Golf courses say farewell until spring

One is laying down for another long winter’s nap; the other taking its first snow-induced snooze.
With the arrival of colder temperatures and the accompanying snow they bring, it’s adios until spring to driving, chipping, and putting at the two local golf courses.
Kitchen Creek Golf Club head pro Steve Wood considered it to be a great year at the quarter-century-old layout down Highway 11/71 just west of town.
“The weather co-operated, and we really didn’t have any bad days until the tail end of the year,” he noted. “It was better than the year before.”
The abundance of hot, dry weather took its toll on the course, though, and lead to significantly dried out areas throughout the 18 holes—a subject Wood vowed would be at the top of the agenda at the club’s annual winter meeting Dec. 2.
“The lack of rain hurt quite a bit,” he remarked. “We have to get a plan in place to get this issue solved. Our membership will have to ultimately make the decision.”
At the same time, Wood was proud of how well-represented Kitchen Creek was at various local, provincial, and even national competitions throughout the season.
“We had people like Chrissy Thomson and a couple of guys from here that had terrific seasons,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have as many good golfers come from here as we do. It’s quite nice.”
The 2004 season also will present a new challenge to Kitchen Creek as the Heron Landing Golf Course at Couchiching will have its 18-hole course in full operation for the first time.
“I think the area can support both clubs,” said Wood. “We’re serving a different clientele than they are. I envision us working together, although we’ll obviously still be in competition.”
As for keeping costs low to maintain their membership numbers, Wood said nominal fee increases may be in the offing—partially depending on what Heron Landing settles on for its fee structure.
“There’s nothing set over there, yet, and we don’t really have a clue what they’re going to do,” Wood noted. “We have to play our cards like they weren’t there, but still keep them in mind.
“We want to worry about our own backyard first, though.”
< *c>Landing on their feet
The first trial months of the Heron Landing Golf Course since it opened in July have been “very successful,” according to course project co-chair Shane Jourdain.
“The reviews we’ve been getting from people playing the course have been phenomenal,” Jourdain said of those who had the chance to play the completed back nine this summer while the front nine was still under construction.
“It was important to give a preview to people who may want to be part of our upcoming membership,” he stressed. “We let people tour the other side to also encourage them to think about becoming members.
“Those who saw the whole course said they wouldn’t even hesitate to become members.”
Jourdain said the fledgling course hosted about 25 rounds per day while the driving range accommodated 20-30 people per day.
He added a May 15 target date has been set to open the course fully, with the goal being to attract a maximum of 200-300 members.
“The course was designed to attract tourists,” explained Jourdain. “If we have too many members, it will hurt the number of walk-ons we can have because all the good tee times will have been eaten up.”
Jourdain said everything should be in tip-top shape for the spring opening, save for the fairways, which he put at being “90-95 percent” in terms of playability.
“People have to understand with a new course, it takes three to five years to fully mature,” he noted.
Fees to play the new course have not been determined yet, but Jourdain expected that to take place by mid-November so as to provide a Christmas gift option for those looking to delight the duffer in their life.
“The board is very excited about the new year,” he added. “It’s like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
“But, really, we’ve still got a lot of work to do in the next six months, everything from getting the clubhouse ready to doing marketing, hiring, and training.”