For another journalism assignment, four of my CreComm friends and I drove two-and-half hours to my hometown to write a travel article. I chose to write about our beautiful golf course, where I worked for four summers.
If you're an avid golfer, give it a read! It might just convince you to take a trip! Enjoy!
Located two-and-a-half hours southwest of Winnipeg and twenty minutes north of the U.S. border rests Killarney, Manitoba, a town named for the lake that Irishman John Sydney O’Brien christened after his homeland.
Home to 3,299 residents, Killarney’s population nearly doubles during the summer when cottagers, campers, and other tourists arrive to enjoy the town’s summer leisure activities. One of the main attractions is the Killarney Lakeside Golf Course, located on the shores of Killarney Lake.
Randy Brekke is entering his second year as the club’s CPGA certified golf professional. He worked previously at the Elmhurst Golf & Country Club, located just outside of Winnipeg, for 23 years. He says he was surprised by the quality of the Killarney’s course the first time he played it.
“Certain holes have a lot of character, and it’s an enjoyable course to play,” says Brekke. “It’s not super long, you don’t have to punish yourself, it’s well-kept, and it’s pretty. And it requires a little talent to play – it’s not a pushover small-town course.”
Les Defoort has member of the course for 35 years. An avid golfer, he has served on the club’s executive for three terms and holds one of the course’s two hundred shares. He says the course’s most unique feature is the contrast between the front and back nines.
“The back nine (opened in 1921) is a traditional old-style golf course with lots of trees, very short holes, and two very difficult par threes,” says Defoort. “The newer front nine, opened in the early ’90s, plays along the lake with one large mound and large bunkers. It was originally designed as a links-type nine, but that is slowly changing as the course matures.”
While every hole has its own character and challenges, Brekke says the ninth hole, which doglegs right around Killarney Lake, is the most challenging.
“It tempts you to hit a long drive over the water, but if you screw up, you’ve got the lake and a few bunkers that will really hurt you,” says Brekke. “It’s the hole that separates the men from the boys.”
An 18-hole green fee is $32 and a power cart rental is $30. Brekke says, unlike city courses, the course is almost never backed up, and golfers are often able to get a tee time by booking only one day in advance.
The course also has a driving range, putting and practice greens, club rentals, and a fully licensed restaurant, open from six a.m. to dusk, where you can purchase the Birdie Breakfast (two eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast, and coffee) for $6.85.
For tourists looking for somewhere to stay, the course offers stay-and-play packages (in conjunction with the Pleasant Valley Golf Club) with the Kerry Park and Agricultural Society campgrounds, the Country Comfort B&B, and the Erin Inn Motor Hotel and Emerald Isle Motel & Resort.
To book a tee time online, visit www.killarneylakeside.com/. For more information about the town, visit www.killarney.ca/.
You forgot to mention the green lake.
ReplyDelete