New Golf Course On The Way!

Construction began this summer on Victoria Park Valley, a 27-hole executive-length golf course located about 4 kms. south of Victoria Park East, the the north-east corner of Maltby Rd. and Victoria Rd. South in Puslinch Township.

This project is a co-venture with Victoria Park East and West, and it will replace the West course, which is slated to close at the end of the 2011 golf season (the West course property will be developed into a residential site). So, if everything goes according to plan, Victoria Park Valley will open for business in Spring 2012.


The picture above is looking west towards Victoria Rd. Construction has been progressing very well since the late spring, and project manager David DeCorso has been expertly juggling this project, as well as the constant demands of the East course. Here's an interesting picture of David, checking out a major vein of sand that was discovered on the property:

The golf course was designed by Scott Covell, and most of the property's natural features were incorporated into the plan. Very little earth-moving had to be done. The landscape is excellently suited to a links-style layout.

At this point (August 24th) most of the "A9" holes are shaped and top-soiled, and are ready to be seeded. I'll update with more pics as the projects continues. We're very excited about this, and anticipate that it will be a great fit for area golfers who enjoy a shorter-length golf course.

Getting Back on the Wagon

Time flies when you're having fun... or having fun being busy! June and July went by like a blur, and here we are in August, staring at the down-slope of the 2010 golf season.
Pardon my absense from the blog-o-sphere; I did miss posting stuff during the last month or so. Jane and I were in Italy for our 25th anniversary during the first half of July - fantastic! It was our first time in Italy, and we enjoyed it tremedously, despite the heat (and I mean, HEAT). And of course it took me two weeks to get caught-up and get my head back into the golf business here at Victoria Park East.

So, more posts coming, there's some interesting news and info to pass along - especially with our new executive golf course now under construction!

Here's a small Guelph Mercury article from last week, quoting a couple of us local golf course owners about the state of the biz up 'til now:
http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/671816

Victoria Park Golf Club in Jessica's Walk

Victoria Park East & West Golf Clubs entered a team in the annual Jessica's Walk, a charity event in support of juvenile brain cancer research. This was our first time attending this event, and it was a great success for the charity: now in it's 5th year, they surpassed the $1 Million mark in contributions! It was a great day, we were happy to be a part of it.


The back of my Aunt Bonnie's and my brother
Paul's heads.

Team Victoria Park listening to a wonderful

and emotional speech by Wendy Durigon,

Jessica's mother.

L to R: Paul, Madeline, Elena, Reid (with the

Italian movie star sunglasses) Will with the

blue cap, and part of Sandy - all DeCorso's.

Starting point, with Jessica's picture.

Time Flies...

Well, it's been way too long since my last post. Here we are in June, the golf season is in full swing (pun intended), the tournament schedule is heating up... lots happening here at Victoria Park East. Not that I'm making excuses.

The last few weeks have certainly been busy. We've officially launched a "Rewards Card " for our members, and that took a lot of background work. Our new golf course on Maltby Rd. and Victoria Rd. South is starting to take shape, we're looking forward to a spring 2012 opening - the West course will remain open for the 2011 season.

And of course, Tiger Woods hasn't won a major this year... yet. I guess you got my 5 bucks, Brian!

I actually managed to play 2 rounds of golf this week. Unheard-of! It's great to see how the winter damage has basically healed, I would say, to almost 100%.

One more thing, the HST is almost here. That will add about 3 to 4 dollars onto a green fee, straight tax. We've been warning our customers, and haven't experienced a predicted backlash; at least, not yet!

PGA Tour "Halfway Point"

Hard to believe how quickly the season marches along. Here's an interesting article by PGATour's Rob Bolton, sort of a "report card" type of thing:
http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/05/12/fantasy-halfwaypoint-review/index.html/

It looks like Tiger Woods will take a break, nursing an inflamed neck joint. There goes my pool!

Picture of the North Channel

In my last blog entry, I mentioned that I'd post a pic from Manitoulin Island. We were there during the last weekend of April to attend a funeral (my wife's aunt, she was a very classy & hospitable lady) and the weather was beautiful. The ferry from Tobermory wasn't running yet, so it's a bit of a drive: up to Sudbury, west to Espanola, and across the swing bridge to the Island.

The picture was taken on Highway 6 just south of Little Current (the biggest town on Manitoulin). We're looking north-east, where the North Channel meets Georgian Bay. That's my sister-in-law Lori on the left, and my wife Jane on the right. What a spectacular view.

There are 3 golf courses on the Island, and 2 of them were open - very early for them! The 18-hole course in Manitouwaning had already cut most of the turf - again, very early. I've only played the 9-hole course in Mindemoya, Brookwood Brae, a fun & tight track with a few surprises! Definitely worth a visit.

May Showers & Flowers?

It's been awhile since my last post. My wife and I went to Manitoulin Island last weekend for a funeral, and it's otherwise been a busy week.

Some good news on the golf course: we now have all 18 greens open for play, just #6 has a small area at the front still roped off. The picture here is our 18th green. Conditions are improving nicely, and as you can see, the trees are starting to thicken up. Easier for me to hit them!

The weather hasn't been great for golf, and it looks like we have a "cold spell" coming. Oh well, c'est la vie... Speaking of Manitoulin Island, I'll post a great pic soon, that I took just south of Little Current, of the North Channel. Spectacular!