‘I can’t believe we’re in this position’: Golf course preps for opening season after week underwater

Golf course manager Dave Eveleigh says things are looking up at Shanty Bay Golf and Country Club in Oro‑Medonte, Ont., after mass flooding took over the course last week.

After a week of flooding and uncertainty, it’s finally a swing in the right direction at Shanty Bay Golf and Country Club in Oro‑Medonte.

Golf course manager Dave Eveleigh says the past spring stretch has been one of the most challenging he’s seen, with relentless rain on top of an already record-setting winter.

• Flooding delays opening day at Shanty Bay Golf Club amid heavy rain warnings

“Oh my gosh, we’ve had so much water,” Eveleigh tells CTV News, describing tough conditions that kept golf course staff completely off the course until this week.

The course saw roughly 213 centimetres of snow this season, much of which was still melting when heavy rainfall hit last week.

On Tuesday, crews were finally able to get heavy equipment onto the grounds, after concerns that opening day could be pushed into May.

“I didn’t think we were going to open until May 1st,” he notes. “It’s really quite incredible.”

Thanks to receding water levels, preparations are finally underway. Eveleigh says fairways are being cut, sand traps are being finished and the greens are in great shape with no ice damage reported.

This timeline marks a slight delay compared to previous years. The course opened on April 21 last season and around April 15 the year before.

“We’re really at the hands of Mother Nature,” Eveleigh says. “But it is what it is.”

There’s also hope the driving range could be ready within the week.

If all goes as planned, Eveleigh says, the main 18-hole course is set to open Sunday at 8 a.m. Golfers eager to get back out won’t have to wait long, tee times will be available for booking starting Friday at noon.