THUNDER BAY — The greens may be mostly brown but sunny weather has local golfers out in force.
Dragon Hills Golf Course and Driving Range had a late start to the season this year.
The public golf course opened on Sunday around noon and has since had roughly 50 to 60 rounds of golfers.
It was one of the first to open with Strathcona and Chapples golf courses still closed in the city.
“We opened the range about two weeks ago and that’s been busy because everyone wants to swing the clubs,” said Darryl Moro, golf course superintendent.
“But, yeah, we’re happy to say that everyone’s on the actual golf course at this point and things are drying up and greening up as we speak.”
Moro said that so far, the ground is a little wetter than it was in previous years, but it’s drying up fast with frost still letting out in the shaded areas.
“It was almost like a switch where it just went from winter to hot spring, so that’s nice,” said Moro.
However, he said there’s a lot of clean up to do.
“We’re cleaning up any debris (and) any sticks. A couple of trees went down, we’re cleaning those up,” said Moro.
“(For) the greens, yeah, the basic spring maintenance. You work on them. You get them all ready to go and then start maintaining. I got to get the pumps in the water, get the water going pretty soon, but it’s business as usual. It’s just a little bit behind, maybe three (to) four weeks behind.”
“At this golf course, we stay open as late as we can. I do my work to the greens, get them prepared for winter, but until the snow flies, the pins will stay in,” said Moro.
He said the greens are excellent when it comes to design and challenge.
“The golf course has length. Also, many challenges with water hazards and narrow fairways, but at the same time, (it) gives you great views of scenic views and, yeah, it’s just a fun place to play,” said Moro.
Moro encourages people who don’t have memberships to come, check the course out and see what they think.
Benjamin Maloney, a retired golfer, bought his pass for the course last November and was back for the first time this season after returning to the city from Winnipeg. He said it is a great time every day to come out.
“Last weekend, I was in Winnipeg and I was golfing there and it was all flat. And it’s just like, yeah, you can go up... ‘Boom, okay, my ball goes nice and straight,’” said Maloney.
“I was like, ‘oh, I can hardly wait till I get back.’ And then I get back here and I go on this course and it’s got dipsy doodles. It’s just like up, downs and sideways. And it’s just like, ‘oh, that’s not where I wanted my ball to go’ and so it’s like, ‘hey, just go looking for them.’”
Maloney is a regular at the course, golfing almost the whole summer last year, sometimes two to three games a day and continuing into November.
“It’s just a beautiful little course to keep: Simplicity. And yeah, you just enjoy your day like we are today and it’s like you couldn’t ask for a nicer day,” said Maloney.
He said walking and looking around the course is what he retired for.
“You just come out here and you just can focus on something else rather than anything else where you’re at home and… just come out here and just the beauty (and) the nature,” said Maloney.
He said it’s a great little course and Moro does a really nice job on getting these greens and everything last year really good.
He encourages people just to come out golfing: “It’s fun.”
