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Win a free round with cart at Moonlake !
Experience the championship 27-hole Moonlake Golf and Country Club at Saskatoon. Win a free round with electric cart and explore this popular links-style track. The Question: What was the exact year Moonlake opened? For contest details, click MORE >>
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Golf gods in the West
If you’re going to attend one Open in your life, make it the one held in western Canada, the fourth time it’s been played in Vancouver and the first time since 1966. The Open only happens once a year and choice tickets go quickly, so now is the time to make arrangements. MORE >>
And the winners are
Thank you for hundreds of entries during the last few months for the various SaskGolfer.com contests. Didn’t win? Check out our newest contests on this page.
Murray Dale Anderson of Prince Albert has won the Grand Oceanside Contest and a golf package to Qualicum Beach/Parkesville valued at $755
Congratulations also to Mike Romanow of Assiniboia who won a “Naked Golfer” print by Saskatchewan artist Alden Seib in the February contest. The March contest was won by Debbie von Schilling who received a copy of Century of Champions about the Canadian Open
Golfer sightings at Cypress
If you can hit the links at Cypress Hills Golf Course and Maple Creek Golf Course in February, why bother going down south or to Vancouver Island to winter golf? That’s the question a few golfers are asking after an unusual warm spell in the extreme southwest of Saskatchewan sent golfers scrambling for their golf clubs.
“For most of the time the fairways were still frozen so there was a really nice bounce and roll! said Shirley Helmerson of the Cypress Hills Golf Course. While the club installed new grass greens at the nine-hole facility last year, members used temporary greens during their February adventure.
A reluctant groom
An old man came to me this morning and asked if I wanted to caddy. I said, “OK”, so he picks up my bag and my partner’s bag and runs to the tee.
“How old are you?” I asked. And the guy says, “I’m 94, but this is nothing, I’m getting married tomorrow.” “Why would you want to get married at 94? I asked. “Who says I want to !”
What a deal!
Andrew is selling a brand new set of Tommy Armour fx5 irons which have never been hit. They’re 3 to pw, stiff shaft and still in the wrap. Asking $260 andrew@rezgeek.com Check out some more great second-hand (?) equipment deals. MORE >>
Amen Corner
"I used to play golf with a guy who cheated so badly that he once had a hole-in-one and wrote down zero on his score card"
- Bob Bruce
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Online booking tees off at Moonlake
Just when we thought golf couldn’t get any better than at the Moonlake Golf and Country Club near Saskatoon, it did.!! The 27-hole Scottish links-style championship course has a new website, new commercial kitchen facilities for all golfers, and is the first course in Saskatoon to offer convenient online booking.
“Online bookings are easier and more convenient for golfers who can book anytime,” said head professional Jamie Windjack. “When it starts up this spring, it will free up staff time to allow us to provide even better service for customers. Of course, telephone bookings will still be available,” said Windjack.
The course offers expanded service for tournament groups, after recently installing a new commercial kitchen in the Station Restaurant and Lounge. The Station, a restored 85-year-old railway station, is a comfortable clubhouse where golfers can put up their feet after a day on the links. “Visitors to the Station House can now order food there off a full service menu, and enjoy the big screen TV,” said Windjack.
While not a true links course, Moonlake is as close as you’re going to get in Saskatchewan - just a “wee bit of Scotland” right here at home. The layout and design of the track provides an ideal course for individual golfers as well as tournaments, said Windjack. The original course, built some 15 years ago, was architecturally designed by the well-known firm of GDS (Golf Design Services), which is headed up by Les Furber.
With four sets of tees and three separate nines – named Moors (3,296 yards off the back tees), Highlands (3,392 yards) and Heather (3,453 yards) - the course provides a quality golfing experience for all levels of player. The three different combinations all play to par 72 with slope ranging from 125 to 136 for men and 118 for women. The course has one of the highest slope ratings in Saskatchewan. Greens are large and protected by many pots and bunkers, favoring well-placed shots.
“The fairways are simply the best in the province,” said Windjack, who credits the experienced maintenance staff, headed by Greens Superintendent Scott Kulbida. “We are also the first course in the Saskatoon area open in the spring and the last to close in the fall.”
Major tournaments this summer include: the Prairie Future Links Championship (June 5-8), the Provincial Police Tournament Aug. 2-4, the SaskTel Provincial tournament Aug. 6, the CPGA Saskatchewan Provincial Championship Aug. 16-18.
The course is located 19 km southwest of Saskatoon on Valley Road. Online bookings may be made at the new course website at www.moonlakegolf.com or by phoning (306) 382-5500.
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Prairie Links Golf debuts
Three top Saskatchewan golf courses have signed on with a new golf course management company called Prairie Links Golf Corporation, said its president and CEO Cameron Johnson.
“We recognize the need for an alternate management style within the Saskatchewan golf market,” said Johnson. “Prairie Links was founded to help courses operate more efficiently and more effectively.”
Deer Valley Golf and Estates near Lumsden, Long Creek Golf and Country Club at Avonlea and the 9-hole Riverbreaks Golf Course at Riverhurst are now under the management of Prairie Links.
