Time to honour Aitken, Robertson: Hitchcock
Late head pros did ‘so much’ for junior players: NHL coach, Edmonton native
Ken Hitchcock, coach of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, would like to see the City of Edmonton do something of permanence for the two faces of public golf in Edmonton: Johnny Aitken and Sandy Robertson.
“So many of us owe so much to those two guys,” Hitchcock said of Robertson, who passed away late last year and Aitken, who died in 2008.
“There has to be something we can do.”
Before hanging up his shingle at the Glendale golf course, Robertson was the head pro at Riverside Golf Course from 1962 to 1979; Aitken was the head pro at the Victoria Golf Course from 1950 to 1993.
Born in Edmonton and a Riverside “Rat” himself, Hitchcock said Robertson and Aitken “embraced golf. Especially junior golf. For us muni players, they made life so much better. They were both constantly dipping into their own pockets whether it was free lessons, clubs, balls or just babysitting a lot of us. We weren’t exactly a day at the beach to handle,” said Hitchcock.
“At Riverside, Sandy got us out of hot water a bunch of times and I know Johnny did the same for junior golfers at Victoria. There has to be something lasting we can do for those two guys.”
SCENE
Edmonton Windermere’s Jason Martens, 15, recently won the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s stop at River’s Edge golf course in Okotoks, taking the 14-16 age category by three shots over Calgary’s Derek Roach.
Martens shot back-to-back rounds of 74-74. David Richer, another Edmonton Windermere player, finished another three shots back in third.
The MJT Tour also stopped at The Links in Spruce Grove. There, Glendale’s Tyler Saunders put together eight birdies in the final round alone to easily take the 14-16 age division. Saunders, 16, who shot rounds of 73-67, ended up winning by a whopping 12 shots.
“I hit it quite well each day and made a ton of putts (in the second round),” said Saunders, who plays out of the Glendale.
“It is a great way to start off the year with my low tournament round.”
In the 17-19 age boys age group, yet another Windermere golfer, Kieran Standen, was the low local golfer, finishing third with rounds of 80-74. ❚ A couple of Edmonton-area courses, the Royal Mayfair and Wolf Creek, have made substantial renovations.
As they did with the front nine in the fall of 2010, all of the bunkers on the back nine of Royal Mayfair were reconstructed with new bases, drainage and sand, and the railroad ties on the water features on holes 10, 11 and 18 were all replaced with grass which slopes to the rocks and then the water. Further, they added new back tees on two holes, lengthening No. 13 by 40 yards and No. 18 by 45 yards.
One of the biggest changes was on No. 10, which has gone from what was a somewhat quirky Par 5 to a very solid and demanding Par 4.
“We are now a par 70, but haven’t lost any yardage from the old Par 71,” said head professional Robb James.
At Wolf Creek, designer Rod Whitman brought some new looks to the Old Course, specifically improving the playability of Nos. 2, 4 and 12.
“The trees on the left side of No. 2 were removed, providing muchimproved visuals to the left side of the fairway,” said director of golf Ryan Vold.
“The left side of No. 4 has also seen the removal of a couple trees again improving players’ sightlines from the tee.
“And No. 12 really has everyone buzzing with the removal of the large spruce tree on the left side of the fairway near the 150 marker. Taking this tree out now gives players the chance to do their best Bubba Watson impression and curve the ball around the trees from the fairway.
“We’ve also removed rails all around the course, allowing carts into the fairways on a 90-degree basis and giving the paths a much cleaner look.”
NOTED
The Canadian Tour’s ATB Classic, presented by Telus — June 21-24, is quickly creeping up and they are short on caddies.
“Caddying for a Tour pro is a wonderful opportunity to view worldclass golf from inside the ropes,” said Tim Garbutt, the tournament’s executive director of the $175,000 tournament, which will be played at the Edmonton Windermere golf course.
“No previous experience is required. All that is required is a good attitude and the ability to walk 18 holes and carry a bag.”
Go to www.atbfinancialclassic.com to register. ❚ Chris Seetoo aced No. 8 at Goose Hummock from 117 yards with a gap wedge. ❚ Patricia Giffen of Sherwood Park aced No. 3 at Coloniale — a six-iron from 126 yards. ❚ Edmonton’s Joel Barabe-Eland went to Pipestone Links golf course in Millet to get his hole-in-one — using a seven-iron from 160 yards on No. 6. ❚ Belvedere head pro Kyle Brandt teamed up with former club champion Gord Selman to win the Alberta PGA’s Tournament of Champions at Lacombe edging out the Edmonton Petroleum Club’s Keith Whitecotton and Connor Grimes in a twohole playoff. Selman birdied both playoff holes. A two-man best-ball event, both teams finished regulation at 7-under 64. ❚ In another APGA event, this one in Innisfail, Wetaskiwin’s Steven Shantz of Montgomery Glen won after shooting a 3-under 69. Billy D’s Luke McKenzie, who lost a playoff at Northern Bear last week, finished third at even par. ❚ With Northern Bear’s water issues resolved, it’s great to see the course back in top shape. “There’s a whole new energy out here; everyone is rejuvenated,” said head professional Jay Barrett. “Things have been incredible; we’ve come a long way.”
Have they ever. High sodium content in their two reservoirs was choking the course and stunting root growth leaving both the greens and fairways sparse. Now, not only has that issue been resolved, but they also have a waterline in place that can be used as a backup.