Taking advantage of the beautiful weather this past winter and current spring, golfers are hitting the links at the earliest time in a quarter of a century.
The Innisfail Golf Club officially opened for the season on April 8, well ahead of schedule.
“This will be the earliest we've opened in about 25 years,” said Darren Black, club manager. “Last year we opened April 11 and this year we are opening April 8.”
The club opened with nine holes on Friday and 18 holes on Saturday. “We are booked solid Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he added.
It is looking to be an exciting season for the club, which is opening up its new multi-million dollar clubhouse this season, hosting the 2016 Memorial Cup Golf Tournament on May 26, as well as the Alberta Amateur Golf Championships from July 18 to 22.
Other recent changes include a new intermediate membership for 24- to 29-year-old golfers, and a new website with a new design.
The website www.innisfailgolf.ca contains blogs for several departments including turf care, food and beverage and the pro-shop, and also includes testimonials and new photos, noted Black.
The new clubhouse has been several months in the making and is scheduled to open in early May.
“We were due for a new clubhouse,” said Black. “We have a first class golf facility, we have a first class pro-shop and our cart shed is state of the art.”
The new clubhouse will be bigger and will provide a larger dining area and some new added features. They include a large outdoor patio overlooking the golf course that can seat up to 40 people, a new snack shack for golfers, wheelchair accessibility, as well as improved and updated health and safety regulations.
“All of it had to do with getting to code with washroom facilities. It also had to do with our kitchen facilities and getting them to code. That's a lot of the much-needed rebuild,” said Black. “We could seat 72 to 78 people in the old building (dining area) and now we can seat 100 or more.”
In addition, there is a new meeting room that will be available for about 10 to 40 people and new items added to the menu this year.
“It'll be nice to have a new facility that matches the rest of our facilities,” said Black. “I hope people will support this new facility. It's a new place to eat in town and our food is excellent.
“We are going to add some pasta (dishes) which we've never had before and some minor seafood items,” he added.
A grand opening for the new clubhouse is scheduled for this June.
“It's open for everyone. The Innisfail Golf Club is not private. You don't have to come here and golf or be a member,” he said. “You can come here and have lunch or have supper. We are open to the public.”
The feedback he's received about the new clubhouse is positive.
“People have said it's an extremely nice building and many are looking forward to it opening,” said Black. “People are excited.”
Darren Black
"It'll be nice to have a new facility that matches the rest of our facilities. I hope people will support this new facility. It's a new place to eat in town and our food is excellent."