Assisting Johnson, will be Tim Zado as head pro at Deer Valley and vice-president of operations, former Murray Golf Course head pro Brad Herridge as food and beverage manager, and Glen Trentini as senior vice-president and golf superintendent for the courses.
Prairie Links will be involved in managing the golf shops, food and beverage operations, turf maintenance and golf course construction. Golfers will have access to joint passes and deals at the three courses.
Cosmo Golf inks deal
In a continuation of its commitment to deliver high-quality, affordable golf clubs to golfers, Cosmo Golf Canada of Saskatoon has partnered with U.S.-based AccuSport to develop a proprietary club fitting system that will combine the industry's most advanced launch testing equipment (Vector Launch Monitor) with Cosmo Golf's new Tad Moore Fitting System. For more, www.cosmogolf.ca
"Cosmo Golf Canada has completed months of research in seeking an alliance with a manufacturer that would be able to supply testing equipment that provides accurate, real-time data that the clubfitter and consumer can easily understand," said Cosmo's director of marketing, Rick Harris. "This research led us to AccuSport."
A wee bit of Scotland
In our perpetual search for great websites – aside from SaskGofer.com we stumbled across www.britishgolfmuseum.co.uk Located in St. Andrews, the home of golf, the British Golf Museum is operated by a non-profit group.
A visit will “transport you down a pathway of surprising facts and striking feats from 500 years of golf history.” Using diverse displays and exciting exhibits, the Museum traces the history of the game, both in Britain and abroad, from the Middle Ages to the present day.
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Delaet off to national amateur golf team
Graham Delaet of Weyburn has been named by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) to the new 10-member Men’s 2005 National Amateur Golf Team. The new year-round program helps to develop elite Canadian golfers.
The National Amateur Team program is designed to offer athletes a year-round environment which incorporates state of the art coaching and sport science expertise. The intent of this aggressive program is to aid Canada’s top up-and-coming amateur players in all areas of their development to produce the best golfers in the world.
The program encompasses fitness, sports psychology, nutrition, technique development and exposure in international competition. Leaders in the field of sport science are an integral aspect of building and executing the program from the perspective of mental management, strength and conditioning. The program is new this year to the RCGA but was modeled after the Women’s National Amateur Team program initially created by the Canadian Ladies’ Golf Association.
Delaet is coming off a stellar 2004 season that saw him capture medalist honours at the 2004 Canadian Amateur Championship. The 22-year old capped his season by finishing third on the 2004 National Order of Merit. Michael Mezei of Lethbridge, Alta. and Delaet represented Canada Dec. 2-5 at the 2004 Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina. MORE >>
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Around Saskatchewan links
McLaren Taylor, formally the head pro at Elk Ridge, is the new pro at Dakota Dunes ... Glen Jones is the new pro at Wakaw, Gus Vogelstang at the Murray Golf Course in Regina, and Mark Patterson at Emerald Park G & CC. Todd Zado is now at Melfort G&CC ... Cory Kartusch, a former pro at Wascana in Regina, has been named this year’s recipient of the Canadian PGA Merchandiser of the Year. Growing up in Regina, Kartusch began working at Wascana Country Club under the tutelage of Graham Coulter, past president of the Canadian PGA (1991-1992). Kartusch now works at the St. Charles Club in Ontario....
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Win a free game at Moonlake!
How would you like to win a free round at Moonlake with the use of an electric golf cart? Two individual prizes will be given. The Question: What was the exact year Moonlake opened? (Hint: Check out the new website at www.moonlakegolf.com)
Send you answer by April 30 to Moonlake@SaskGolfer.com
BALF on the move
If you’re a Canadian golfer, clear a spot on your coffee table for The Open Golf Championship of Canada (1904-2004): A Century of Champions. This beautiful hardcover book commemorating the grand old game of golf in Canada and its 100th anniversary is a must-buy for golfers passionate about the game.
The golf ball is then putted on the green with a BALFclatâ putter. The rules of USGA apply. BALF is intended to be a 9-inning game. BALF-related equipment and merchandise is available. Adherents bill it as a sport that can have “a harmonious existence with golfers.”
Interested? Check out www.balf.com to see if you think it’s the new sport of the Third Millennium.
Playing into the wind
It’s another year and another season struggling against prairie winds. Southern Saskatchewan is one of the windiest places in Canada, so you may want to keep these thoughts in mind, courtesy of learnaboutgolf.com
When you are playing into a strong wind, it is necessary to alter both your address and your swing in order to keep flight of the ball low. The first adjustment you make is to line up the ball a shade nearer your right foot than your left, keeping the same width of stance as usual. On your back swing the customary amount of body turn obtains, but you swing your hands and arms back and away from the body to effect a flatter swing.
On the On the downswing make certain your shoulders are parallel with the line the line of flight of the ball. Avoid turning them until after the ball has been has been hit. As you come into the ball, your hands should be farther further ahead than normally, because you are leaning into the wind with your with your body. This means that as you hit on the follow-through, and the and ball, in turn, will not rise as sharply. Follow on the flat plane, too, as if too, as if you were playing an elongated pitch-and-run.
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