FLOOD WAS GLENCOE’S ‘BLESSING IN DISGUISE’
Rebuilt course will provide tough test for 49 of Canada’s best amateur golfers
It’s been five years since flooding ravaged southern Alberta.
And if anything good came out of it, outside of rousing community spirit, it’s the fact that several Calgary-area golf courses are now even better because of it.
While the reopening of Kananaskis has had people buzzing the last few months, the competitive golf world has been jacked up about the revamped Forest course at The Glencoe for several years.
This week 49 of the most talented amateur golfers from across Canada will mix with a handful of international players to vie for the 23rd Glencoe Invitational, starting Thursday.
And as the course has grown into one of the best tracks in Canada, the tourney has blossomed similarly.
“It’s fun to see the tournament rebuild, as well,” said Glencoe head pro Judy Forshner on Wednesday as players took their final free spins of the 7,500-yard beast.
“It had to be re-established after three years off and now we feel it’s bigger and stronger than ever — it’s now the No. 2 ranked amateur tournament in Canada behind the Canadian men’s amateur.”
Some in the field went a step further.
“I know a lot of guys think it’s even better than the Canadian Amateur,” said fourth-year entrant Travis Fredborg, the defending Manitoba Amateur champ who tied for second in 2015.
“This golf course is second to none — top 5 in Canada, no questions asked. It’s a good field, the staff does a great job — it’s a pleasure to come to. The Forest tests every part of your game and it’s scenic along the way. It’s stern yet fair.”
Fredborg said the course was “a monster” in 2015 — the tourney’s first year after the flooding — due largely to the new greens, which were hard and tricky to hold. They’ve softened every year since, but are still a few years from being perfect.
“We had the same sort of feedback from the members in 2006 from the Bridge course and they’re some of the best greens in the city now — they need about five years,” said Glencoe marketing director Natasha Sawatsky of the new greens built as part of extensive renovations to the Forest course and re-done after flooding wiped out the course nine days before its scheduled reopening in 2013.
“The flood was a blessing in disguise because we had a root zone mix that didn’t really work (on the greens). The flood gave us the opportunity to remove it and replace it with something more indigenous to Alberta.”
The result — some of the fastest, truest greens in the province.
“I’ve only heard positive things about the course other than some people find it too hard, and that’s fine,” shrugged Glencoe member Brendan MacDougall, Alberta’s two-time defending match play champion.
“I think it’s top 15 in this country, easy.”
As for the Invitational, which goes Thursday through Saturday, nothing would mean more to MacDougall than to win it.
“A lot of big amateur golfers around Canada and the U.S. and college players have heard about it — and some have played in it — and I think the best part is they say it’s their favourite event of the year,” he said.
“The whole atmosphere and the course — it’s awesome. I realize how big this tourney is and how awesome it would be for a member to win it because it has never happened.”
Currently ranked 35th in the nation by ScoreGolf, the revamped Forest is still the city’s best candidate to host a Canadian Open. Mickelson National, which is expected to open next year, is the only other course expected to be long enough to host the world’s best players at this altitude. Both will push to host the world’s best one day.
“The key for us is to have a great golf course and not worry about where we rank,” said Glencoe Club CEO Greg Lundmark, whose facility had to replace 260 acres of sod after the flood damage.
“Particularly with the Forest course, we think it’s a course second to none in Western Canada for competitive courses and recreational golfers. It’s a fun course, and if you have a mid-to-high handicap you don’t expect to score well.”
Extensive bunkering on all but one hole make sure of that.
“Best part, I think, is that the course, like the tournament, is going to continue to grow and improve,” added Forshner.
“It’s a real test for the players.”
This golf course is second to none — top 5 in Canada, no questions asked. ... The Forest tests every part of your game and it’s scenic along the way.