As the Easter long weekend begins, golf season is about to be in full swing, and while some courses have been able to open thanks to Thursday’s sunny skies, others have been no stranger to the lingering effects of the ice storm. In Oro-Medonte, one of the most impacted areas, downed trees can still be seen at every corner of Shanty Bay Golf Club. “We have a thousand branches down,” said Dave Eveleigh, the club’s manager. “And we’ve been working hard for the last four weeks to clean up two of our main nine’s.” Most fairways and greens were ready to go ahead of the long weekend. But tree damage in play just outside the fairways could lead missed tee shots to branches just as easily as the rough. As Eveleigh and his staff continued working on 18 of the club’s 27 holes on Thursday, he finally saw the extent of the damage on some of the other nine holes for the first time. “I couldn’t believe it,” said Eveleigh, after seeing one of the tee boxes completely covered by trees. “There’s still too much work to do to open this weekend.” A few kilometres away, the cleanup also continues at Simoro Golf Links. Stephanie Sherlock, former LPGA touring pro, now helps manage Simoro, which belongs to her family. While she has overcome her share of hazards during her career, this winter was unique.“Lots of trees and branches down around the edges of all the holes, so we’re busy getting that cleaned up,” said Sherlock. “[It] would’ve been really, really nice to get this Easter weekend in. Unfortunately it didn’t work out and it’s just weather depending.” For courses like Bear Creek Golf Club in Essa Township, the tee sheet opened just in time for the long weekend. The course was nearly sold out on Thursday thanks to the favourable conditions and minimal ice storm damage. “We had no major trees down,” said Mark Sharpe, the club’s director of golf. “Just a lot of cleaning up sticks and getting the golf course prepared for play. But we’re really fortunate, so we’re very happy about that.” Shanty Bay is scheduled to open 18 of their holes on Monday, and had nearly half of their early week tee times booked going into the long weekend. Simoro staff say they hope to open by the end of April.
