Edmonton-area courses suffer in recent deluge
Golf course general managers across Edmonton have been thinking of changing their titles to add “Yacht Club” or “Rowing Club” after all the rain that has fallen.
With some eight inches of rain in a span of just over a week, many courses were forced to temporarily shut down with saturated fairways. Most clubs also had ponds that never existed before. There were even a couple of mudslides.
“There was so much water coming down so fast that it overwhelmed the drainage capacity,” said Edmonton Country Club GM Gary Ward.
“We even had water coming in through two of our doors; there was water in places we’ve never seen before.”
Part of the retaining wall on No. 18 — which plays over a large ravine — also gave way at the Country Club.
“It was a bit of a shock arriving in the morning to see that part of the 18th tee had disappeared,” said Ward.
“We’ve had the pumps going non-stop. It’s just so wet. The grounds were so saturated that nothing was soaking in.”
Windermere also got hit hard with the hill on the left side of the driveway as you arrive at the course washing away, sending mud spilling down three of the fairways.
Glendale’s first fairway was so completely flooded that they had to play it as a par 4 instead of its usual par 5.
At the Derrick there were new ponds on No. 4 and No. 16. Very large ponds.
And there was so much standing water at Mill Woods that carts weren’t allowed on the course for four days.
However, rumours of a man with long hair and flowing white robes mumbl ing something about “cubits” while building what looked like an ark proved unfounded.
SCENE
Home-course advantage helped a couple of golfers this past week.
Jeff Cuthbertson won a one- day Alberta PGA Professional Series event at Cougar Creek. The former head pro at Cougar Creek — now working for TaylorMade — Cuthbertson defeated Ed Boni of The Ranch in a two-hole playoff after both shot 3-under 69s.
Then, in Calgary, Brayden Brown playing his home Carmoney Golf Club, won a Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour event, leaving Edmonton’s Brandon Zimmerman five shots back in second after rounds of 71-70.
“I played well. I just couldn’t catch Brayden,” said Zimmerman, who after attending Vimy Ridge Academy, is off to Portland’s Concordia University on a golf scholarship.
“I just tried to keep it in play. I didn’t miss many fairways and I hit most of the greens in regulation. My putter was real good too,” said Zimmerman, 18.
“I was happy with the result. I hadn’t had many rounds in the low 70s this year. I’m capable, but it was just a matter of everything coming together,” said Zimmerman, who won a Canadian Junior Golf Association last year and was also invited to play in the Euro Junior Golf Cup in Scotland which his team won.
In the APGA event, Drayton Valley’s Weston Gillett finished third with a 1-under 71; Luke McKenzie of Billy D’s Golf Centre was fourth with an even-par 72. Michael Paulson of the Edmonton Springs Golf Resort took fifth with a 73 while Kevin Day, the owner/ operator of Billy D’s, was sixth with a 74.
NOTED
This week’s hole-in-one list includes a first for the Camrose golf course: two aces in the same day and on the same hole. While it wasn’t like Jaret Olsen and Jordan Rayner getting back-to-back aces at Blackhawk a couple of weeks ago, David Lyseng and Sean Malone both did the trick at Camrose on No. 8 — both from 142 yards last Monday.
There were also two aces at The Ranch last week. A men’s league member as well as a course marshal at The Ranch, Les Rogers aced No. 3 from 140 yards with a 7-iron, while Toni Pukannich aced on No. 3 from 93 yards with a 5-hybrid.
In the 40th anniversary of the Redwater Oilman’s golf tournament, Dale Prodaniuk aced No. 3 with a pitching wedge from 133 yards on the Redwater golf course.
At Highlands, George Richardson shot his second hole-in-one of the year — and third in total — during men’s night, using a pitching wedge on No. 3 from 128 yards.
This is a nice story. Ray Meria, who opens up the Outside Golf Services at the Derrick, aced No. 8 at his home course — a 5-iron from 160 yards. Meria ended up shooting a 69, which is four strokes lower than his age.
“Ray simply leads by example for the younger staff,” Derrick head pro Trevor Goplin said of Meria, who was the former head pro at both the Fort McMurray GC and Miskanaw GC in Fort McMurray.
At Royal Mayfair, Dennis Erker aced No. 11 with a 7-wood from 171 yards. Erker was playing with Finley Mah, Terry Booth and Ron Mercer. With that group, I’m guessing a few dollars were won and lost on that shot.
And edmonton’s neil thomas had a hole-in-one in the third round of the Sun Life Financial Alberta Men’s Amateur on No. 7 at the Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club. That one, however, was bittersweet.
Entering the final round with a two-shot lead, Thomas ended up shooting a final round 77 to miss — by just one shot — getting into what ended up being a one-hole playoff which was won by Calgary Country Hills’ Riley Fleming.
Thomas had shot 68-70-69 over the first three days. Last year, Thomas finished second in the same tournament — losing in another playoff.