While the opening of the driving range at the new Heron Landing golf course at Couchiching has been delayed until early fall, its project manager is optimistic the course itself will open according to plan.
“[The June flooding] affected everybody. We’re just currently starting to do seeding here,” said Shane Jourdain on why the opening of the range, originally set for this month, was postponed.
“[But] I’m very happy with how things are going. If the upcoming weather patterns were like anything last year, we should be in great shape,” he added.
Jourdain said the front nine should be open by mid-summer 2003, with the back nine following soon after.
Heron Landing superintendent John O’Brien, who has been on site on a regular basis with his crew of six workers, agreed, though saying they didn’t want to put a set date on the range’s opening.
“[The fall is] what we’re shooting for but it all depends on weather,” stressed O’Brien, an experienced greenskeeper in Calgary, Long Island, and Sault Ste. Marie.
The past two weeks have shown some promising signs. With the irrigation system completely in place, watering began last week and seeding for the greens should take place in the coming weeks, he added.
“I see a fantastic looking golf course,” O’Brien said. “The locals will find the course will cater to all types of play.”
When completed, the 18-hole course—with an estimated price tag of $3.3 million—will cover 120 acres. Construction began in March, 2001.
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