Front! Golf courses in the Calgary area are open for the season

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From shoveling snow to digging holes and raking sand traps… What a difference a week can make.

Several Calgary-area courses opened Thursday for the 2024 season. Several other local layouts will be ready for action over the weekend – all in greens and tees.

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“We definitely live in a very special part of Canada,” laughed John Faber, director of golf for the City of Calgary. “Going from a foot of snow to opening in a week is certainly not the norm.”

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Late last week, even with another wall of winter through his office window, Play Golf Calgary warned Slade King employees to be ready to peel down the tarps and put out the flags. King & Co is always the first to open and they welcomed birders at each of their four facilities on Thursday – Blue Devil, HeatherGlen, Links of GlenEagles and Serenity.

“There's a lot of factors you're looking at,” King said, explaining his optimism as he hopes to have the last wave before fall. “We sent messages to the staff with all these points – the winter snow is melting, there is heat on the ground, the temperature at night is looking good and the snow that has fallen is melting quickly.

“So last Thursday, in the middle of that blizzard, we sent a message to the staff saying, 'Let's get ready.' Because we knew at the beginning of the week that we were going to pull the tarps.”

That's exactly what they did.

And?

“At first glance, everything looks great,” King said. “The grass already has a lot of color, a lot of green, so we're very happy with how the winter has turned out.”

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“I know our manager is pleased with the condition of the greens under the tarp,” said Greg Griffith, who will welcome golfers Friday as Fox Hollow's head professional. “It's always good when the boss is happy in the spring.”

When that tarp, needed to protect the grass from the harsh winter weather, finally goes up, the news usually travels fast.

The city of Calgary released a scorecard Wednesday for two of its most popular munis, Maple Ridge and McCall Lake. Within an hour, 92% of Friday-Sunday slots were booked.

“It's not surprising,” Faber said, noting that the Shaganappy outlet should open early next week. “That tells me Calgarians are ready to play golf.”

I have no doubt about it.

Many try to keep their skills sharp on the practice fields or in indoor gyms. Others traveled to Lethbridge or the Columbia Valley for the early rounds of the season. Now they circle drives and pits closer to home.

“The only problem is it's the same weekend as the Masters, so I have to tape it and watch it at night,” joked Gregg Schubert, head pro at The Track, which opens Saturday. “But that first week is always great because people are so excited to be out again.”

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Schubert won't be the only one watching Augusta National in action via PVR.

With temperatures forecast in the mid to high teens, the weekend around Calgary was a hot commodity. In fact, there is even more demand.

“We don't go until 10 o'clock on Friday, but we have people asking us to open earlier,” Griffith said. “The funny thing is, this time of year, you get a call and someone says, 'Is there anything free on Saturday?' He asks. You ask them, “How long are you looking for?” you ask. they say, “Oh, maybe around 7:30 or 8 in the morning.”

He laughs.

“It's April, we don't open at 7am!” Everyone is so excited that they forget what month it is.”

Yeah, it's hard to believe that this time last week there was a blizzard.

Now it's time to trade your spades for seven irons and trade Sorels for soft claws.

“We're expecting another busy season,” said Faber, whose 2023 Calgary courses have posted record numbers of nearly 320,000 total rounds.

“The first impression is that golf is still at an all-time high of interest and excitement,” added King, chief operating officer of Play Golf Calgary. “People are still buying equipment. Our leagues are full. Corporate tournaments, a lot of interest. Golf still goes in waves.”

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