Granite Hills Manitoba Golf Course
It’s not alone in begging Mother Nature to get with the weather program, but newly opened Granite Hills Golf Club stands to be among the biggest beneficiaries when she gets around to it.
(Two nice days in a row do not constitute “getting with the program.”)
Manitoba’s newest addition to the course roster, situated on the shores of Lac du Bonnet about 19 kilometres northeast of town, is plenty playable in its first spring.
It opened late last summer for a short run with excellent greens, ample grass on the fairways, views and terrain uncommon to the province and a difficulty factor that will certainly dress down the province’s best players.
Its newness, though, requires some extra special treatment from a good growing season.
Based on what we saw during a playing visit earlier this week, proper warmth and moisture this season are going to do Granite Hills a world of good, with the potential to take the course to a far more mature state than anyone would expect in a new layout.
The course has been open barely two weeks, delayed by April’s annoying snowstorms that blasted the region and down into the Whiteshell.
The winter didn’t take away any teeth.
Golf Manitoba has visited and rated the course and to the best of our knowledge, there is no track in the province more difficult than Granite Hills’ 75.2 course rating from the black (7,082 yards) tees. The rating is an assessment of what a scratch player would shoot from that set of tees.
From the white (6,088) markers, the rating is 70.4 for men and a nasty 76.1 for women.
Let’s just say that a five-shot difference for the men from black to white (blue is in between at 6,642 yards) is conservatively estimated.
In our sneak peak at the course last July, two weeks before its Aug. 11 opening, we implored you to “…above all, don’t forget a moment of appreciation for the patient folks who persevered to bring it to you.”
During our visit this week, there were a few four-letter words mixed into the appreciation, but rest assured, Granite Hills is everything it’s billed to be.
And more, especially if you don’t play the appropriate set of tees.
To review, it’s a smart layout, steering around the abundant granite outcroppings of the Canadian Shield and along the shores of Lac du Bonnet and the Lee River.
The third hole, a par-5 along the lake to the left, is a brutal assignment early in your round. There isn’t a breather among the course’s par-3s.
The finishing holes, from the 13th on, test your skill, patience and discipline — and by that we mean the ability to keep your head and mind still while the rock intimidates, the lake’s waves and breezes beckon, and several narrow fairways and risk-reward shots distract your thinking.
At the start of its first full season, Granite Hills has already done well on the word-of-mouth reviews among Manitoba’s golfers.
Its owners have set a lofty standard and have delivered the course they said they would. Now they have additional, immediate goals to make the experience better.
“We want to get everything in place so when guests come out, we can give them full service,” ownership partner Norm Labossiere said this week. “That means getting the clubhouse up and running (it is already), our tournament building done and whatever other cosmetic things that have to be done, done.”
The tournament hall is expected to be complete within the week, allowing Granite Hills the ability to host larger outings.
“There’s also the matter of taking care of the dead fall and we’ll be working on that every day this season,” Labossiere said.
Not only has the course’s crew been working hard to clean out the underbrush in numerous strategic locations, it’s still dealing with the effects of a storm last summer that knocked down at least 300 trees.
One of the best assessments to this point comes from Golf Manitoba executive director Dave Comaskey, who said this week that Granite Hills “is absolutely a championship golf course,” and added that it’s not out of the question the course could play host to a provincial event as early as next
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/golf/story/4177302p-4766323c.html
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