Teeing Up

City Golf Courses Set for Another Busy Year

Chapples Golf Course

Thunder Bay’s city-run golf courses saw a marked increase in the number of rounds played during the 2020 season, according to the municipal official in charge of golf operations, and says he’s hopeful that people of all ages will be able to tee it up again this year.

A tightening of public health restrictions by the provincial government in April dictated that all golf courses close and remain closed. That has affected the start of the 2021 season—a year after Thunder Bay’s supervisor of golf operations Pat Berezowski says Strathcona Golf Course and Chapples Golf Course saw a combined approximately 8,000 more rounds played than in 2019. “We feel that golf is a very safe sport in the fact that we’re outside all the time, or mainly outside,” he says, adding that the city put a number of measures in place to reduce potential COVID transmission, such as adding barriers between seats on the golf carts, removing bunker rakes and ball washers, stepping up sanitization and enforcing social distancing.

Golf Ontario, the organization that oversees amateur golf in the province, has been lobbying the Ford government to allow courses to open, citing benefits it says the sport provides, such as exercise, mental stimulation, and safe social time, in addition to it being outdoors and where social distancing can be more easily maintained. “We continue to work with the government, and we hope we will be golfing sooner than later. In the meantime we encourage everyone to continue to follow current government guidelines,” according to a posted statement on its website. Berezowski adds that he’s noticed more people returning to the game after spending years away from it, as well as an uptick in younger players.

While the start to the 2021 season has faced delays, Berezowski says a skeleton crew has been doing basic maintenance at the two city courses and they’re ready should the courses see more use this year. He says last year’s bump in golfers was good to see. “When you see foursomes going out after foursomes after foursomes, that’s like full capacity,” he says, adding that it “maximizes your course and what you can offer.”

Berezowski says the city will continue to promote initiatives like allowing youth 16 and under to play for free—including club rentals—if they’re playing with a paying adult. “It’s easy to try this sport,” he says.