But when Thomas McBroom peers out on the 297-acre parcel of land in St. Norbert, the renowned Canadian golf architect envisions endless possibilities for the future home of the Southwood Golf & Country Club.
“I see it as a fresh palate,” McBroom said last week at the official sod-turning ceremony. “It is flat ground but I look at this through architect’s eyes. All of the land will get graded. We don’t have a lot of natural features to work with, so we have to make them.
“It’s a really exciting creative opportunity for me.”
McBroom boasts a number of impressive courses on his resume and this is his first foray in Manitoba, something he does not take lightly.
“It’s a challenge,” said McBroom. “I’m a Canadian guy and I’ve built in most provinces. It’s one of those things where you want to leave a mark and this will be my mark in Manitoba. I’m pretty sure about that.”
After seeing the completion of the purchase of the land in St. Norbert and the sale of its existing golf course to the University of Manitoba, Southwood’s 700-plus members are finally starting to get a glimpse of what the future will hold.
Turning a relatively flat piece of land into a championship golf course doesn’t happen overnight, but the sight of work being done on the site is a constant reminder that the new track could be open as early as the summer of 2010 — though it’s possible they could wait until the spring of 2011.
“For the future of golf in the province, it’s a great thing,” said Southwood president Darcy Jones. “It will be the best golf course in Manitoba. Undoubtedly.”
Some might consider Jones’ sentiments to contain a fair amount of bias, but Southwood has high hopes of creating a golf experience that can attract some big-time events, like the Canadian Open.
CHAMPIONSHIP STYLE
“Not that the other clubs in the city can’t, but we’re bringing the new championship style of club,” said Jones. “Maybe we can attract the big-gun (PGA) Tour or something like that, maybe a skins game, to raise the profile a bit.”
Fear not, mid-to-high handicappers, this new course won’t leave you behind either as it will feature tees ranging from 5,200 to 7,400 yards.
The initial phase of the development includes 18 holes, but the long-term vision features 27 holes, a world-class practise facility and a posh clubhouse.
McBroom explained the next step in the building process takes essentially two years, noting the first year consists of rough grading and shaping, along with irrigation work right up until the bad weather hits in October or November.
Come the spring of 2009, it will be time to finish the golf course with top-soiling, finishing the bunkers and preparation for the seeding.
By the summer of 2009, the course should be ready for seeding and after that takes place, it will be require roughly a year for the grow-in stage before Southwood is ready to complete the move south.
As part of the official ceremony last Tuesday, five individuals were asked to hit a tee shot.
Past president Kae Koga was the first person to make contact, drilling her drive right down the middle.
Koga can’t wait for the next tee shot she takes on the St. Norbert site.
“It’s exciting,” said Koga. “It’s going to be hard for some of us to leave (the current site), but for the future it’s going to be wonderful.”
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