07 GOLF GUIDE 2017 M A N I T O B A
Photos by Todd Lewys
Planning for the event started a year-and-a-half ago. By the time the tournament takes place, it will be two years. We’ll be ready to put on a great event.” –Jeff Scott
By Todd Lewys S outhwood Golf & Country Club general manager Jeff Scott says he and his organizational team’s focus is on achieving one thing when the Canada Summer Games golf competition gets underway at the club on Aug. 6. “Our end goal is to put on a world- class tournament,” he says. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone, from the athletes, to officials, to volunteers and spectators, says we took care of them, and that Southwood was an unbelievable venue.” To that end, 168 volunteers will assemble daily at the St. Norbert-area course, with more than 100 of those volunteers being Southwood members. “The volunteer response has been great, especially from our club membership,” Scott says. “They know all the ins and outs of the club, so everyone who comes here is going to be taken care of very well. Planning for the event started a year-and-a-half ago. By the time the tournament takes place, it will be two years. We’ll be ready to put on a great event.” Scott says competitors are in for a top- notch experience. “There’s going to be a players’ lounge, each competitor will have their own locker, and we will include a lot of the little extras that players get in top-level tournaments. Not only is the clubhouse world-class, but the players will also have access to a world-class practise facility
that’s spread out over 15 acres.” Then, there’s the golf course, which, like the clubhouse and practise facility, is also world-class. Designed by renowned golf course designer Thomas McBroom, the links-style layout features five sets of tees that can see it play as little as 5,314 yards, or as much as 7,311 yards. Southwood’s golf professional emeritus, Tom Kinsman, says that players can expect a fair but challenging course set-up. “We won’t be changing our usual mowing heights, so the rough will be at a normal height,” he says. “And, as usual, the greens will be relatively quick (rolling at around 10 or 10.5 on the Stimpmeter). There’s no need to do anything out of the ordinary as there’s enough penalty if you get off line and get into the fescue (rough).” Should conditions be breezy – and they almost always are at Southwood – then competitors will have all they can handle in a golf course, Kinsman adds. “The tee ball is the key. To score well, you need to avoid the (rough), fairway bunkers and their turf fingers, and strategically-placed water hazards,” he says. “If the wind blows, there’s going to be an even greater premium on keeping the ball in play. Players that do will have an opportunity to score well. Those who don’t will be challenged to shoot a good score.” Keys to playing the oft-windswept layout include getting off to a solid start, playing the par-fives well, and successfully negotiating holes 13 to 18.
“The first hole (which should play anywhere from 379 to 431 yards during the tournament) is quite possibly the toughest starting hole in Western Canada with its length and a prevailing left-to-right wind that isn’t optimal for right-handed golfers,” Kinsman says. “There will be scoring opportunities on the par-fives provided players play smart, and holes 13 through 18 will be challenging for different reasons.” Those reasons include club selection, with there being a four-club difference from front to back of greens on holes 13 and 15; the long, lush parkland 16th hole, which plays uphill, making it play even longer than its listed yardage (likely 358 to 427 yards); and the par-five 18th, which requires a long, accurate tee shot to create an opportunity to reach it in two. “The course has also been designed so players can be creative,” Kinsman adds. “If it’s windy, there’s a chance to flight the ball down and run it into greens. You can also use the putter from well off greens in some cases, too.” Scott says he can’t wait for the event to start. “I’ve done the Pan Am Games, two Canadian Amateurs, six years with the Player’s Cup and other international tournaments; this one will be right up with those events. We’ll be doing our best to put on a world-class tournament that everyone – players, officials, volunteers and spectators – will enjoy in every way.”
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