Easter Sunday marked the start of the golfing season for members of the Paddle River Golf and Country Club.
The greens were bustling with golfers eager to get back into the swing of things after a long winter, and continued to see members throughout the week and following weekend.
Club manager and greenskeeper Tracy Pess said the last few years the course has done well with about 30,000 coming through in 2013. Membership is already up from last year, and the course has a lot on the agenda for the 2014 season.
In addition to existing annual events like the Men’s Open, Ladies Open, Young and Old Tournament, as well as the Seniors Open coming up at the end of May, Pess said the club is interested in launching a mixed tournament.
Though no plans have been made as of yet, there’s a good chance one will probably take place this summer.
“We haven’t had one before, and we’ve had a few people ask us why we don’t have a mixed tournament,” said Pess.
Paddle River was one of the recipients of the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games Legacy Grant, receiving $5,000. Pess said the money will go towards redoing the club’s deck, because the wood has been rotting over the years due to the moisture.
“We’ll put a new railing on the deck, new floor boards,” he said. “That’s what we needed, to redo the deck because it was getting a little bit old.”
After undergoing snow removal, water removal, and general maintenance, the greens are in tip top shape.
Pess began the snow removal process March 8 and 9 when he had a couple days off from his winter job. Once the snow comes off, a chemical is applied to the greens in order to prevent snow mold disease. The chemical is also put down in the fall, and this year it paid off.
Though there are small spots of disease, the miniscule dead areas are few and far between.
“These are the best greens I’ve seen in the seven years I have been here,” said Pess. “I have talked to some people who have spots on their greens, and ice damage.
We got away lucky. We had some ice on our greens too, but I guess not as thick as theirs.”
Besides being a little wet, Pess is confident the course is in good shape for the start of the season. Normally there are about three bad spots that need to be roped off, however this year there is less water than usual.
“I think when it melted in January that took a lot of the snow away on us. That’s why we don’t have the big water puddles,” said Pess.
Pess rented three water pumps at the beginning of April, in addition to the course’s personal pump, all of which have been running to rid the greens of excess water from rain and melted snow.
All of the water will eventually drain back into the Paddle River.
The big wind in Jan. brought down a lot of branches on the course, said Pess, who has been picking up branches for the last two weeks. Most of the preparation for opening the course is maintenance, he added.
“You put everything out that you brought in. The ball washers, garbages, the benches, tee boxes,” he said. “A lot of it is cleanup.”
Even the outhouses have a new paint job.
Assistant manager Mariet Kosterbok is also busy in the Pro Shop, ordering in new supply to make sure golfers will have their pick of top new gear.
“She’s got all bags, clubs, carts, all new stuff,” said Pess. “We try to get rid of it at the end of the year. A lot of times we don’t have much left.”
