A Long Winter Nearing Its End In Edmonton — For A Day Or Two At Least
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2022-03-21
By GORD MONTGOMERY, Inside Golf
EDMONTON, Alberta — To paraphrase, quite badly I might add, an old rhyme: Spring has sprung, The grass is riz, I wonder where the golfers is?
Well, as it turns out, in Edmonton at least, they’re at the Canada Golf Card Driving Range, who were the first in the city to swing their doors open for the first time in 2022 on March 18. Yes, there was still some snow on the ground but when you’ve been cooped up indoors for five months then hitting the great outdoors is a bonus. Especially in this part of the country at this time of year.
Co-owner of the property, Jeff Ivanochko, said that there had been plenty of pre-season work to get ready to welcome golfers on their first day out. “We had five pumps out to get the water off our driveway,” he explained. “You couldn’t even get across that parking lot yesterday,” given the amount of moisture that had yet to seep into the ground from the melted snow. “There was just so much water.”
As for the range, that was cleared in five stages due to the amount of white stuff that had accumulated over the winter. Ivanochko estimated there was at least a five-foot snowpack that needed to be cleared, which took some time. “We created fairways with bobcats and snowblowers so we could at least try and retrieve some of the balls.”
T0 put an emphasis on the tough winter this area had just gone through, it was pointed out that the range, while the first one to open their doors in Edmonton this year, was actually two weeks behind last year’s opening date. But, that didn’t stop those eager to get outside and blast away from fording the water puddles and mini-snow drifts near the tee boxes, on a day where the sun shone and temps almost reached double digits.
Braden Risby Was Letting The Big Dog Eat On The Range, As He Enjoyed What Turned Out To Be A Temporary Respite From A Long, Cold Edmonton Winter.
Braden Risby. resplendent in shorts, was enjoying pounding balls toward a narrow strip of cleared land that split some huge snow piles dotting the range area. He said it was nice to finally get outside and swing the sticks.
“It’s tough to put into words. It felt like the longest winter I’ve had in my whole life! It’s just great. Great to be outside again and see the ball fly again.”
Risby said he spends about as much time on the range as the course, when the weather is nicer and courses are open. Since this range was the only place to be outside, in the sunshine, he felt it was a good start to the somewhat delayed season.
“Absolutely. I woke up this morning and was, “I bet you they’re open today!” It’s just nice to be outside again!”
And he likely did enjoy this outing immensely because …. the forecast called for 5 to 10cm of wet, heavy snow two days later, likely stretching this long, cold winter out a bit longer in Edmonton.