Nova Scotia golf courses are getting ready to swing into the 2023 season.
Clubs are busy putting the final touches on courses as they tee up to welcome golfers back this month – and they’re expecting another busy season.
The general manager of Granite Springs Golf Club in Bayside, N.S., says maintenance crews are out tending to the course to make sure it’s perfect for players when they return late next week.
Andrew McGrath says many people have been hitting the green since the pandemic and the club is expecting another strong year.
“When COVID started, golf was really the only activity that people could do outside in groups,” he says. “Since then we have built quite a following, a good membership base, and it has continued on.”
He says young players, especially, have been joining the sport since COVID-19 as it offered a way to socialize even during restrictions.
“Whether they’re students or just getting out of university, they’re looking for that place to go to socialize and exercise and to be outside,” he explains.
Just down the road from Granite Springs is the Goodwood Family Golf Centre.
Fourteen-year-old Ben Pride was taking some swings at the driving range on Monday with a new set of golf clubs gifted to him for Easter.
He can’t wait for the upcoming season and looks forward to spending time at the golf course on weekends with his friends.
“I’ve always wanted to play golf because it’s a sport you can play your entire life,” Pride says. “If I start young I can get better by the time I’m in my 40s.”
Kelsey Earle was also at the driving range with her family.
She was inspired to pick up a club while looking for a new sport to play during pregnancy.
“My husband is a big golfer and so are friends of mine,” Earle says. “I just kind of went with him and tried to learn and it was great exercise and I began to love the game.”
McGrath says golf offers Nova Scotians a sense of community and a connection to their neighbours.
Even when his club is closed for the season, residents are allowed to walk the grounds with their dogs so they, too, can share in the joys the club has to offer when golfers aren’t gracing the green.
McGrath says all are welcome at Granite Springs as it’s open to the public.
“Golf is the game, it’s why we come here,” he says. “But afterward there’s camaraderie after the game — a beer, meals, joking, and laughing — it’s just great to get out and enjoy other people.”
The club already has 10 tournaments on the books for the season and Granite Springs is looking at adding four more.
The season officially opens on April 20th.
— with a file from Ella MacDonald.