Hoping to buy a golf membership in the Sault? You’re too late

The opening days of May are slated to be busy for local golf courses as greens crews are working tirelessly to get their fairways and greens in tip-top shape ahead of the 2023 season.

While the weather has proven to be inconsistent and often unpredictable in recent weeks, the growing demand for golf is unquestionable, according to area club pros and course owners.

A trio of local courses say their memberships are already completely full — and they’re all hoping to be open two weeks from now.

Coming off a busy winter where they had plenty of skating, snowshoeing, and fat biking to go around, Crimson Ridge is still waiting for their last bit of snow to disappear.

Looking forward to having a brand new fleet of carts and revamped restaurant menu, Crimson’s director of operations Travis Spiess anticipates one of their busiest seasons ever lies ahead.

“People have been calling as early as two weeks ago about when we were opening,” he says. “There is interest; a lot of people want to get going.”

“As soon as COVID struck, there was an incredible demand for golf here and everywhere around the world. People who hadn’t played for years got back into it.”

Moving from Parry Sound to the Sault in January 2020, Spiess has noticed the demographics of the sport are changing. At Crimson, he says there’s now an even split of golfers on either side of their 40’s.

“I think if you went back a few years, it was more seniors and retirees who wanted to play as much as possible – but the under 40 crowd is getting involved more,” he says. “There are lots of golfers getting back into it after the pandemic, taking lessons, or getting involved in the events. It’s great to see.”

Like their men’s and women’s leagues, spots have also filled up for Crimson’s junior camps as 80 kids between the ages of six and 12 will receive lessons at the course in July and August.

“They’re the future of the game,” Spiess says. “The interest is amazing to see – the spots filled up in two to three weeks. There’s lots of interest in this town for that level. Hopefully, we’re creating long-term golfers out of it.”

Familiar with running kids golf camps in the east-end, Sault Golf Club head pro Jeff Hamilton says their programs have already filled up as well.

“There’s lots of interest with younger kids and getting them involved in the game so it’s good that way,” he says. “We’ve got a waiting list. We’d like to get everyone in, but we can only take so many.”

Entering their 104th year of operations, the Sault Golf Club expects to have a similarly busy season as they did in 2022.

Running the day-to-day operations of the course since 2001, Hamilton has seen membership and public golfing numbers fluctuate throughout the years.

But there’s no doubt about where the sport currently stands according to the long-time pro.

“The demand has really gone up in the last three to four years – it’s cyclical,” he says. “It was like this 20-25 years ago, then it kind of quieted down in the late 2000s and numbers were dropping in 2015.”

“When you see trends in North America, our trends and stats here have mirrored industry trends identically almost every time.”

On the other end of town, Dustin Grondin and his family are entering year three of running the Root River Golf Course since purchasing the club from the Barsantis in 2021.

“We’ve had really large shoes to fill, but we learn a bit more every year,” Grondin says. “Ultimately, our goal is to try and make everyone happy because golf should be an enjoyment. It’s an expensive pastime, and you should have enjoyment when you play it.”

In the neighbourhood of 250 members, the nine-hole course has had a waiting list for years.

Because of the high demand for golf since COVID, Grondin notes it can be a bit of a balancing act when coordinating public and private services.

“There’s a huge demand for tournaments, so it’s a unique balance between helping out everyone you can and making your course accessible to the everyday golfer who’s just looking to play golf on the weekend,” he says.

“It’s a delicate balance we keep in my mind – support as many causes as we can but also be available.”

Itching to get things underway this year, Grondin says his family is most looking forward to seeing all the friendly and familiar faces they’ve missed over the winter months.

“As soon as the snow melts here in the Sault, it feels like everyone is just looking to golf – it’s great,” he says. “We miss the people during the winter. Seeing everyone happy to be back at the course and interacting with them goes well beyond business, that’s for sure.”