Southwood now open for business

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This article was published 30/08/2011 (5246 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s time to practice your swing and call your caddy, because the new Southwood Golf & Country Club is now open for business.

On Aug. 19, club members and local dignitaries attended a grand opening and dedication event to mark the formal completion of a five-year project that involved the sale of the previous course on Markham Road to the University of Manitoba and the development of the new course in St. Norbert.

Designed by Thomas McBroom, the new course plays from championship tees at 7,351 yards and includes 62 acres of fairway, 63 acres of rough and a new clubhouse and golf shop.

It also features 75 bunkers and a 15-acre practice academy that includes 350-yard double-ended range, two short game practice areas and a full putting green complex.

The new complex is built on site of the old St. Norbert Trappist Monastery ruins. Club president Ian Shaw said a key part of the construction process was to preserve and integrate elements of the ruins into the course.

“It’s really interesting because we’ve done things to incorporate aspects of the monastery town centre,” said Shaw, who lives in Fort Richmond and had the distinction of making the first tee shot on the new course.

“For example, the ninth fairway cuts right through the middle of the old milking barn. You can still see where the cows would have put their heads and got milked in the morning,” he said.

Shaw, who is also the project’s steering committee chair, said the new complex also embraces the natural animal habitat in the area.

“We’ve already seen a tremendous amount of wildlife. There’s about 50 deer, pelicans and also hawks, which are attracted by the many mice and rodents,” Shaw said.

“It’s kind of surreal hearing the hawks at night, but it makes a change from the sound of all the ambulance, buses and cars at the previous site. This is definitely a rural experience.”

Shaw said the course is a testament to many organizations pulling together, including the province, the city and community groups such as Entreprises Riel, Trappistes Residents Advocating for Peaceful Pathways, Group Action St. Norbert and Winnipeg Trails Association.

And Southwood’s partnership with the University of Manitoba has been integral to the evolution of the current course.

“We sold the Markham site to the U of M three years ago and we struck a creative deal where we remained a tenant until recently,” Shaw said. “Without that relationship, it would have almost been impossible to get the project done.”

Bob Roehle, long-time area resident and co-chair of Group Action St. Norbert, said he was pleased with the way the club has strived to combine the historical elements of the monastery with the new course.

“Usually commercial activities conflict with the preservation of historical sites.  Working with community groups, Southwood made an honest effort to be sensitive to the history of St. Norbert in general and the Monastery in particular,” he said. “I believe that a nice balance has been achieved. The community didn’t get everything it wanted in the golf course development and I’m sure Southwood didn’t get everything it wanted.”

Roehle added that he believes the golf course is an asset for the area.

“Of course, some residents would have preferred no development.  But that’s not realistic in a modern industrial society,” he said. “A golf course is much preferred to another ugly strip mall or a huge asphalt parking lot serving big box stores.”

“The lengthy and sometimes difficult community consultation that went into the development of this magnificent course, no doubt, resulted in many Southwood members getting a lesson in, and appreciation for, St. Norbert’s role in Manitoba’s history going back to 1870 when the province joined Confederation.”

Shaw said Southwood is the longest-standing golf club in Manitoba, tracing its roots back to the original Winnipeg Golf Club in 1894.

After becoming Southwood in 1908, the club acquired land from the Manitoba Agricultural College — now the University of Manitoba — to develop a course that opened in 1923.

Fittingly, Shaw said, Southwood will now be the permanent home facility of the university’s golf team.  

The club is located at 80 Rue des Ruines du Monastere. For more information, visit www.southwood.ca.