We had a chance to catch up with the Duntroon Golf GM, John Marshall and ask him a few questions about how the 2023 golf season is going.
How is the season going so far?
It was a bit of a slow start, but things have picked up nicely as word gets around about how great the course is in this year. Our Maintenance team, Café and Pro shop staff have worked hard to provide a top-notch experience for our members and guests.
What are the most exciting upgrades this year?
For sure it is the improvements to our tees. We have completely rebuilt #2 tees and #6 tees and are now working on improving #12 and a few others. Our focus has been on really providing a great playing experience.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
Weather. Sudden rainstorms specifically. We have had three massive downpours this year so far. Last Thursday we got 90mm of rain in 1 hour! This not only oversaturates the course but also creates washouts that take days to repair. Fortunately, we drain very well so the course itself is usually back in action the next morning. But the washouts costly and take time away from other core course maintenance.
What’s with the pickleball?
We had a partner come to us last year wondering if we would lease some land to them for pickleball courts. The existing parking area beside the special events barn was a perfect spot for it and offers our guests some additional activities. The partner paid for the court construction and pays us a monthly lease, giving us revenue to re-invest back into the course. It seems like a win win for us, and our guests are having a blast playing there.
Any new things coming up for the second part of the season?
Where do I start! Probably the top two are:
1> The new hole signs we are beginning to install at each tee with better hole maps and a QR code that link to virtual tours of each hole with risk-reward tips
2> The new Georgian Bay Open! No other golf tournament in the region that members and public can participate in that offers a Net & Gross Division, 2 Days of Golf with different formats and great prizing. We are launching it on August 19th and 20th together with partners Black Bellows brewing, Callaway, Penguin and
Footjoy.