Mike's Kingswood Blog

Thursday Update

2011-04-07T11:28:00.002-05:00

As of Thursday afternoon, things haven't changed a whole lot. We are still keeping an eye on the La Salle river and basing our plans on that. Keep checking back for more information.

Golf Soon?

2011-04-06T13:48:00.003-05:00

The weather has certainly taken a turn for the better this week and the snow is melting quickly. Adam has started cleaning off the greens. We are keeping an eye on the La Salle river to see what it plans on doing as it has the final say on when we are able to open.

It is Wednesday afternoon as I write this and I am looking forward to watch some Masters golf soon starting with the Par 3 Contest.

Keep checking back as I will post the opening date here as soon as we know it.

Back From Hibernation

2011-04-04T11:12:00.002-05:00

Well it's been a while since I posted anything on my blog, so with the new season around the corner, here we go.

The snow is just about gone from the course and there is some light at the end of the tunnel. We haven't set an opening date yet, but that won't be very far away. We are hoping that the rising waters shouldn't have a major effect on the course, but a nice slow melt would put our minds at ease.

We have a few new wrinkles this year with the club jumping on the social media bandwagon. We will have a facebook page and will be on twitter. Look for these soon. We hope that these will help get information out to our customers about such things as frost delays, and course openings as well as events happening at the club.

I hope everyone had a great winter and I look forward to seeing all the golfers soon.

Mike

Men's Night Results

2010-07-01T09:56:00.002-05:00

Men's night was back this week and we had 10 players come out.

There were 7 skins won. Perry Mohr and Gerry Friesen won 2, while David Sheppard, Tim Pariseau and Brett Poncelet each won one. They were worth $5 each.

Gerry Friesen swept both hole competitions.

Please pick up your prizes in the Pro Shop.

Summer is Here!!!

2010-06-30T10:07:00.004-05:00

Well a wet and cool June is now over and we are looking forward to a hot and dry summer the rest of the way.

The golf course routing is now back to normal, although we are looking for input about permanately having the course routed the way we had it in June. There were many positive comments about the new route including that there were no back to back par 3's and it breaks up the back nine. As well we noticed that there were less backups on 7 and the pace of play was a little better.

We also have a new look on the driving range. There are 16 yardage markers out on the range so there are many more targets to aim at. Come out and give it a try.

Course Back to Normal (almost)

2010-06-08T10:36:00.002-05:00

With the La Salle river receding, all bridges are now back in play and the course is fully playable. It was pretty scary with river levels as high as they were in the spring of 97.

The course came out of this in great shape and golfers will be pleased to see those conditions. As well the new target green flags are in place with the red, white and blue theme to indicate where the pin is on the green.

Road construction is still taking place between holes 13 and 14, so we are rerouting the course from Mondays to Fridays inserting the 15th and 14th holes between 5 and 6. If you happen to play the course in this configuration, please let us know what you think of it. Some people have really liked it as it seperates the 2 par 3's as well as breaking up the back 9.

There will be no Men's Night the next three weeks as there are big tournaments scheduled for those days.

Course Affected by Rain

2010-05-31T09:05:00.002-05:00

Due to the extreme amount of rain the last few days, the course is closed today. The river has risen to the point where all 3 bridges are currently under water. We are keeping a close eye on the levels and hope they will drop very soon. Other than that, the course is in good shape and we will be posting updates as soon as we know anything.

Course Rerouting Now in Effect

2010-05-25T16:42:00.002-05:00

We began the changing of the order that the holes this morning. Due to the construction of the road between 13 and 14 and the rest of the course, we have changed the order of play. There were no glitches this morning as the golfers adjusted quickly to the changes. The biggest problem today was the 70 km wind and the effect it had on play.

In other news, our Central Senior team hosted the ne'er-do-wells from Portage and they were extremely gracious in a 5.5 to 3.5 loss to them. Team captian Tom Trotsky led the way for the host team for 9 holes, but disappeared after that to attend a suspicious appointment. Partner Oliver Fillion did his best to hold off Senior Champ Don Jackson, but finally succumbed on the final hole.

Men's Night Results for May 18

2010-05-19T10:08:00.003-05:00

A hot beautiful day greeted the brave men of Kingswood Men's Night.

Hole Competition winners were Kyle Curtis on 17 and Brett Poncelet on 9. They each receive $25 Pro Shop Credits.

Skin winners were Mark Thompson, Brett Poncelet, Gerry Friesen and Kevin Klym. They win $12.50 for their skins.

Oddly enough, hotshot Tim Pariseau was shut out for the second week in a row. Perhaps next week the golf guru will break out of his funk and hit the score sheet.

Road Construction Brings Course Changes

2010-05-18T09:35:00.005-05:00

With the construction of a new road between holes 14 and 15 and the rest of the back 9, we will be implementing a change in the routing of the holes while the work is going on.

