‘It feels wonderful:’ Saskatoon golfers thrilled with opening of city courses

It was like Christmas morning for golfers living in Saskatoon on Wednesday.

At 10 a.m., city-owned golf courses officially opened for the 2024 season.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, as the sun was shining and the temperature was expected to get to a high of 22 C — which would make it the warmest day of the year so far in Saskatoon.

Murray Thompson and Jim Thornhill were two of the first golfers to tee off at the Holiday Park Golf Course this year. They couldn’t be more excited to finally get out and play a round.

“After that last snowstorm that we had, it feels wonderful,” Thompson said when asked what it felt like to be outside and swinging the clubs.

“The same here,” said Thornhill. “We were down south for a bit and able to play a little bit of golf in Florida, but then you come back and get a reality check. It’s pretty nice to get back out.”

Both Thornhill and Thompson were surprised the courses were able to open Wednesday after last week’s snowstorm that delayed the opening of multiple courses throughout the city.

They plan on golfing five times a week throughout the spring and summer.

Ron Klassen was with the very first group that was able to tee off at Holiday Park. He didn’t know how his games will turn out this year.

“How am I feeling about my game? There are moments of brilliance and moments of mediocrity,” Klassen joked.

Joanne Kendal played 133 rounds of golf last year, which essentially equated to her playing every single day of the season.

She’s a member at the course and also helps run the Holiday Park ladies league. She was thrilled to be playing once again.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day since October,” she said. “It’s a beautiful day and beautiful course and it might not be nice out there, but I’m certainly happy to get out.

“I know I’m not going to be where I was in the fall, but I’m hoping I can get back down to those numbers in the next couple of weeks.”

All 27 holes at Holiday Park and 18 holes at Silverwood have opened for the season. The only city-owned course that doesn’t have all of its holes open is Wildwood.

On Wednesday, the back nine holes at Wildwood opened to the public, but not the front nine. The front nine is to open May 3.