Closing the Book

On Monday, November 28, the pins were pulled at Victoria Park West for the final time. The "book was closed" on a fabulous 45-year run as Guelph's public golf course. When Victoria Park opened in 1967, the Guelph Country Club and the Cutten Club were both private clubs - Cutten still is. (In case you're wondering, Victoria Park East opened in 1974).
It was a quiet event - actually, there was no event - because they had a "farewell day" back in late August. Pictured above are West Course owner Ted DeCorso (left) and his brother Angelo, who was the West's first golf pro. The West's pins will be symbolically set at the new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club when it opens in the Spring. As posted previously, the West property has been sold to a developer and will eventually become a City of Guelph subdivision.

...and that's all she wrote!

We've officially "pulled the pins" on the 2011 season yesterday. The driving range and lounge have also been shuttered. We have set up our usual "temporary" layout with 9 holes, but no greens. The West course, however, will remain open with greens as long as conditions and the weather permit; so if you'd like to play some "cold weather" golf, give them a call at (519) 821-1441.

Green Grass in November

This photo, taken November 4th, shows the first tee at our new Victoria Park Valley Golf Club. We had to leave this section until last, due to ongoing grading work around the proposed clubhouse area. And of course, because we want to open in the spring, sod was the way to go! And this is no ordinary sod: it's "low-mow" Kentucky Bluegrass. You can see some of the huge rolls of sod sitting on the cart path, and it was interesting to see how it was laid - a tractor type of machine with a big spindle arm picks up the sod from the middle (there's a big plastic core in the centre of the sod roll) and unrolls it like a carpet. Instant grass. A crew then hand-cuts it to fit, where necessary.
The new golf course is looking spectacular. You can also see the green in the background - ready to putt. That's Carmine DeCorso standing on the tee... wishing he had a club in his hand!

We've also named the three "nines":
The A9 are "The Lakes", the B9 are "The Pines", and the C9 are "The Valley".