OLDS — The Olds Golf Club could open as early as April 28 – if the weather is good, pro/manager Randy Brown says.
If not, at this point it’s unclear when it might open.
“I mean we’re in Alberta, so it’s weather permitting,” Brown said during an interview with the Albertan.
“That’s the goal at the moment and it could change on either side of that if we got some really nice warm weather or if we got some cold, snowy weather.
“Let’s hope for the former and we get some really nice, warm weather.”
This will be Brown's first season at the helm.
Late last year, after serving as assistant pro for a couple of years, Brown took over as pro/manager from Wade Bearchell, who retired after serving the course for nearly 20 years.
There are some staff or contract changes as well.
Jeff Johnstone is back as assistant pro, backfilling Brown’s old job. Johnstone used to have that same job from 2008 to 2012.
Also, RC Eats will be providing food and beverage services, as they did at the Olds Curling Club this past winter.
Brown is pleased to have them aboard as Sam and Lieke who run the business are local residents. He said the previous food and beverage manager was from Calgary and found the drive to be too much.
The course itself survived the winter pretty well, Brown said.
“We’ve got all the tarps off now. The course is actually in really good shape. It wintered really well. Jason Clouston, the superintendent is really happy with how it wintered,” he said.
However, he admitted the season is off to a later start than in previous years.
The course’s first tournament of the season is the HUB Insurance Seniors’ Open, which occurs on June 14.
However, the biggest tournament of the season is the Alberta Mid-Master Championship, a provincial tournament which the Olds Golf Club will host June 20-22.
“That’s kind of exciting, having a big Alberta event like that, hosting that here at the Olds Golf Club,” Brown said.
In addition to the Seniors’ Open, the club has drawn up a schedule of regular open tournaments it plans to hold throughout the season.
The Hildebrand Motors Mens’ Open takes place July 8-9 and the Expedia Cruises Ladies’ Open will be held on July 15.
The McLennan Ross Olds Junior Open occurs July 26 and the Sims Furniture in Olds Mixed Open is scheduled for Aug. 13.
The tournament season winds up with the Kolbassa Klassic on Sept. 2.
Member events include the Olds Concrete Club Championship Aug. 19-20.
The Soldsheim Cup will be held on Aug. 26. That ladies’ team stableford competition is open to all female members of the club.
Last season, renovations estimated to cost around $250,000 to $300,000 were undertaken to holes 12 through 14; especially on 12 – including a new green, new bunkering, new contouring on the fairways and revised water hazards.
That project was completed in late summer. This season will be the first full one for golfers to experience those changes.
"We got them in full play towards the end of summer – kind of August last year.
“But this will be the (first) full season with those holes all redone, so yeah, we’re looking forward to having that. It’s definitely changed the look of those holes significantly,” Brown said.
During the winter, the club undertook a small project, adding new lockers in the locker room and basically sprucing that area up.
This fall, the club has tentative plans to revamp the practice area. Those plans include a practice bunker, chipping area, redoing the range deck and installing and putting in some mats.
