It was both pretty and ugly out at the Smithers Golf and Country Club April 28.
Opening day of the golf season dawned cool resulting in a frost delay of approximately one hour.
When Ben Matheson struck the very first tee shot of 2022, however, it was a sunny seven degrees on the tee box and a perfect day for spring golf ensued.
The great news for golfers is the season has begun. The bad news is it began without greens.
All 18 holes and the practice greens remain closed as grounds crews attempt to recover from a winter of very unfavourable conditions.
The course was also a bit soggy, but not as wet as it has been the last couple of years and the course is greening up nicely.
There are also some improvements underway.
The parking lot has been cleared and levelled in preparation for paving courtesy of an anonymous donation to the club.
New head pro Steven Coulthard said he is also planning on sprucing things up generally around the clubhouse and pro shop.
On the scorecard and tee boxes the club has added a yellow/white tee for seniors in between the middle and forward tees.
In addition to the regular slate of events, this year the Celebrity Golf Tournament is back. In 2019, the last time the normally semi-annual event was played, the tourney raised more than $100,000 for the Bulkley Valley Hospital Foundation and the Smithers Community Cancer Care Team.
editor@interior-news.com
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