way, whether it鈥檚 the cancer society, the hospital foundation, or Wagner Farms. Everyone is more motivated for these,鈥� Hawley said.

鈥淭hey take a lot of pride in helping raise as much money as possible for these different causes, and so they should.鈥