Fairway fever
Cape Breton courses preparing for season as cloud of uncertainly looms
NORTH SYDNEY — Glenn Joseph’s quest for a fourth hole-in-one is on hold.
But given the rarity of scoring an ace, the 63-yearold avid golfer isn’t overly worried about achieving the feat again. After all, he has plenty of ammunition in his bag when it comes to a little playful one-upmanship while out on the course with his buddies.
No, as the calendar turns from April to May, Joseph’s main concern is just getting out onto the links to play the game he has come to love since first picking up the sticks some four decades ago.
“No golf? I can’t even imagine that. If that happens it’s going to be a long summer, a very long summer,” said the longtime member of North Sydney’s Seaview Golf and Country Club.
Joseph golfs a lot. He jokes that he usually golfs at least once a day, but says four or five times per week is his usual summer norm. It’s safe to say the Sydney man, who is a member of the renowned hockey-playing Joseph family, is probably one of the more fanatical golfers in Cape Breton.
But his sentiments are not exclusive.
With golfing equipment, accessories and pre-paid green fees high on the Christmas wish list of many Canadians, it goes without saying that golf-starved enthusiasts in Cape Breton, like elsewhere, are chomping at the bit to shake off the dreariness of a long winter.
Lingan Golf Club general manager Donnie Rowe is all too familiar with his members’ collective anticipation of a new golf season.
“Obviously, not knowing when we will be able to open the course is frustrating to everybody, but the people I feel most for are the ones that got new gear for Christmas, maybe a new driver that they just can’t wait to use,” said Rowe.
“It’s difficult enough to wait for golf season to get started in normal times, so I know all the golfers are eager to get there and play once we get the all-clear.”
In the meantime, Rowe said preparations for the upcoming season are continuing at the venerable golf club that has been around for more than a century.
“We are working to get the golf course ready for whenever the ban is lifted and while the latest snowstorms have pushed us back a bit we’re fairly confident that we’ll be ready whenever the government says we can open,” he said.
The situation is much the same at other Cape Breton golf courses that usually open or are about to open at this time of year.
“We’re getting ready, but it’s still a wait-and-see situation at the moment,” acknowledged Seaview vice-president Craig Ivey. “We know our members are chomping at the bit to get out and play, but it’s out of our control – all we can do it be prepared to go ahead when we can.”
Indeed, the Atlantic Allied Golf Associations, which includes the Nova Scotia Golf Association, issued a statement last week acknowledging the uncertainly surrounding the re-opening of businesses, institutions and activities such as golf.
“It is our goal that golf can be one of the businesses allowed to open during the first wave of openings given its ability to include guidelines for our clubs to follow that will allow for safe operation while offering an opportunity for the physical and mental well-being of our citizens,” reads a highlighted paragraph in the message text.
Of course, golf courses and clubs are not immune to the same COVID-19-related financial and social hardships that are plaguing all aspects of the economy and society. Even opening with restrictions such as social distancing, one-person per cart rules and touchless flags, the golf business will suffer.
Along with memberships and green fees, many clubs rely on presently-banned extra-curricular revenue streams such as pro shop sales, bars, canteens, restaurants and even venue rentals for weddings and parties.
But for golfers like Glenn Joseph, it’s about more than dollars and cents, it’s about more than the joy of just being on the course, it’s about more than going after that fourth hole-on-one.
“You know, this is the time of year when you are looking forward to get together with your buddies, playing some golf and having a couple of ‘Kool-Aids’ – it’s as much about the socialization,” said the milk product delivery specialist, whose early mornings on the job have allowed him the luxury of being able to play golf on a regular basis.
“Four of us were actually supposed to be in Florida this week for a few rounds of golf – that obviously was cancelled and the boys are disappointed, but I’m optimistic, I know we’ll be golfing soon.”
How soon that will be in Nova Scotia remains uncertain. However, Canadians in other parts of the country, such as British Columbia, are already playing golf. Closer to home, golf courses are likely to be among the first businesses to open as Prince Edward Island prepares to ease some of its coronavirus related restrictions.
For now, Joseph’s quest for a fourth hole-in-one remains on pause. He may never ace a par-three hole again, but at this point just getting out onto the course is sure to feel just as good as a hole-inone, an outrageous putt, a spectacular iron shot or even a ferocious drive down the middle of the fairway.
Fore!