Tee times for the 2013 season may be booked anytime at www.whistlergolf.com

The Range at the Whistler Golf Club is now open for the season. Palmer’s Gallery Bar and Grill will open May 6th. Our new Head Chef Richard Johnson has an exciting new menu which can be enjoyed overlooking the 18th green.

For more information on the Whistler Golf Club please call 1-800-376-1777 or visit www.whistlergolf.com  To follow our spring preparations like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

11 green, April 23rd

Awaking soon on a hole near you!

The Range tee deck- April 10th

We are going on to our third cut on greens this week.  Our greens wintered very well in will be in great shape heading into the season (see photo below) Tees and Approaches have been cut and look great and we are blowing debris off the fairways in preparation to cut as well.  In Whistler some plans get put on hold due to late season snow that comes overnight and melts by day’s end. See photo below. That snow was gone by 1 pm.

Snow, April 13th.

11 approach cut, April 10th

Our tree management program is ongoing. We have been busy creating better growing conditions for our new greens and creating a better experience by solving pace of play issues caused by lack of visibility and working on playability around the course. For example to tee shot on #3 is much wider now as the limbing we did on the right side of the fairway has made a noticeable difference. Make golf easier!

Tom limbing trees on 16 tee to improve visibility off the tee. March 25th.

 Just a reminder that the bears are waking up. Please use the valley trail to walk your dog.

Big guy, #2, April 12th.

We will start lowering the cut of the greens next week and weather start cutting fairways.  The long range forecast looks good so get your tee time booked for opening weekend, May the 10th.

Cheers

The Super.

UPDATE: Fairways cut April 16th!

12th fairway first cut, April 16th

Stop by during our Grand Opening weekend April 12th- 14th. See below for daily activities and special offers. Come demo the latest from Nike Golf, pick up your large practice ball punch cards for the price of a small, get free swing tips, enjoy live entertainment and more!

Sign up today for one of our great group clinics. Sessions are available for juniors, ladies only beginner, ladies only advanced, men’s beginner and men’s advanced. Junior sessions start  May 4th and adult sessions  May 14th. Lead by our Head Teaching Professional Duncan Savage these clinics are a great way to introduce yourself to the game or take your game to the next level. Sessions include 5 sunset green fees, dinner after your clinic and more! Call 604-932-3280 to register or visit www.whistlergolf.com and click on “instructional programs” for more information.

To receive regular updates and offers from the Whistler Golf Club click here

Group Clincs at “The Range”

March 14,2013

March 14^th…Here we go.  Snow blowing started yesterday and already the guys have uncovered 1 tee, 18 tees and 17 tees.  18 green was the first green to get to get blown off and it looks great.  We will be blowing greens over the next couple of weeks and hope to have them all uncovered by April 1^st.

The mild weather throughout February allowed us to work on some well needed tree liming.  You will notice a difference right away on your Drive down #3.  We pruned up all the trees along the right side of the fairway to allow a sight line all the way to the corner from the blue and black deck.  We also worked on sight lines for #8 green, you will now be able to see the whole right side of the green and surround from all tee decks.  Other areas include 14 green, 3 green 6 green, 7 green and the putting green for shade management, and 1 Fairway and 16 tees for playability and pace of play concerns.  

With the snow melting so fast it won’t be long before our neighbors start to awake from there winter slumber…Just a reminder to keep all dogs on leashes and to keep all garbage in bear proof garbage cans throughout the village. This year we will be working on our Environmental case study for Audubon International which will be on Bear management, habitat conservation and safety.  Stay posted for a full Audubon update.

1st tee, March 13th

Awaking soon on a hole near you!

Many of you are surely confused about what is going on with the rules of golf. Bodies like the R and A  and the USGA make sweeping decisions (that may be good decisions) for the 1% of the people who play tournament golf. But they do it in the public context of “The Rules of Golf” which makes the game even more intimidating for those trying to break into the game. For example when friends get together for a little pick- up basketball or shinny hockey, both sports can be enjoyed immensely without following the professional rules of the game. In golf, if someone “foot wedges” one out from under a tree or picks up after hitting two shots unsuccessfully out of a bunker, that person constantly wonders if that is okay?

As we see it the challenges to the paying public are three fold: time poverty, the difficulty of the game and the time it takes to play a round of golf. It is not whether or not a putter is fixed to my chin or not. The problem with our game is that the voices of golf tend to come from the traditional mindset. Are the “Rules of Golf” stopping your from playing? Does it bother you that someone has told you that you can’t use that long putter you spent $250 on last week?

