Sunday, August 3, 2008

Move Over Crowbush...I'm in the record books!!

Well I didn't think it was possible but Crowbush has a new challenger for top spot and that is the newly renovated Green Gables, it’s BEAUTIFUL. I had the good fortune of being one of the invited guests to the official opening of Green Gables and in fact Anthony Warren (our top PEI amateur) and I joined the two German golf writers for a round of golf and we had a great day. From the first hole you could see the wonderful changes the course architect Tom McBroom made to the famous Stanley Thompson course. Every hole seemed to get better and better as we moved along but the closer we got to number 9 the stronger the sense of "great" became and as we moved into the back nine I started fighting with myself to pick a signature hole but I'm going out there now and say it will be number 13 (the par 4 after the tunnel) and I could easily pick three others. It's funny how things go but the last change to course was back in Eighties when the National Park wouldn't let you touch a tree let alone cut one down and quite frankly they nearly ruined the course at that time. Tom McBroom, Island Coastal and the people at Parks Canada should be very proud of the new design and execution of the changes and the respect shown for Lord Stanley Thompson. Back to our game, Anthony who holds the old club record at 63 shot a blistering 69 from the tips (about 7,250 yds) with about 4 balls in the woods and our guests showed up with a good game and enthusiastic conversation, while I posted a 81 (42 - 39) which will be posted beside Anthony's new record which may hold for a long time as we had no wind. I'm going to predict that if the crew at Golf Links continue to run Crowbush and the other courses into the ground that they will be soon garner 5th and 6th spot as Green Gables and the other great courses in the area will soon exceed our Provincial courses as the Place To Play.... I was speaking with Blair MacLauchlan and yes there are going to be memberships next year and I’ll be the first in line for an early tee time…
German writers hit the golf links on P.E.I.

DAVE STEWART
The Guardian
The golfing industry on Prince Edward Island just got ‘Punk’d’.Goetz Schmiedehausen and Jan Langenbein, writers with the German golf magazine Golf Punk, are on the Island doing research for a major feature on golf on P.E.I.They got a chance to see the new Green Gables course on Thursday.“From my point of view, it’s one of the best values for money you can have anywhere in the world,’’ Schmiedehausen said about the golf courses on P.E.I.“Green fees are a very good price for this standard of golf course.’’Golf Punk, a thick magazine with a glossy front cover, looks like just about any large sports magazine found in stores.“We were invited to do one of our bigger travel stories. (The P.E.I. golf feature) will be one of the three biggest travel stories we are doing.’’The two Germans are here at the invitation of Barry MacLeod with Golf P.E.I.Schmiedehausen said there isn’t a doubt in his mind that when the story runs in the German magazine that readers will be calling courses on P.E.I. to book tee times.“Golf Punk is known for having a progressive, modern readership that spends more money on travelling and that’s why it made perfect sense for (Golf P.E.I.) to invite us over here to do the story.’’Schmiedehausen and Langenbein are on the Island for 12 days and will play 11 different courses, including Anderson’s Creek, the Links at Crowbush Cove and Glasgow Hills.“We’ll play everywhere, all the top courses.’’The golf feature, he said, will be at least seven to eight pages.“It’s great,’’ Schmiedehausen said, when asked what his impressions of golf on P.E.I. are so far.

No comments: