The Cooke Municipal Golf Course received some positive news on Wednesday.
Golf Saskatchewan announced that six of their individual championships will take place as planned this year, with the most notable being the 101st senior men’s and 57th senior women’s championships that will be held in Prince Albert from July 28-30.
“It was a little bit of a surprise as we had known about the national championships getting cancelled earlier this week and each province is in different stages as they work through their COVID-19 situations there,” Cooke Municipal Golf Course head professional Darcy Myers said on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s exciting to know that the event will be taking place, but there’s some work we’ll be doing with Golf Saskatchewan in regards to making sure that the proper protocols and safety aspects are in place before the tournament begins.”
Wednesday’s announcement from Golf Saskatchewan is something that has been in the works for some time as the organization has been in contact with the provincial government on a regular basis as the sport resumed play.
“Our staff here has been working diligently with the government,” Golf Saskatchewan manager of tournaments Steve Ryde said. “We’ve been watching the guidelines change on a weekly and daily basis, which has allowed us to make changes to our plans.
“We got everything confirmed for the provincial tournaments on Wednesday and all of our host courses were on board. It’s been exciting to get back out and golf again, but there’s always some extra excitement when you add that extra level of competition to it.”
In addition to the seniors, four other major events will be held next month.
The women’s amateur will take place at the Willows Golf and Country Club in Saskatoon from July 9-11, the junior men’s and women’s events are slated for July 14-16 at the Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current and the men’s amateur will be hosted by The Legends Golf Club in Warman from July 21-24.
“There will obviously be a different look and feel to the events,” Ryde said. “The flag will have to remain in place and we’re going by what each host club is doing for the guidelines. Also, there will be no rakes in the bunkers, which means that we’ll have local rules there for relief situations.
“In terms of having fans at the event, right now with the current guidelines that are in place the maximum amount of people in a group setting in 30. We hope that we can allow spectators to come out, but we’ll see how the guidelines are closer to the events.”
Registration for the senior provincials will open on Golf Saskatchewan’s website on Friday morning, with entries being accepted until 5 p.m. on July 25.
“We’re not really sure as to the number of competitors that will be taking part as of yet,” Ryde said.
“With Cooke being such a prestigious course, I think we’ll see a lot of local talent in the field and many golfers coming in from around the province. It’s an outstanding course and we’re looking forward to having the event there.”
Meanwhile, business has been steady at Cooke since their season started last month.
“Everyone has been enjoying themselves so far and it’s been busy here since opening day,” Myers said.
“It’s been a bit of a learning curve for all of us, but everyone has been respecting the rules and safety is of utmost importance for all of us here at the course.”
