Some new faces, returning experienced personnel, new ownership and management, plus a revamped list of amenities, is the plan behind the once Bear Creek Golf Club established in 1914, to be now known as Willow Tree Golf Course. New General Manager Bram Gordyn who is a local, says the previous course owner will be the majority owner but an additional ownership group is coming in to add to the management of the facility which Gordyn could not disclose at the time of the interview with myFM. He says they are looking at a soft opening of mid-late May and has been asked why they can’t open now. Gordyn says it simply isn’t ready, it needs a good solid 5-6 weeks of preparation and the right thing to do would be open it when local golfers can actually enjoy the layout and conditions.
He says the goal of the new ownership and management group is customer service, not only for the local golfer but the non-golfer on many levels.
As they move forward, plans include other amenities other than just golf like a patio, full kitchen, a restaurant, revamped pro shop and more. Gordyn is a local resident and has golfed the facility for many years and when asked why he jumped on this venture, he said it felt right and the course itself needed a change to move forward.
Over 6 years ago, when the Municipality agreed to the development of condominiums on that site, there were 11 stipulations to the deal, with 2 of them being the construction of a brand new maintenance building for the golf course which still has not been done, and that the course itself needed to remain as 18 holes which for the last few years and a bit has not met that stipulation either, and those two stipulations among what could be others were never followed up on by the Municipality or the residential developer. Gordyn says Willow Tree will be 18 holes, they are led on the grounds by well known Superintendent Donnie Campbell along with a well versed Maintenance department leader in Marcel Honkoop who has increased the course’s roster of equipment and looking to bring the venue back to a higher conditioning level.
Here is the complete interview with Willow Tree Golf General Manager Bram Gordyn.
