As the weather starts to get warmer on a more regular basis this spring, Hillcrest Golf Club general manager Jasmine Cameron will be keeping a close eye on the temperature gauge.
That’s because the local 18-hole layout is currently in wait-and-see mode as they wait for the frost to get out of the ground and things to just warm up in general before getting the season rolling into high gear.
One thing that’s for certain is it’ll be another busy summer at the Hillcrest once things do get going, with plenty of tournaments already on tap and folks already itching to start hitting the links after a long and cold winter.
But first, the real spring weather has to arrive.
“It’s looking like next week is going to warm up and we need a good five consecutive days to get that frost out of the ground so we can turn our irrigation systems on,” Cameron explained. “Then once that happens it just takes another four to five days and get tarps off and then we get rolling. It’s mainly just the temperatures outside right now, if you can get above zero it helps a lot.”
A part of the wait is Hillcrest’s commitment to opening fully from tee-to-green before players set foot on the course. That means a little extra time to get things rolling, but in the end it’s all part of offering the best golf experience they can for their members,
“We don’t do temporary greens or anything, we open when we’re ready to fully open,” said Cameron. “We want to see everyone come out to a facility that’s fully ready to play on and we want to make sure that everything is prepped.”
That includes getting signage out, the cart paths graded and ready to go and dealing with any spots that have accumulated water that need to be taken care of, “just the smaller things that can trickle into the season so we’re not dealing with anything in the summer that could have been taken care of at the start.”
The Hillcrest has put plenty of time and effort into improving the course over the years, and they have no intention of standing pat this summer. The major project last year was refurbishing the course’s irrigation systems, with the cart paths the focus for 2023.
“We put a fair number of dollars to paving all our cart paths, and that’ll be about a five-year project.” Cameron said. “If we bring in additional revenue we’ll definitely put that toward the project, since we’re looking to have all of the main paths paved at the course. And anything we bring in goes right back into the course.”
When things do get going, there won’t be too many days that aren’t busy. The Hillcrest already has 12 major tournaments booked for the season, with the Canadian Tire Jumpstart event kicking off that schedule on June 1.
The club will also be hosting 2023 Golf Sask Mixed Doubles provincial championship during the Aug. 25 weekend, with the event expected to feature around 70 teams of two taking part in three days of play.
“So it’ll be a pretty big event for Moose Jaw and we’re looking forward to it,” Cameron said.
In the meantime, the Hillcrest has opened its pro-shop for the season, with current hours from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for folks looking to purchase memberships, pick up some gear or just get more information on the course. Once things are tee-to-green, the proshop will be open from sunrise to sunset.
Until then, it’s hurry up and wait.
“I can’t even predict it, I can’t even say ‘hopefully in two weeks’ because it all kind of depends on how warm it gets,” Cameron said. “It helps our business too if we can get rolling, but right now it’s wait-and-see and that’s how it is when you’re dependent on the weather.”
Folks can keep an eye on the news section of the Hillcrest website at www.hillcrestgolf.ca for the latest opening updates, check out Facebook at www.facebook.com/hillcrestgolfcourse15 or give the proshop a shout at (306) 693-1921.
