The first-ever Friends of Pine Valley golf tournament is bursting at the seams.
Originally planned for an afternoon-only shotgun start Sunday at 1 p.m., the event has already reached the 90-golfer limit so organizers have opened up a morning slot, starting at 8:30 a.m., to allow more golfers to participate.
"The tournament is oversubscribed, there are so many people who want to come, so we'll open registration until noon on Saturday," said tournament organizer Don Chamberlain.
"The whole purpose of the tournament is to continue the awareness of the need to keep Pine Valley golf course. There's been great support from the city."
The tournament will utilize the Calloway scoring system, which levels the playing field and makes golfers of any ability eligible for prizes. The cost to enter is $40, which includes a post-tournament barbecue, starting at 5 p.m. on Sunday. For non-golfers who still want to support the cause, the hamburger/salad meal costs $10. Golfers can enter at the clubhouse at 2450 Range Rd.
The tournament is being sponsored by The Citizen, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Prince George Motors, Nauroth & Associates Insurance and Graydon Security.
A hole-in-one shot on No. 16 will give the lucky shooter $10,000 toward a lease on a 2014 Ford Escape, and there's also a $10,000 cash prize available for a hole-in-one on No. 18. A $1,000 security system door prize is also on the table. Other golf courses in the city – Prince George Golf and Curling Club, Aspen Grove, Aberdeen Glen and Yellowhead – have donated free rounds of golf as prizes.
"We have 36 hole sponsors," said Chamberlain.
The top-five gross winners in men's, women's and junior classes are eligible for prizes. A putting contest will follow the tournament.
Chamberlain said all eight councillors and mayor Shari Green have been invited to play in the tournament and six council members have confirmed they will be there.
Chamberlain says the Friends of Pine Valley group will continue its efforts to encourage the city to find a long-term operator for the 18-hole Par 3 course.
In June 2013, city council voted 5-4 in a closed meeting to keep Pine Valley open. Earlier that year, the city's core services review had recommended the publicly owned course be closed and sold for redevelopment, which the study estimated could bring in as much as $17 million. The course is currently being operated by Keith Good on a two-year contract which expires in 2015.
"We just want council and city administration to keep Pine Valley golf course as per that vote last year and to try to get a long-term contract so an operator can invest some money into the course," said Chamberlain.
Since 2009, in the wake of the pine beetle epidemic which killed most of the trees at Pine Valley, volunteers have planted 5,000 trees on the course. The course still lacks a driving range, which Chamberlain said would make it profitable annually, and is need of a sprinkler system.
