Starting this weekend, there is going to be a new challenge at the Deer Park Golf and Country Club. The seventh hole has a new green, which was recently opened, and will change that hole.
Cliff Trombley with the Men’s Club at Deer Park, said that rebuilding the seventh hole was inspired in part by the City of Yorkton developing a new “signature hole” – the eighth hole – and a desire to capitalize on the equipment and men at the site to make other improvements at the course.
The new hole is a more modern design, intended to make the green more challenging for golfers. The design is more complex than the relatively flat green that used to be used on the seventh hole, explained Trombley, making it more challenging for the golfer and a more difficult putt.
“It’s a spectacular improvement to the hole.”
The hole cost $140,000, with $65,000 provided up front by the men’s club, and the remainder of the cost paid for through an interest-free loan provided by the city. The goal was to pay off the loan this year, though Trombley admits that like most plans in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic paused their effort. They now intend on paying off that loan in 2021, and it has about $30,000 outstanding on the loan.
The hole is a companion to the new #8, which is not ready yet, and was funded by the City of Yorkton. The Men’s Club will still be involved with that hole, helping get the sand traps ready with some of the senior golfers. That hole should be ready within the next few weeks.
The Men’s Club has long been giving back to the course they play on, and Trombley estimates they have spent $300,000 on capital improvements to Deer Park over the past decade and a half, including tee box improvements.
“We know that funding is tight, and the city can’t be funding the course for these improvements. It’s been our mandate for probably the past 20 years, all of the money that we raise goes right back into capital improvements.”
Trombley said that golfers in the area are excited to get on the course and try out the new holes, and it’s an exciting time to be a golfer in Yorkton.
“This is absolutely amazing. We’ve had lots of excitement from our golfers, just waiting to get at this hole.”
