Golf courses around the province were busy last spring as golfers returned to the links in the middle of May following a delayed start to the season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s proven to be the case once again this year as the 2021 golf season has begun in earnest for many clubs in Saskatchewan.
“It’s been really busy here since we opened up on the range on April 6 and then the course itself on April 15,” Fairview Fairways CPGA golf pro Gord Hobson said on Tuesday. “I think everyone’s been anxious to get back outside and do activities, especially for families and couples.
“Everyone has to follow the COVID regulations and the things that were put in place last year, but it has been super busy since we opened for business again.”
Kachur’s Golf Course also had a busy start to their season when they welcomed golfers on April 16 and the Mark’s 9 Golf Course has had a steady stream of participants since they opened up last Friday.
“The weather hasn’t been very nice but we still had people out today (Tuesday) when it was chilly,” Wendy Cartier of Mark’s 9 said.
“We’ve kept everything the same as it was last year in terms of the COVID-19 protocols that are in place already as everything ran smoothly in 2020.”
After opening up their range a little over a week ago, the Cooke Municipal Golf Course is set to open for business on Wednesday morning.
“Everyone here is excited and ready to go,” Cooke head golf pro Darcy Myers said. “It’s been a long winter and it’s been nice to see the tee sheets fill up fast once again.
“It’s very similar to what we saw last year where the tee sheets were full all day and every day. There’s a lot of new people that have taken up the game and there are other people that are back playing after being away for a few years.”
After an abbreviated tournament schedule last year, Cooke is planning to host its usual slate of major events, with the Northern Team Championship taking place on May 22 and 23, the Ladies’ Northern on June 5 and 6 and the Senior Men’s Northern at a yet to be finalized date in the middle of August.
The biggest event at the course this season will be the 100th edition of the Men’s Northern, which will run from July 31 to Aug. 2.
“We started planning for that last year and we had all kinds of different scenarios with the restrictions that are currently in place and what we can and cannot do at the moment,” Myers said.
“We’re really excited to have the chance to host the event and we have a couple of pretty cool things planned for that weekend, but we’re keeping those under our hat for now.”
The Waskesiu Golf Course at Prince Albert National Park has yet to announce their opening date, but they have released the schedule for their annual Lobstick tournaments.
The Senior Men’s Lobstick, which will run from June 8-10, and the Men’s Lobstick, which will take place from June 14-19, both have full entry lists and golfers that are looking to take part in both tournaments will be placed on a waiting list
Entries are still open for the Junior Men’s Lobstick on Aug. 16-20 and the Ladies’ Lobstick on Aug. 23-27.
