Just when folks were ready to hit a few golf balls, Mother Nature decided to throw a few snowballs their way.
About 10 centimeters of the white stuff blanketed the links late last week, effectively putting opening day on hold for area golf courses. Even driving ranges had to postpone their curtain-raising.
“If it wasn’t for the snow in the forecast, we probably would have been open,” said Jim MacGowan, general manager of the 9-hole Valleyview Golf Club in Delisle in an interview on Tuesday, April 16, a day prior to the snowfall. “But this cold snap set everything back. It’s not exactly golfing weather when the temperature dips to minus 10.
“We don’t want to take the tarps off the greens just yet. We’ll give it a few more days and wait for the weather to warm up before we open for the season.”
It’s the same story for other courses in the region.
The 18-hole Legends Golf Club in Warman had initially planned to open its newly-upgraded driving range on Friday, April 19.
“That was the plan, but obviously, we had to move that date back a few days at least,” said Brent Eikelenboom, Assistant Pro at the Legends Golf Club in an interview April 16. “We’re hoping to have the driving range open early next week.”
Opening day for the golf course itself is not yet finalized, added Eikelenboom.
“We got quite a bit of moisture in the last little while, and the snow will add to that; so we’re waiting for the water to completely drain off before we open the course.”
Eikelenboom said the course appears to have wintered well, and the grounds crew will be taking a little extra time to make sure greens are in prime shape before play begins.
“We usually open about a week or so later than everyone else, just to ensure the course is as good as it possibly can be,” he said.
Eikelenboom said the Legends has invested in an upgrade to the driving range to protect the grass and to extend the season for that part of the facility. The driving range can accommodate more than 30 golfers at a time.
“It’s generally pretty busy right through the season,” said Eikelenboom.
The Legends driving range upgrade includes laying down a new tee mat, new range accessories and landscaping. The new tee mat is 250 feet long and six feet wide on a concrete base. This mat will be used until the grass tee is ready for the season.
“We’re able to give the grass a rest,” said Eikelenboom. “The fully-synthetic hitting mat can be used in all conditions, including when it’s very wet or very dry.”
Eikelenboom said the Legends club membership is expected to be similar to last year.
“We’re looking at strong membership numbers,” he said, adding there is growing interest in the game among youth and female players.
“We’ve seen a lot more women playing golf in the last few years,” he said. “The same goes for youth. We anticipate there will probably be 40 plus kids taking lessons and attending various clinics throughout the summer.”
The club has regular men’s women’s and seniors’ leagues, and even though there aren’t any major Golf Saskatchewan tournaments slated for this season, the Legends will be hosting its regular club tournaments as well as many corporate events.
The successful ‘grab and go’ food and beverage service instituted a few years ago will continue this year, said Eikelenboom.
Valleyview Golf Club is likewise seeing positive membership numbers. It also hosts regular men’s and women’s league events during the week.
Three aspects of the course that draw people back every year are its setting in a meandering prairie valley, its relaxed atmosphere and its affordability, said MacGowan. The course replaced the original “Dusty Nine’ sand green course dating from the 1960s on the south side of Highway 7. The Valleyview course was laid out and constructed in 2001, and celebrated its grand opening in 2002. Since then, it’s grown from catering to a purely local clientele to accommodating more golfers from Saskatoon and other communities in the region.
Opening day for the 18-hole Valley Regional Park Golf Club in Rosthern is tentatively scheduled for May 5, according to a recorded message on the club’s pro shop phone line.
The 9-hole Pineridge Golf Club in Waldheim’s Valley Regional Park is also preparing for the season, although an opening day has not yet been set.
In South Corman Park, the Moon Lake Golf Club and Country Club, an 18-hole premiere course has not yet set its opening date.
The Valley Road Par 3 Golf Course, a lovingly-manicured and affordable privately-owned 9-hole course nestled next to the South Saskatchewan River, is also in the early stages of preparing for the season.