With friends like this, Pine Valley Golf Course is in good hands.
Don Chamberlain says he's been overwhelmed with the generosity of local businesses wanting to lend their support as prize sponsors for today's second annual Friends of Pine Valley golf tournament.
The one-day event is a complete sellout, with 136 golfers entered. They'll begin play today at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. with shotgun starts.
"We were looking at 90 golfers for an afternoon shotgun start and we got 136, - we have 18 groups in the afternoon and 12 in the morning, its way better than last year," said Don Chamberlain, chair of the Friends of Pine Valley committee.
The group was formed nine years ago to keep the city's only municipal golf course from closing. Friends of Pine Valley has gained widespread public support in its efforts to convince city council to guarantee the longtime future of the 18-hole course rather than sell the land for commercial development, and that plan appears to be working.
Chamberlain says he's more confident than ever the course will remain a permanent fixture on the local golfing scene and it appears he's got city politicians on his side. Mayor Lyn Hall and counselors Frank Everitt, Murry Krause and Terri McConnachie have each contributed $100 as hole sponsors for the tournament.
"That's a very encouraging sign," Chamberlain said.
"Frank Everitt was the lead guy and he leaned on the rest of them. This council has really indicated that they support keeping the golf course because they approved the five-year contract in April. We just want to make sure it continues and they make it permanent."
The land on which Pine Valley sits was originally owned by the federal government and was part of the city's original airport. Chamberlain said it was given to the city with a recommendation that it remain designated for recreational use.
Council voted 5-4 in favour in an April vote, granting a five-year extension to GNR Property Management to operate the course. It was on the chopping block in 2013 when the city core services review recommended selling the 40-acre property, which was estimated to be worth $17 million.
Chamberlain and former city leisure services director Tom Madden formed Friends of Pine Valley in 2008, backed by representatives of the course's user groups - schools, juniors, seniors, men and women golfers.
The city is currently conducting an improvement feasibility study to examine the need for an irrigation system and whether to bring back the driving range which closed when the land was sold in 2004. Chamberlain said the consultants will also look into his suggestions for reconfiguration of some of the holes.
"They hope to have a report out towards the end of the summer and that's where we're at," said Chamberlain, while out on his rounds Friday picking up prizes from last-minute donors.
The tournament has attracted 38 hole sponsors and three hole-in-one sponsors.
