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4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, October 2, 2001 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" ~ King's Bay Golf & Cou After years of planning and design, Scugog Township's newest golf course will open By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Nestled on a small peninsula between Lake Scugog and Nonquon River, final touches are now being applied to King's Bay Golf and Country Club Estates in preparation for its grand opening this Friday. Located just east of Seagrave, Scugog's newest golf course surrounds the King's Bay subdivision, which will consist of 107 homes when completed. A nine-hole course, it is set up on approximately 70 acres of land with a waterfront view on most holes. The idea for King's Bay sur- faced nine years ago when Quorum Developments Inc. president Mark Dawson pur- chased the 170-acre parcel of land. He has since been joined by Rick Schickedanz. Since then, the project has begun to take shape. Rough planning for the golf course began about five years, and- work on the layout of the course was started in 1999. "We started laying out the course about two years ago... what we were going to do and what approvals we would need, those sort of items," said Tom Gillespie, general manager and designer of the King's Bay course. Construction work officially began on Oct. 6, 2000. "We started doing some earth moving then and this spring we started shaping the ground," said Mr. Gillespie. Grounds crews, led by greens superintendent James White, began seeding the course in the middle of June with hopes that play could begin this fall. "We wanted to have it ready for autumn, we wanted to open it this fall so that people would know it's ready. It may not be open for long this year, but the public will know it's open when next spring comes around," said Mr. Gillespie. And ready it is. The King's Bay Golf Course features nine challenging holes, each with its own signature fea- ture wrapped into small rolling hills. The course doesn't feature many traps, but the difficulty still remains quite high for golfers of all levels. "We didn't put a lot of traps in because we wanted to make it playable and challenging for golfers of all calibre," Mr Gillespie said. "In my opinion a "lot of new golf courses are going crazy putting in bunkers to make it challenging, but | pre- fer a variety of challenges where players can either chip onto the green or bump-and-run." Complete with bent grass tees, greens and fairways, along with Kentucky Blue and Red Top Fescue grass for the rough, the course features three par threes, three par fours and three par fives. The longest hole is No. 3, which will see golfers playing from the black tees (back) cover a distance of 595 yards. Following that hole, No. 4 is the shortest challenge, which will see players try to make their way 139 yards to the pin without hitting the water of Lake Scugog to their right or behind the green, or staying out of the trees to the left. From hole to hole, golfers will find themselves tackling an interesting challenge each time they step up to the tee box, which includes No. 9. The final hole will see golfers.tee it up for the 487-yard par 5, which fea- tures yet another stone wall, intimidating fairway play, and a - sloping green. Others added features include crushed granite cart paths to restrict dust, large boulders at the start of each hole listing yardage, and mark- ers at each tee box informing players the position of the pin. In total, the course plays to about 3,300 yards. "It's a rolling but very walka- ble course which allows players to choose either to ride of walk," said Mr. Gillespie. "All of the holes have a fea- ture of their own, there is no single signature hole for the course. Everyone who plays will remember each hole because they're all unique and challeng- ing in their own way. Each one has its own character." For example, hole No. | will challenge golfers to hit an absolute perfect shot down the middle of the fairway. Average players hitting about 200 yards off the tee will have to position themselves to see the pin, which sits past a stone wall fence and in a slight gully. Heavy hitters are reminded that the stone wall comes into play at about the 300 yard mark. "We didn't want to do a short nine-hole course, we wanted to do a regulation nine-hole course with wide fairways and a maximum view of the Nonquon River and Lake Scugog," said Mr. Dawson. "I think most peo- ntry Club ~ ble will be pleased with this challenge. 1 think it's pretty good, I'm quite pleased with it." A pro-shop is on site and non-alcoholic beverages and food will be available. King's Bay Golf and Country Club will - remain a public course, and no memberships will be available. Instead, spe- cial golf packages will be arranged, said Mr. Gillespie. Greens fees will cost $25 (9) and $45 (18) on weekdays and $35 (9) and $60 (18) on week- ends and holidays. For information or directions, or to book a tee time, please call 905-985-4619. King's Bay Golf and Country Club Estates will open to the public on Friday (Oct. 5), after years of planning. The chal- lenging course features a variety of tough challenges, and designer Tom Gillespie has pledged that each hole will be remembered for its uniqueness and difficulty. King's Bay is located just east of Seagrave, and is a regulation-sized nine- hole golf course. h J & A ANS \ 3 ir | g, NN o We y 1 ~ | } 0 .