Post-Masters Hangover

What a weekend! We finally got the course fully open here at Victoria Park East, and had a great crowd of rusty golfers here on Saturday (April 9th). But by the end of the weekend, our opening day excitement was supplanted by a fabulous final round at Augusta. There's already been a lot of analysis and comment about Charl Schwartzel's predominance on the final 9 - so I won't add to it... much. In my humble opinion, it was the un-expectedness of some of the names in the finishing field that made it really great. Anyways, April marches on, the grass is greening-up nicely, and warmer air is on its way. Come out and golf!

Hello, 2011 Season!

It's official: we will open our driving range and temporary 9-hole layout tomorrow (Thursday April 7th). Finally. And, if conditions are good, we should have the whole course open by Saturday (April 9th).

We've been looking forward to this for awhile.

David DeCorso, our Superintendent and General Manager, has started his own blog. He'll discuss the "turf" side of the business, as well as up-coming plans for our new golf course, Victoria Park Valley. Here's his link:

http://daviddecorso.blogspot.com/

Finally, here's a shot of our 1st tee, taken this morning at about 8:15

Still Getting Ready...

We've been keeping busy getting ready for the season, despite this snow-induced haitus. One important thing we did change: we've gone back to quoting our greens-fee prices "Tax In". Last year, many golf courses opted to change this practice and quote the prices "plus tax" due to the introduction of the HST on July 1st 2010. We felt that it would be important for the customer to know how much the actual greens fee was, and how much was tax. Well, according to our front-line staff, most customers really just wanted to know "the bottom line". So, back we go. In rounding-off our tax-in rates, the regular greens fees become a little cheaper this year (believe it or not!). Here's the link to our 2011 regular rates: http://www.victoriaparkgolf.com/ViewPage.aspx?pg=66 And here's a pic of our first tee, taken this morning at about 8:30. It looks like we're still a couple weeks away from opening. That snow storm last Wednesday really set us back. Bummer!

DaVinci and Michaelangelo in the Pro Shop!

Here they are, folks, "Leonardo DaVinci" Teeter and "Michaelangelo" Williams with their paint brushes out, adding their version of the Sistine Chapel to our humble pro shop!

Stop by and have a look... and make sure to compliment them when you see them on the golf course.

Mike Weir in 2011

I'm a big Mike Weir fan. Not just as a PGA Tour player and Masters champion, but as a supporter of Junior Golf in Canada, as well as other great initiatives.

Coming off elbow surgery before the end of last season, Mike's now in the process of getting his game back. Needless to say, it ain't easy!

Here's a great article from our local paper, well worth reading:

http://bit.ly/fRwHbj

It certainly Is a Different Year!

At this time last year, we were very close to opening the golf course! I was in Niagara Falls for a few days during March Break, and we were walking around with short-sleeves and basking in the warm sun. We even had our driving range and temporaries open during that time.

Not this year!

Environment Canada has forecast a cooler-than-usual March, even going into April. So an "early" opening isn't in the cards.

On the plus side, the turf conditions appear to be very favourable, as opposed to last year, when we experienced the worst winter-kill ever. Good snow cover and gradual temperature shifts will keep the grass happy.

Above is a shot of our lonely 1st Tee, taken at 8:15 this morning.

Pro Shop News: Some new stock has arrived, specifically great-looking bags by Titleist, Callaway and Taylor Made; Footjoy shoes; and some clothing. Come on out and have a look!

A Struggle for the Next Generation

One of the main hurdles that many golf courses encounter is the need to keep the game of golf an attractive sporting option for young people.

Over the past few years, we've lived through a few events that have taken the "caché" from golf, in the perceptions of some of these junior players: the "star power" of Tiger Woods, and all of the cool endorsement stuff that went along with it, has definitely waned - and no other pro golfer has replaced Tiger on that very high "mass marketing" pedestal; and here in Canada, Mike Weir's fantastic Masters win is slowly becoming an historical bookmark, and (arguably) no other Canadian golfer has since hit that high a mark.

Although we welcome, and encourage, the game of golf for any age level, it's critical for us to promote the game among juniors. And with all the new technology and diversions that are appealing to this younger market, the challenge will be huge. "Thinking outside the box" has never sounded more appropriate!