Those who have been fortunate enough to make the short boat trip over to Quadra Island for a round know what kind of little gem they’ve got over there.
And this year it’s somehow gotten even better, according to Jason Tchir, head pro and general manager.
“We’ve had some exceptional volunteer help over the winter – like, even more than we normally do, and that’s saying something,” Tchir says. “This year it’s included excavating, clearing out a lot of the brush that’s been an underlying issue for some golfers who tend to miss the fairway a little more often than others.”
But that’s not to say the course is a cakewalk now. They didn’t widen everything everywhere and make it so you can spray your tee shot wherever it happens to go without repercussion.
The main area they worked on was between the second green and the third tee, where there used to be a large patch of thick brush. They’ve removed most of that brush and are in the process of seeding it to make it playable for those who miss short and left on their approach shot on the par-4 second.
“Based on the number of golf balls we found when we were doing that work, a lot of people miss there,” Tchir says with a chuckle. “It was also opened up a bit to allow a bit more of the morning sunshine to shine down on that green, as well as improve the air flow through that area, which helps both our cultural practices and the aesthetics of the course.”
Then when you make that turn and come back up the par-5 third – which can be a beast of a hole – you’ll see a significant change, as well.
While they were dealing with a drainage issue to the right of the cart path on the inside corner of the second dogleg, Tchir says, they decided to open up some more room there, too.
“There used to be an overgrown dry creek bed to the right of the cart path there, but we’ve filled that in and now there’s going to be five or six yards extra there. It was a notorious spot for people to miss – it’s in line with the green and a lot of balls would just find there way in there. So we’ve killed two birds with one stone by improving the drainage but also made it more fair.”
They did a similar thing when you get around to the par-4 eighth, where a missed fairway to the left on the tee shot used to see you going back to your bag for another ball.
“It’s selective clearing,” Tchir says. “We’ve left all sorts of natural vegetation there, but we’ve given the golfer another seven or eight yards to the left and I think it’s become a bit more fair to the golfers, who can now have an approach shot from over there a little more often.”
“If we chip away on a few holes every year like this, because we don’t really have the resources to do more than that, it’s really going to make the overall experience better for everyone.”
Contrary to popular belief, these types of course improvements aren’t made based on complaints from frustrated golfers.
“If we had to do that, we wouldn’t have any vegetation out there at all,” Tchir says with a laugh. “I used to think that was a bigger part of the decision making process, but as I get longer and longer in the golf industry, I realize that it’s more about safety more than anything else.”
The first consideration in course maintenance, Tchir says, is trees that may come down on their own if they aren’t dealt with.
“You have to put golfer safety as your top priority,” Tchir says. “If there’s a tree that may become a hazard because it’s dead or dying, or overhanging limbs that could break, you have to take care of it. Then while you’re in there doing that work, sometimes you look around and think, ‘Hmm…maybe if we cleared this out a little more, it’ll create a better vista here,’ or that it would improve air circulation, like we wanted to do at the second green, for example.”
As if that wasn’t enough work for their volunteers to take on, they have also added new forward tees on both par-5s, “about 30 yards up from where they were,” Tchir says.
“Those are long holes – especially No. 5, that’s a monster – so we decided to put in a little help.”
If you’d like to get over there and try it out for yourself, whether for the first time or just to see what changes have taken place since you were last over, email me at miked@campbellrivermirror.com and I’ll put you in a draw for a pair of passes. Please put something like “Golf Pass Draw” in the subject line of your email.
