Canadians at Q-School

Here's a good article from sympatico.ca's Robert Thompson:
http://bit.ly/UO8vKJ

I'm always interested in the Canadian contingent at Q-School, wondering if this will be a "break-out" year for Canadian pros: who will join DeLaet, Hearn and Fritsch?
Could this be Ryan Yip's time? Let's keep our fingers crossed!

A Better November

The season ended here at Victoria Park East and Victoria Park Valley on the afternoon of Thursday November 22. And what a fabulous day it was! Mild and VERY busy - we even had the beverage cart out, much to the delight of the golfers. But now the pins are pulled and the crew is busy putting the winter touches on the turf.
November actually proved to be a decent month, balancing the generally wet and cool October.
The Road Construction Saga is nearing an end - Victoria Road is now paved between Arkell Rd. and McAllister; but a retaining wall is still under construction just north of our entrance, so it's still northbound access only from Arkell Rd.

The East Course pro shop and office remains open during the off-season, and will handle all Victoria Park Valley business as well.

Get Used To Seeing This

A very interesting announcement was made on October 18: the PGA Tour Canada will assume the title from the Canadian Tour, with the PGA Tour taking operational control. This is an incredible "re-brand" and will definitely help in promoting the Canadian game to the American - and worldwide - markets. Here's the announcement from the PGA Tour's website

I Love This Picture

A great 'Fall Golf" shot: Hole Lakes #1 at Victoria Park Valley, taken with my humble phone. If we could only have days like this all October, we'd be very happy! Click on the pic to enlarge it.

My Yearly Treat

Every year, usually on the first Monday of October, we enter a team into the Hulbert Memorial, an Ontario PGA event. It's a real treat for me because we get to play some fabulous courses, and this year the tournament was held at Thornhill Golf and Country Club. This wonderful Stanley Thompson-designed golf course - my first time there - is celebrating its 90th birthday this year. Fortunately the weather was great, sunny and mild most of the day. And needless to say, it was fun to play this challenging and very scenic golf course. Here's a view of the first hole, taken with my modest phone camera:

It was fitting for Thornhill to host this event during its anniversary year, because Arthur Hulbert was its head professional during the early part of the 1940s. Mr. Hulbert passed away suddenly in 1945, and left his family with little means; and so the area golf pros held a benefit tournament to raise funds for the Hulbert family. The event continued, and now the Hulbert Fund benefits Ontario PGA pros who are in need of emergency support.

Ryder Cup All Around

Is it just me, or does the hubbub surrounding the Ryder Cup match seem a little more intense this year? Sure, the Rory/Tiger thing is good for some buzz, and Snedeker is in fine form - or has been, anyways.
Here's a great article from Bleacher Report, as well as some great pics, leading into today's match: Bleacher Golf - Ryder Cup

                                Here's Team Europe

I don't usually hear this much excitement about a match, outside of The Masters. And we'll take it!

The "August Shuffle"

It was quite a week here at Victoria Park East.

Usually, we aerate our green during the Monday and Tuesday of the last week of August; but this year, David DeCorso engineered what I would like to call a "surgical strike" of aerating - with all his staff on board and some help from a local company, he managed to aerate all the greens, fairways, and tees in a 3-day period! Talk about cracking the whip! So the inconvenience to golfers is minimized. In the past, fairways would have been done some time in September, and tees after that. The aerating bonanza moves over to our new Victoria Park Valley on September 4th. Here's one of the crew (actually that's my son Alex), cleaning up around the freshly-aerated 1st tee.

This is also the last day of our successful string of Junior Camps. Gordon Crossman can now relax a bit, and get ready for his fall lesson schedule (it's never too late in the season for golf lessons!).

Also at this time of year, some of our staff head back to college or university, and so it becomes a bit of a challenge for us to maintain a balanced schedule. September is our second-busiest month for tournaments and events; but the shorter days can work in our favour, in terms of staffing all of our departments.

And of course, the 2012 PGA Tour calendar is almost on its last page, with 3 more playoff events and 6 more tournaments to round out the year. Saskatchewan's Graham Delaet's exciting finish at last weeks' Barclay's vaulted him, like, 60 spots up the FedEx Cup standings, so that was great to see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him to have a great finish this season.

                                                      Graham Delaet

2012 Club Championships!

On the Civic  holiday long-weekend of Saturday August 4 to Monday August 6, Victoria Park East held its annual Club Championships. We had a great turn-out this year with the most people in attendance ever! With members bringing their spouses and children, it was a great weekend overall! The weather couldn't have been better for our players as we had a hot one on the Saturday and bringing the tournament to an end on the Monday with a tad cooler temperatures. A big thank-you goes out to all those who participated in the tournament and to our sponsors Wally Escott and Sandy Ferguson of Speedpro Imaging.  Congratulations to this years Club Champion, Dennis Back and Ladies Club Champion, Lori Bishenden!  Looking forward to next year!

