London’s two municipally owned golf courses are set to open their season Thursday, with one celebrating a special milestone.
Both the Thames Valley and Fanshawe golf courses will be taking tee times as of 10 a.m., weather permitting.
This season marks Thames Valley’s 100th season, having opened in 1924. The course is marking the occasion with a refurbished clubhouse and merchandise with a special 100th anniversary logo.
“We’ve done some renovations to the clubhouse, some new carpet, some new lighting, some new furniture, and a new bar area as well as some upgrades out on the golf course,” says Mike Vandertuin of the city’s recreation department.
“We’re very excited to celebrate (100 years) this year. We’ve done some branding to mark the occasion and have some merchandise with a new 100th anniversary logo that will be available for people to purchase.”
Special events are planned for the anniversary, with a celebration planned for later in the year. Details are expected later in the spring.
“Attire from 1924 might be what we require people to wear to commemorate the occasion,” Vandertuin joked.
Thames Valley has two courses: a traditional 18-hole course and a nine-hole Hickory course made up of par-3 and par-4 holes.
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Preparing for opening day, Vandertuin says the mild winter meant the grounds crew had their work cut out for them.
“We did do a few things to prepare for that; our great grounds crew led by Dave Cambridge have done a good job. We did have some tree damage as a result of some of the windstorms that we’ve had, so staff have been busy.”
The weather forecast for Thursday and Friday may impact the opening this week, but looking ahead to the weekend and next week, the weather seems more suited for a round of golf.
In 2021, London city council made the decision to close the third city-owned course, River Road. While a controversial decision, Vandertuin says they’ve actually seen an increase in play overall.
“We’ve seen some increased play at both properties since the closure of River Road, but we’ve been able to accommodate at both Thames and Fanshawe,” he said.
“We had a great year last year; it was one of the best years we’ve had in many years. We had 120,000 rounds at both courses.”
Passes are available for the two courses individually or a single pass that allows access to both courses.
For more information about golf passes and booking a tee time, visit london.ca/golf.
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