Short game key to The Bunker
A 125-yard drive won’t impress anyone on the golf course — unless that course happens to be The Bunker @ Springbrook.
Scheduled to open by June 14, The Bunker @ Springbrook will be played using light, low-compression balls that travel about one-third the distance of conventional golf balls. The result will be a shorter course that you can play in less time and with fewer steps — without having to leave your long clubs in the bag or shorten your swing.
“That 125 yards actually equates to about 360 to 375 yards of a regular golf course,” said William Trefry, director of golf operations at The Bunker @ Springbrook.
The course’s nine holes range from 55 to 205 yards, but include par 3s, 4s and 5s. Each has three tee boxes, which vary in distance and flight paths to suit golfers of different skill levels.
In addition to the actual yardage, signs on the course will indicate what the equivalent distance on each hole would be if conventional balls were used. This will enable players to select the appropriate club.
Despite travelling a shorter distance, the balls at The Bunker @ Springbrook will fade, draw and otherwise respond like a standard dimpled orb.
“You get all the benefits of a large course on a smaller course,” said Trefry.
The Bunker @ Springbrook has been developed on about 10 acres west of Hwy 2A and north of Springbrook’s Airport Drive. This smaller area means lower operating costs than a full-size course, which will translate into reduced green fee and membership prices, said Trefry.
The idea for reduced-distance golf came from Kieran Lang, who along with his wife Sharon-Eve Lang are the majority shareholders of Woosh Recreation Inc., The Bunker @ Springbrook’s parent company.
“He was actually in the middle of a swing,” said Trefry of the timing of the brainstorm, which occurred about a decade ago.
In addition to building the course, Lang and his partners sourced the special golf balls from a United States manufacturer. Weighing about 14 grams — less than a third of the mass of a conventional golf ball — they will be sold to players for $2 apiece.
“We are confident in saying this is a one-of-a-kind golf course in North America,” said Trefry, adding that plans for similar courses are already in the works.
One is slated for elsewhere in Central Alberta, with the other outside the province.
The Bunker @ Springbrook will also have a driving range, which the operators hope to open prior to the course itself, said Trefry.
Information about The Bunker @ Springbrook will be available at an open house this evening from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Bower-Kin Community Centre on Boyce Street in Red Deer.
A similar session was held last Tuesday in Springbrook, and future meetings are planned for March 23 at the Innisfail Legion Auditorium and March 25 at the Sylvan Lake Community Centre. Both will run from 6 to 7 p.m.
“Because it’s a whole new concept in golf, we want to explain what makes our course different,” said Trefry.
The golf courses website can be found at www.thebunker.ca.
hrichards@reddeeradvocate.com
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