After looking at many options, we will be routing the golf course as follows:

The first 5 holes will be played in their normal order. After the 5th hole, players will travel behind the 6th tee and on the path over to 15. They will play 15 and then 14 and then come back to play the 6th. The course will again be played in the normal order until after the 13th hole where you will just skip over to play 16 and finish the holes in the natural order.

We understand that there will be a little confusion when we implement the change, but we will do our best to inform the golfers as well as put up ample signage to ensure the players get where they are supposed to go.

Since the work on the road is expected to only be during the week, we are anticipating being able to play the course in the traditional order on weekends, but stay tuned to see if that may change.

With the road restrictions lifted, this change will be taking effect starting Tuesday, May 25th and should last 4 or 5 weeks.

Men's Night Results

2010-05-12T16:19:00.002-05:00

Our first Men's Night was held yesterday with a modest, yet eager crew of golfers. Even I made a donation to the cause with nothing to show for it.

Closest to the Hole winner was Perry Mohr, who wins a $35 Pro Shop Credit.
Skin winners were Brett Poncelot with 3 skins and Jim Sommerville, Perry Mohr and Kevin Klyn each with one skin. Skins were worth $5 each.

See you all next week.

Men's Night Starts Today

2010-05-11T10:08:00.005-05:00

Men's night will start today and continue throughout the season on tuesdays. The format will be the same as previous years with a $10 entry fee with $5 going to skins and $5 going to hole competitions. Results will posted the next day and prizes will be awarded as Pro Shop credits.

Book your tee time as a group or as a single and we will find you a game. Regular green fee rates apply.

2010-05-04T11:00:00.002-05:00

Above is a picture I took this morning of the 2nd green.

I took a spin out on the course this morning and was amazed at how much greener the course is after the rain we had. The greens are coming along quite well and the fairways look great as well. With a little heat, we will be in mid season form by the middle of May.

The forecast for today and tomorrow isn't very good, but it looks like things will be warming up by the weekend. Make sure you call for a tee time or go to our online bookings to secure your tee time.

Rain Comes to Kingswood

2010-04-30T10:02:00.002-05:00

We had a nice rainfall yesterday with the forecast this weekend for cooler weather and more precipitation. Adam says we had about 17 mm, which is a nice start for the course.

Just walking to the Pro Shop this morning, I could see how the course is greening up already. Combined with that nice post rain smell, I can only think that nice May weather and great course conditions are just around the corner.

Remember that you can book your tee times online now.

See you at the "WOOD"!!

Kingswood Defies Mother Nature

2010-04-23T09:07:00.004-05:00

In a move that directly defies Mother Nature, Kingswood Golf and Country Club turned on the irrigation system and created its own rain.

By Wednesday of this week, Adam had the intakes in the La Salle river and turned on the system. There were the usual leaks here and there, but it was nice to see some moisture going on the greens. The course is starting to look green and the buds are beginning to show. With May just around the corner, it looks like golf season is here to stay.

Great April Weather

2010-04-19T09:28:00.005-05:00

Here is a shot of our new eagle keeping an eye on the 1st tee.

We have had an excellent start to the 2010 season highlighted by a beautiful weekend the last two days. Our March 21st start was touted to be the earliest by any course in recent memory. One gentleman who played out here that day said he has been golfing 50 years in the area and this was the earliest that he has ever played.

The course has come through in great shape, but the only downside has been the lack of water. Not that we are looking for rain, but the irrigation system should working anyday now. The river is just about low enough for Adam to get the intakes in.

Glenwright Eagles 7th Hole!!!

2010-04-15T14:35:00.003-05:00

Crack Pro Shop employee Garrett Glenwright made an improbable eagle 2 on the treacherous 7th hole today at Kingswood Golf and Country Club. Garrett and fellow Pro Shop employee Brett Dorsey looked on in amazement as the young golf whiz deposited his 2nd shot in the hole. To make things even more difficult, wind gusts clocked up to 70 mph hampered play.

Congratulations to Garrett once again for this rare feat as we look forward to more fireworks from the young phenom.

Happy To Be Here

2010-04-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

I would like to say hello to all the members and friends of Kingswood Golf and Country Club. My name is Mike Gottfred and I am the new head professional here at Kingswood.

I arrived here after 16 seasons at Carman Golf Club. I look forward to meeting everyone here at Kingswood and will do my best to continue the good work done by my predecessor Brad Keats. I would like to wish Brad all the best in his new endeavors.

There will be a few changes in the day to day operations here in the Pro Shop and most of it centers around our new computerized tee sheet and point of sale system. The biggest change the golfers will see are the ability to book your tee times online and a different slip going to the starter. The process in the shop will be streamlined with a lot less paperwork involved.

If you are reading this, you will have seen that we have a new website for the club. We have a fairly bare boned start, but will be adding to it regularly. The purpose of this blog is to get information and news out to members and friends of the club in a timely manner. Stay tuned as I plan to update the blog regularly during the season.

My first note of congratulations goes to Ron McMorris for a Hole in One last week on the 17th hole. Way to go Ron!!