After three years in the making, the sound of people yelling “Fore” will echo across Morson’s Spruce Creek Golf Course beginning on Aug. 18.
It all started with a dream by Ken and Laurie Pentney, who live just south of Morson.
Running a tourist camp and commercial fishing operation for years, they decided they wanted to help develop the area’s economy in a
slightly different way but still complementary to the tourist industry.
In 2004, they hired an architect to design a nine-hole golf course and now it is nearly ready for the public to play on.
After two years of major construction, the course was seeded late last summer and this summer was nurtured to perfection.
Course superintendent Greg Ross, who used to be the head greenskeeper at Kitchen Creek Golf Course just west of Fort Frances, said since it takes a few years for greens to establish and mature, they wanted to be sure they were up to a certain level of strength before letting people play.
“There are still a few tender areas, but that is common for a new course,” Ross noted.
While it is opening to the public on Aug. 18, the Pentney family— while entertaining relatives at the end of June—were the first ones to play the entire course.
In fact, Laurie was the first one to tee off. “We loved it, but I won’t divulge my score for that day,” she said.
Par for the course is 36, with the total yardage for the nine holes being 3,450.
Pentney did say some of the holes surprised her, including the eighth, which she said was trickier than she expected.
“You see it [the course] developing and I completely ignored number eight,” she noted. “Boy was I surprised at how hard it was for me.”
Each hole features three tee boxes for all levels of play.
Unlike courses out west, Spruce Creek is not very flat. It has been beautifully carved out of the land and Canadian Shield to pose a fun, but challenging golfing experience.
With the golf season nearing its end, Spruce Creek will not be selling memberships for this year but does have 10-30 round passes available.
Otherwise, people can book tee times starting at 7 a.m. until dark beginning Aug. 18 by calling 488-9706.
Green fees have been set at $18 for nine holes and $26 for 18. They also have purchased a fleet of brand new golf carts that can be rented.
“It was 500 times more work than I thought it would be but it is awe-inspiring to see what came out of a piece of bush,” Laurie Pentney said while reflecting on the journey to get to this point.
The Pentneys are planning to have a grand opening celebration next year.
While the course does not have a licensed clubhouse, they plan to get special occasion permits for tournaments.
“We will see how things go with the course. Then we will concentrate on the clubhouse,” said Pentney.
She also noted a lot of people have questioned the credibility of the course.
“Some people figure it is just going to be a field,” she said. “We would like to invite everyone to come out and see this is a really great course!”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
