The links at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club will have a decidedly more open look when golfers take to the fairways this spring
Starting today and continuing for up to two weeks, feller bunchers and chippers will be out removing a conservatively-estimated 5,000 and 6,000 beetle-killed trees from the course.
"The conditions right now are ideal," PGGCC president Kevin Bowman said. "We've got a little bit of snow cover to protect the golf course, we've got perfect ground conditions as far as frost goes, it's just the right time to do it."
The trees will be felled and chipped directly into chip trailers and hauled to Pacific Bioenergy at no cost to the PGGCC. "The value he (the contractor) recoups from the fibre will cover his costs," Bowman said.
The dead trees bordering the Pine Centre Mall parking lot will remain up to prevent balls from hitting vehicles there and those along Westwood Drive that were topped by B.C. Hydro will also be left untouched.
"We need the barrier," Bowman said.
About 3,000 have been removed since the mountain pine beetle first struck the course in 2004.
"There will certainly be some significant initial visual shock to not having the trees here, but people don't realize or forget how many trees are still on the golf course," Bowman said. "And then once we have them down, we'll be able to see what the issues are, where we need to plant something else to create some barriers."
In contrast to the neighbouring Pine Valley Golf Centre, where a signficant number of trees have also been removed, Bowman said it's 30 to 60 yards between holes and a lot wider fairways, Bowman stressed.
Work on the club's new course north of the Nechako River has been put on hold pending completion of a neighbourhood concept plan and sale of the land.
"We're not spending anything out there until we have a closed, final deal with the buyers," Bowman said. "We're ready to go whenever it happens, whether it's a year from now or three or four, or who knows. At this point, I don't even put a timeline on it."
On Monday, Friends of Pine Valley representatives made a pitch to city council for keeping the course where it is as opposed to building a new par-three 18-hole course at PGGCC once its new course is open.
Bowman said the PGGCC hasn't taken a position on the issue, but added he expects the new plan will call for relocating Pine Valley, "and it makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons.
"Ultimately, when the neighbourhood concept plan comes out it will be quite similar to the one from two years ago, and that ties in curling in the facility with tennis courts coming over, and Pine Valley and all of this becomes a civic facility.
"Tennis, golf and curling all in one location just makes sense."
The plan, as presented in May 2008, called for converting Pine Valley into varying mixtures of townhouses and condominiums, highway commercial and commercial. But the plan was put on hold as the recession put into question the need for an auto mall near the corner of Highway 16 and Highway 97.
mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