25th Anniversary of the Guelph Wish Fund

On Saturday July 14, Victoria Park East hosted the 25th annual Guelph Wish Fund for Children Golf Tournament. It's great to be involved in this event, and 25 years is an excellent run.
What started as a "Club Challenge" among a few service clubs in the Guelph area, soon became a full-on tournament with a dance afterwards. Now it's one of two major fundraising events for the Wish Fund, the other being the Dinner & Dance Gala in February.
Here's my post last year, about the event and Ron Asselstine's well-deserved retirement from the committee:
http://victoriaparkgolf.blogspot.ca/2011/07/fun-games-whole-lot-more.html

Below is a picture of Christine and Barry Scutt, winners of the Alan Ferris Memorial Award and golf committee members since day one.

Congratulations Christine and Barry, and thanks to all who participated.

A Four-Year Wait

Golf will return to the Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, after a 112-year absence. So I guess another 4 years of waiting isn't so bad.
Interestingly, the 1904 gold medal winner in mens' individual play was a Canadian, George S. Lyon; but in team play it was a sweep for the U.S. team.
Needless to say, golf's inclusion in the 2016 (and also committed in the 2020 games) is huge for the sport. The global exposure to all age levels will be significant, and we anticipate that interest in golf among young people will surge - similar to what we saw during the crest of Tiger Woods' career.

Here's a photo of the venerable Mr. Lyon "back in the day".

More Fun & Games

It's been a challenging few weeks, in the background of the business anyways, here at Victoria Park East. I honestly came to the conclusion that we've become haunted by a "ghost in the machine"!
It began on last Friday morning with our main system server crashing. And I mean Crashing! Not only that, our back-up drive crashed simultaneously, and hadn't backed-up our data. At first glance, it appeared that we lost 2 weeks worth of work, plus anything that had been entered on the tee sheet for future dates within that 2 weeks. So, a nightmare... but the fine folks at HLB System Solutions and Recovery Force saved the day, and we were back up and running within 24 hours.
Then, the road construction crew accidentally severed the phone line to Victoria Rd. South. That took 24 hours to straighten out.
And it didn't stop there... walk-in cooler compressors, PA system in the banquet hall...FAIL.
I guess if there's a silver lining, it's the fact that the road construction at our doorstep actually hasn't scared away as much business as we thought it would. The golfers are still coming, and we appreciate their frustration with getting here. For now, the only way you can get here is northbound on Victoria Rd. from the Arkell Rd. intersection.

Fun & games!

Just What We Like to See...

Bring your child to the golf course for some "quality time"!
We had a fabulous grand opening weekend at our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club. Lots of people came by for a visit, or brought their clubs to the driving range, or even played the course.
We promoted the weekend as a "family friendly" event, and it was great to see so many come out.
This Saturday May 26, the final 9 holes will open at the Valley, so all 27 will be in play.

A Change in Direction

You may find driving to the East course a bit more challenging , as our Northbound access is closed due to construction. The detour will take you to Gordon Street, then follow Stone Road and go Southbound onto Victoria Road South. Ignore the restricted "local traffic" signs going Southbound on Victoria Road South, because the East Course is considered "local". Thank-you all for your patience, and I will do my best to update you all on the progress of the construction!

Let 'er Rip!

Opening day at our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club, Saturday April 28. First to tee off (left to right): Head Pro Rob Douglas, Superintendent Jason Sewell, General Manager David DeCorso and President Ted DeCorso give high-fives after the inaugural shots. Only David hit the green on this par 3! I teed-off an hour later with my son Alex and his girfriend Eve, and cousins Dan & Kim Berdusco. It was a great day, chilly, but definitely worth it.

We opened with 18 of the 27 holes, the other 9 will open early in June. Give a call and come out for a visit - (519) 821-1441.

Scenes from a Fire

Probably not what you'd expect to see at the entrance to a new golf course! Last Sunday, April 22, Puslinch Fire Department did a controlled burn of the old (Paul) Valeriote house, on the property of what is now Victoria Park Valley Golf Club. This was, of course, all pre-arranged. Local residents were notified of the early-morning firefighter practice session and eventual burn, but the significant smoke cloud drew a crowd of curious onlookers from miles around.
The area has since been cleared by heavy equipment, and Valley owner Ted DeCorso plans to build a house on (roughly) the same spot.

From left to right: Dan Berdusco, Ted DeCorso, David DeCorso, and Jason Sewell paused for a quick photo op, just as the Puslinch Firefighters began to douse the burn. David is Victoria Park Valley's General Manager, and Jason is the Superintendent.
Victoria Park Valley Golf Club will open on Saturday April 28... come hell, high water or fire!

