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By Shane Clausing

golf

Despite late start, GP Golf and Country Club sees successful season

Oct 15, 2020 | 1:27 PM

Despite the later than normal start to the 2020 golf season because of COVID-19, Bob Martens, the Director of Golf at the Grande Prairie Golf and Country Club says that his course had a successful season.

“It was a nervous beginning, but with a lot of good protocols in place, we found that the golf season gave a bit of a safe haven for a lot people to go out and find a recreation that of course is fun and enjoyable.”

Some of the new COVID-19 protocols put in place included raised cups on holes, spaced out tee times and the removal of rakes and benches. Martins says that golfers for the most part followed the new guidelines in place.

“One of the things that happened was through the associations of golf, there was some strong protocols put in place that really needed to be followed, or else Alberta Health (Services) could’ve stepped in and said you need to do better.”

“I think they (Alberta Health Services) commended the golf industry for many great steps taken in how they dealt with the Coronavirus. I think we as a community have done quite well, so hats off to everybody,”

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Despite the extra guidelines in place, Martens says the course was busy throughout the entire summer. He noted that his facility saw a 30-35 per cent increase in golfers compared to 2019.

“There is no question that we were busier. It was a year where I think people were looking to do stuff with family and had some time. People were looking for a way to get out and at least take a walk, hit the ball around and enjoy a game of golf.”

“We definitely had over 25,000 visits this year and it’s exciting to see that many people out at the golf course. One of the things that we did have this year over last year was better weather and that was also a factor. Our weather in 2019 was not near as nice as it was in 2020.”

With most recreation options being shut down until the middle of the summer, Martens tells EverythingGP that he noticed an increase in families and new golfers hitting the links this season.

“I think there was a lot of new people introduced to the game, and I believe that we are still seeing an uptick and I believe we will see that will continue. Of course we never know how long this issue that we are dealing with is going to go on. COVID-19 is for real and we are still planning on seeing people come to the game as a way to enjoy their spare time.”

He adds that the new protocols implemented by AHS actually helped speed the game up.

“The rounds of golf I think were never quicker. I think that there was a lot of good distancing. You are not raking sand traps and you are not dealing with the pin, so there’s lots of reason to say that golf just kept on going at a pace that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. It was fast and enjoyable round of golf in most cases.”

A noticeable change for the course this year was giving more time between golf groups. At the start of the season, the course went from eight-minute intervals between golfers up to 10 minutes. Midway through the season, they bumped it down to nine-minute intervals.

This helped speed the play up and Martens mentioned that it could be the new normal once the pandemic has passed.

“We started with 10 minute intervals and that was very comfortable, and nine minutes are very comfortable as well. We used to be eight-minute intervals and now we are definitely debating to stay at nine. It does help keep the pace of play. I think you are going to find that it’s probably something that’s here to stay with a lot of places.”

Martens mentioned that he is hopeful that his course will open on time next Spring.