Golf courses have been a hot spot for many in the community since re-opening, as golfing provides a sporting activity that allows players to keep social distancing standards while getting fresh air on a blue-sky day. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Hole in one

Local golf courses continue to flourish one month into re-opening

Jun 22, 2020 | 5:00 PM

It has been just over a month since golf courses around the province were given the green light to re-open their doors and return to business.

Golf courses were one of the first establishments to re-open, in accordance with Phase one of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan. Since that date, local courses throughout the Battlefords and surrounding area have been keeping busy with consistent business.

The Rustic Nine is a family-run course in the Battlefords community, owned and operated by Elaine and Victor Liebaert.

Elaine said they have been extremely pleased to see the continued community support over the last number of weeks.

“It’s been busy week days and weekends, and we just had a great Father’s Day weekend where it was really busy too, so that was really nice,” she said. “We’ve had a great season so far and a great start.”

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Despite the added restrictions implemented by the province this year, as a safety measure amid the ongoing pandemic, Liebaert said this has been one of Rustic Nine’s busiest years.

“We actually feel that it has been quite a bit busier this season [than usual],” she said. “I think there was not a lot of opportunity for people to get out and do a lot of things for a while and golf was one of those things where you could still distance yourself and get out and enjoy some fresh air. We’re very excited to see all these people come out, and choose our course to come to.”

Just 30 minutes outside the North Battleford city limits, Jackfish Lodge has also been booming with business since opening last month.

Manager of Jackfish Lodge, Kyle Kellgren, said especially for those hoping to get in for a round of golf on the weekend, calling to schedule a time sooner rather than later is best. The tee-times have been booked up quickly and well in advance.

“Right now, especially for the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, if you’re not booking two or three days in advance you’re not going to get a tee-time,” he said. “This past weekend we were booked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day by Wednesday or Thursday.”

Kellgren said the implementation of Phase four this week won’t likely have too much of an effect on the day-to-day operations at Jackfish. Even with 30 people permitted in an indoor venue, he said it would not allow for much in the way of potential tournament play or other bigger events.

However, he would like to see the tee-time buffer period shortened slightly from every 12 minutes to every 10, somewhere down the line if possible.

“If they could get it down to 10 [minutes apart], that would make it a little easier for us, but other than that it’s busy with the 12, so we’re sticking with it,” Kellgren said. “We’re having a very good year, it’s kind of busier than we had thought it would be, and it’s actually keeping pace if not better than other years we have had, so it’s going very well.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1