Victoria Park Valley Website

Woops, forgot to put this in my last post: the direct link to Victoria Park Valley's website:
http://www.victoriaparkvalley.com/pg/2/Guelph-Golf-Course-Victoria-Park-Valley-Executive-Golf-Club.aspx

"Are we there yet?"

Like kids on a long car trip, we're being asked all the time about the opening of our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club. Well kids, we're alomst there!

1. Saturday April 28 will be the inaugural day of golf, with the members getting first crack at the tee times. The public will be able to play in the afternoon.
   


2. Friday May 18 there will be an "Invitation Only" luncheon and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
   


3. Saturday May 19 is our "Grand Opening Day", all invited, from 11:00 until 4:00. There will be lots of activities planned for the whole family, with proceeds going to the Guelph Wish Fund for Children.

The golf course will open with 18 of the 27 holes, with the last 9 ready for play early in June. More details will be forth-coming!

New Public Mens League

Victoria Park East and the new Victoria Park Valley are starting a Public Mens Golf League. It will run on Thursdays beginning May 17, for 16 weeks - 8 games at each course. It will be a 9-hole format, and golfers of all skill levels are invited to apply. Click this link to download a brochure with all the details and an application: http://bit.ly/HWDuvl or call the Pro Shop at (519) 821-2211. Spread the word!

We've Set a Record!

What a week! We opened the golf course - fully - on Friday (March 16), and we were partially open since last Tuesday. This is definitely an "early opening" record for us. And it's been BUSY...

The above picture was taken on Saturday March 17 at about 10am, just as the fog was lifting. Of course, the topic of conversation among many of the golfers: "is this the earliest you've been open"?
I'll qualify an answer. In terms of being fully open - all 18 greens & tees, driving range, and carts on the course - then yes, this is the earliest. There have been years when we've partially opened at around this time (I can remember one year in the late '90s, we opened the temporary layout during the second week of March) but late March or early April usually surprises us with one last patch of snow, so we're bracing for the possibility of it. After all, it is, technically, still winter.
This is in stark contrast to last year - you may remember the dismal spring we had! So we'll take this anytime.

Time "Marches" On!

Wow, February was a blur. Lots happening and lots left to do, with the impending grand opening of our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club. And here at Victoria Park East, we're reminded that March has arrived because so have boxes of new stock! So Jay has some work cut out for him.

The weather looks favourable for an early opening - heck, anything before March 31 is an early opening! Check out this screen-grab from The Weather Networks 14-day trend for Guelph:

Looking for the Right Person!

2012 is going to be a fabulous year for us here at Victoria Park Golf Club: the Spring opening of our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club is creating a lot of interest.

We've decided to create a marketing position to help drive that level of interest throughout the season, at both courses! So if you're a college or university student that is currently enrolled in a Business or Marketing program, or who is about to graduate and is keen to get some hands on experience, this may interest you. Here are the details:

http://www.victoriaparkgolf.com/uploads/Marketing%20Job%20poster.pdf

The Money Stream

Here's an interesting article by Sympatico Sport's Robert Thomposon about PGA players' paycheques, and how the endorsement factor is crucial to many of them:

http://bit.ly/zrsBno

It's no secret that stardom in any sport will translate into big $$ from the endorsement market. What's interesting to me is the number of opportunities available to garner these endorsements... if you're the right player, that is!

More Winter Projects

Jay Pembleton, our Head Pro, is quite a handy guy... he's building himself a new office in our Pro Shop where the shoe rack used to be.

Our main office will be administering both the East course and the new Victoria Park Valley course, and an extra office staffer will be moving in.

So we politely booted Jay out of the main office into his own little domain. But he won't mind... lots of places to hide a little cooler!

Up & Down like a Yo-Yo

This has been one weird winter so far - I feel for the ski operators! Minimal snow, and temperatures that go up and down like a kiddie coaster. Above is a screen grab from The Weather Network showing the 14-day forecast for Guelph.
Our Superintendant David DeCorso and I were talking yesterday, I asked him about the state of the turf out on the golf course. You may recall, in the winter of 2010, many southern Ontario golf courses suffered severe turf damage from a January freeze/thaw cycle.

However, this winter doesn't look as bad, according to David, because the lack of melted snow means no significant ice build-up on the greens - that's the main culprit.

We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Here's to a New Year

We're back in the office, after a (somewhat) relaxing Christmas break. Lots to do...
2012 will be a challenging year, not only because of our new golf course opening in the Spring (Victoria Park Valley), but also to work hard at improving our level of play here at Victoria Park East. By level, I mean quantity as well as quality!

We'll be working on some great new promotions for the upcoming season. Stay tuned, and visit our website often: http://www.victoriaparkgolf.com/default.aspx

And for your info, here's our 2012 Membership info - lots of options to choose from. Plus, a new "Combined Membership" for both courses: http://www.victoriaparkgolf.com/uploads/Membership%20Pamphlet%202012%20revised.pdf