 GOLF AS RECREATION

At the Whistler Golf Club we tell our students to leave the scorecard in the golf shop. Go enjoy “the course” What does that mean? It means play it anyway you want with any type of golf equipment you want. Play 5 holes, play 9 holes, skip a hole, tee off from the 150, play scramble, tee it up everywhere….- Enjoy the view and enjoy the game. As your game improves so will your desire to make it more competitive, but enjoy the game first and don’t let the “rules of golf” deter you from enjoying a great walk and a great game.

So, what can we do to address the main barriers to getting more people playing?

TIME POVERTY

• Offer different ways to play. “Can I play 9 holes?”-  “Yes anytime”.  ”I’d like to play today but I’ve only got an hour or so”. With time poverty we started hearing this more and more so we came up with 5 holes after 5pm. Guests were shocked to hear they could get out for an hour. We started see people we hadn’t seen in years. A few 5 or 9 hole games gets our guests jazzed about playing golf again and soon they are back up to 18.
• Juniors play for free. Anytime. Kid’s lives are busy, and being in a resort we want to ensure the families can afford to bring the kids out.

DIFFICULTY OF THE GAME

• Keep the rough low. Very low. Our rough units cut none stop.
• Encourage players to “play it forward”
• Beginner tees no further than 175 out. The sense of relief on beginners faces when you tell them it okay to tee off from the markers in the fairway is amazing. “I can do that?” It’s almost like golf has made people believe there is a rules official in the trees of every course.
• Easy pins. Nothing ruins a day like dumb pins. Course set up plays a huge part in pace of play.
• I tell the maintenance crew every year “no one has ever come into my office and complained the course was too easy, but set pins on side hills, pump up the rough and push all the tee blocks back and my phone starts ringing.”
• Encourage “casual golf” until the players are good enough to “play by the rules.” If you aren’t on the green in 5 shots, pick it up, drop it near the green and finish out.

TIME IT TAKES TO PLAY

• Our best staff work as player assistants. No one–shift-a-week volunteers here. Slow play is the death of our sport. Sure we have our days but not without throwing everything we have at it. We try and set the expectation on the first tee, build a relationship on the course and guide them home.
• Beverage cart training. We train our servers to be player assistants as well. Serve at the right time, and use some good wit to kindly nudge the group along
• 10 minute tee times. Slow play is often a capacity issue not a slow play issue. 8 minute tee times? Guaranteed slow play.

Competitive tournament golf is so important to developing fans for the game. In our opinion we need a set of rules for tournament golf and a more relaxed atmosphere around the recreation of golf.

So tee it up, smack it, go find it and have fun!

“We are working hard on getting the golf course prepped for the winter. We have aerated tees and greens and are starting on approaches and green surrounds this week. After a few challenges with our greens installation we were very happy with the way our new greens turned out and look forward to a great season in 2013. Thanks to everyone for their patience during the project and for all the great feedback. How about those last three months!”- Alan Kristmanson- General Manager.

The legendary 70% off sale features items from Nike, Adidas, Lole, AUR, Sun Ice and more with items in the shop up to 70% off. Our new Fall lines have arrived from Nike and Lole and are at 25% off. Hours for the golf shop sale are from 10am to 5pm daily.

We are currently taking tee times for groups of 12 or more for the 2013 season. Email alan at alan@whistlergolf.com for you group outing quote for the 2013 season.

Thanks to everyone for a great year and have a great winter.

“Our guests were extremely generous with their cash and food donations in support of the food bank” said Ro Davies, Sales Manager. “We raised over $1700 in cash and collected 2000 pounds of food for the Whistler Food Bank”

Thanks to all the golfers who came out today and to the Westin Whistler Resort for their sponsorship of this great cause.

The Whistler Golf Club closes for the season Monday October 8th. The course is in great shape and a few tee times are left for Thanksgiving weekend. The golf shop’s legendary 70% off sale is on now. For more information or to book a tee time call 604-932-3280 or visit www.whistlergolf.com

$1800 in cash and 2000 pounds of food for the Whistler Food Bank

RESULTS

2012 Iron Maiden-  Mei Liu

Iron Maiden Net- Marsha Rodgers- 69

Iron Arnie- Pro division- Duncan Savage- 72

Iron Arnie- Amateur- Craig Wheeler- 78

Iron Arnie Net- Paul Amlani- 73

HOLE IN ONE! Az Hopkins on #8. Has everyone got their free drink from Az yet?

A field of over 100 took on the tough track on a beautiful day at the Whistler Golf Club.  There was a great prize table with Daryl Palmer walking away with the Nike Driver. The greens were rolling great and the course was tough but fun was had by all. The golf course has undergone greens aeration but the weather is perfect so enjoy the fall green fee rates and the great weather. Closing day is October 8th.