BY GERRY FAGAN
Special to the News
Welcome to another season of golf at the Alberni Golf Club!
The first event for the golf club is already happening on Saturday, March 13, a couples’ nine-hole mixer with an 11 a.m. shotgun start. The Cherry Creek Scramble will happen Sunday, March 21 with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. This event will feature two-person teams. Prizes for both gross and net scores.
The men’s, ladies’ and business ladies’ golf seasons are all gearing up for a late March or April startup. The juniors are planning an early April start as well.
Ladies’ Tuesday golf will start March 23 at 9 a.m. There are nine-hole and 18-hole groups, and they make up foursomes as people arrive. Everyone is welcome to this drop-in morning; membership in AGC is not required, but non-members must pay greens fees.
Once the weather improves both nine- and 18-hole groups will become more structured and golfers will be able to join whichever club they prefer. Barb Sheare is the contact person for the ladies’ clubs. E-mail her at shearepin@telus.net for more info.
There is also a business ladies group that gets together for late afternoon golf on Tuesdays as well as monthly scrambles. For more information on when this group will start, please call the pro shop at 250-724-5422, e-mail albernigolf@shaw.ca or check out the website at www.albernigolf.com.
The men’s club season is scheduled to start with the first event on Sunday, March 28. Due to public health protocols over the coronavirus pandemic, there will be some changes for this year.
As was the case last year, the dues are a one-time fee of $10 for the year, payable in the pro shop. All men are welcome to play Sunday mornings, but you must be a Men’s Club member to get in on the prizes—not a bad deal for $10. There will be a $12 entry fee for all Sunday morning events, which includes prizes, draw for balls, chance at the money pot and the charity closest to the pin. We have added something new this year, the most improved golfer. Something to shoot for: the prize for this will be something substantial.
You have to have a registered handicap to enter an event. Those of you that would like to get an up-to-date handicap (H/C) need to see Doug Richmond or John Robbins, and they will give you your own password. You need to put in three scores, then you will have a registered H/C. For those who aren’t members of the golf club, it will cost you an extra $10 to have your name entered into the computer. Please make sure you enter all your scores during the week. On Sundays just hand your card into the Pro. Shop and the scorers, Ted Stewart, Preben Rasmussen, Al Wright and Gerry Fagan will do the scoring and pass them onto the H/C committee, which includes John Robbins and Hank Krahn, to enter Sunday scores into the computer.
You don’t need to be an AGC member to join the Men’s Club; if you’re a non-member you will have to pay a reduced green fees as well as the $12 for the event of the day.
Until this pandemic is history, closest to the pins are out so we will do the same as last year: have four draws for balls each week. We will be having the charity closest to the pin again this year, from the Gibson tree on hole No. 7. There will be a marker on the green, with a bottle of sanitizer, and in keeping with COVID-19 regulations you must sanitize it before and after you touch it. Once again we will be having the money pot on all four par-3s, but you must win the hole outright or it will be carried over from week to week. This will be handled by Doug Richmond.
There will be a one-day men’s club championship for men’s club members only. There will also be a two-day Alberni Golf Club championship. You must be a golf club member to play in that one, price will be determined later. Contact the pro shop for more information.
Every Sunday morning will be tee times from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. If the pandemic rules change, we will throw in a few shotgun starts.
For the last two seasons we have had more than 100 members in men’s Sunday morning golf, which is fantastic! The committee would like your input on any ideas you have, that may make Sunday morning golf better and more fun.
You will be notified in a couple of weeks with information on the opening day event.
— Gerry Fagan writes about the Alberni Golf Club’s men’s club events