Why golfers have been teeing up at Saskatoon's Holiday Park for 60 years
Why golfers have been teeing up at Saskatoon's Holiday Park for 60 years
Why golfers have been teeing up at Saskatoon's Holiday Park for 60 years
Holiday Park Golf Course turned 60 years old on Monday morning, and just like the day it first opened when Mayor Sid Buckwold took the first swing, Mayor Charlie Clark was on hand to tee off with a couple of shots.
“I made a lot better contact on my first one, although it was a pretty deadly slice,” laughed Clark.
“The second one I just topped it so I wasn’t too proud of that, it makes you want to get back and try and get it straight up the fairway but that's why people play golf.”
Director of recreation and community development with the City of Saskatoon Andrew Roberts says in the early 1980’s Holiday Park was the busiest course in the country, nearing 90,000 rounds a year, and frequently saw people lining up at all hours of the night to book a spot.
“I do remember individuals lining up at like four in the morning to get a tee time,” said Roberts.
Now, he says, the course will see about 60,000 rounds a year, with other courses in the area lightening the load.
“A lot of golf courses would be envious of those numbers,” he said.
At least 120 of those rounds are played by longtime member Dianne Bethune.
“My husband introduced me to the game and this is the course that he played as a child because, he grew up around here,” she said.
“He loves his course so much that I came out and joined him and started playing golf myself, and I've loved it ever since.”
Bethune says she’s a four handicap with eight hole-in-ones at the course.
“I've had two on number two, one on number five, two on number 13, and one on number 16,” she said.
No brag, just fact.
One of the reasons she keeps coming back to Holiday Park is the aesthetic.
“I think it's one of the nicest courses there is in town,” she said.
“It's just like a wonderful place to just spend your time and enjoy it with your friends.”
Greenskeeper Marc Robert is one the people charged with keeping the course looking fresh after 60 years.
His day starts at 5:30 a.m.
“A lot of people would think we have a lot of staff, we have 10, 11 staff right now,” he said.
(Pat McKay/CTV News)
“We start on greens, tees, fairways, rough and we just go out every day, cut that, and then we start the small stuff after that.”
Roberts says the biggest reason for the course's continued popularity is the city’s investments.
“We did a big project back in 2016, about $2 million, so we've committed to continually to improve the facility make it better and make it more modern and more enjoyable for our patrons, but still keeping it as affordable as we can in the market.”
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. In a statement announcing the nomination, Trudeau said that O'Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation and is a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian.
Nunavut's acting minister of community and government services says the territory has declared a state of emergency in Iqaluit to ensure the city can begin replenishing its water reservoir without delay.
As students across Canada gear up to enter what will be their fourth academic year in the pandemic, CTVNews.ca takes a look at what measures will be in place in schools, by province and territory.
As of today, individuals and businesses are no longer able to import restricted handguns into Canada, with limited exceptions. The move announced earlier this month is aimed at expediting a key pillar of the federal effort to cap the number of handguns in the country.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra is set to testify before the House of Commons transport committee this afternoon about ongoing airport delays and flight cancellations.
Last year, Arzou Lashkari was ready to fly to Canada and start a new chapter of life at Concordia University. But her dream was crushed when the Taliban took control of her country, forcing her to stay home.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday she had taken a drugs test following the publication of video footage this week that showed her partying with friends, and vowed she had never used illegal drugs.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Two Winnipeggers are facing drug related charges after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 30 kilograms of what is suspected to be cocaine at the port of entry in Windsor, Ont. earlier in the month.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
The Calgary Police Service has cordoned off a section of the Bow River pathway and closed a lane of eastbound Memorial Drive in the northeast following a Thursday night stabbing.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Ben Stelter's fans and supporters are invited to a send-off for the six-year-old who died a week ago. A procession in honour of the Oilers superfan who was diagnosed with brain cancer at four years old will travel by Rogers Place on Friday.
An Ontario hospital is warning patients to anticipate 'much longer' than expected wait times due to 'rapidly changing demands' in their emergency department.
Ottawa Public Health says there are "encouraging" signs about the COVID-19 situation in the capital, but warns COVID-19 levels remain high in the community just weeks before the start of the school year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. In a statement announcing the nomination, Trudeau said that O'Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation and is a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian.
The owner of a historic church in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood is evicting a group with ties to the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation planning to purchase the property this fall, in an apparent dispute over unpaid rent for the facility.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
More than a dozen temperature records were broken in B.C. Thursday, just before the southern part of the province moves into a slight cooling off period for the weekend.
A prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations against him contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week in Quebec Superior Court.
The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) confirmed that the Inuk woman struck on Highway 520 in Montreal has died of her injuries.
The Coalition Avenir Quebec has unveiled its electoral campaign slogan: Let's continue. In a brief message Friday, the party states that four years ago, it had proposed many changes and, as there is still work to be done, wants to keep that momentum going.
The Malahat highway has reopened after it was closed in both directions for several hours Friday morning after a truck carrying live chickens crashed near the Split Rock lookout. Travellers were detoured off the Trans-Canada Highway at Shawnigan Lake Road and Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road, while oversized vehicles were being sent through West Shawnigan Lake Road.
Chris Schwede was found dead Thursday morning in his tent on Victoria's Pandora Avenue. Inside his tent was a blue-tinted form of crack cocaine that first appeared in the city on Wednesday, according to local outreach services.
A coroner’s inquest jury made almost 20 recommendations for ways New Brunswick and its law enforcement can do better in police interventions, training and equipment. CTV News polled each to see if they are considering, or have already implemented any of them.
Angela Parker-Brown may be unable to speak but that hasn't stopped her from using her voice. The mother from Truro, N.S., who is unable to speak due to ALS, recently published a memoir using technology that tracks her eye movements to form words and sentences.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Municipal councils in Ontario are nearing the end of this term’s four-year cycle and with an election on the horizon, there are only two candidates running in North Bay's mayoral race as the nomination deadline looms.
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.
Two-term city councillor and former deputy mayor Maureen Cassidy will not seek re-election this fall. Just hours before the deadline for candidates to register at city hall, Coun. Cassidy confirms her decision to step aside.
(Pat McKay/CTV News)
