Atom B Rep Lions & Glens all knotted up

Dennis Casselman has put the rumours to rest with his recent announcement that the 15-year-old back nine portion of the Cedar Glen Golf Course located east of Williamsburg has been sold to neighbouring farmer Robert Byvelds. 

In an interview on Monday afternoon, Casselman said the sale of the back nine land will probably be finalized in late January.

It’s pretty disappointing for us,” said Casselman. “The way things have been going, every year the revenue is dropping and the expenses are going up.”

With two thirds of the 165 acre property occupied by the back nine layout, Casselman says that two thirds of the maintenance budget was going on the very spacious back nine holes which totalled 3,453 yards from the blue tees.

In addition to the longer holes, the back nine Cedar Glen holes featured huge expansive greens, large-sized tees and extensive mowed areas between holes.

With the Byvelds farm expected to put the land back into crop production, Casselman says it is certainly not something he or his family want to see. 

Casselman recalls the building of the back nine holes and its opening in July of 1999, with his sons David and Paul and workers, David Stewart, Bunny Bennet and Randy Burke. “They were a great bunch of guys, and we all put in a lot of hard work.”

Although the back nine is sold, the Casselman family is pleased to be able to keep the land for the driving range intact along with the parking lot and current clubhouse location.

The northern boundary will be along the North tower line, which runs about halfway through the current 10th tee.

“Basically, we had too many holes and not enough golfers,” says Casselman of the current trend of fewer members and decreasing guest play in the golf industry. The current Cedar Glen membership of 350 members is well down from when the game was peaking in this area in the mid to late 90s.

 “All the revenue streams are down,” says Casselman. “It isn’t just the fewer green fees and fewer members, but the members are getting older and not sticking around as much. And there just isn’t the young people coming up. Around here, it is also crazy competitive.”

“Our membership is great. We have a very longtime loyal membership. We have met a lot of nice people and made a lot of friends over the years We are hoping that most of them will stay with us, but we do realize that we are going to lose some for sure who enjoyed the 18 holes. That is why they were here.”

“So far the reaction from the members is that they are sorry to see it [back nine] go, but happy that we were able to hold onto our front nine. We still have our club, it’s intact and our nine hole original course is intact.”

Dennis who is 70 and perhaps looking forward to a little retirement golf himself, says [son] David will be getting more involved. “The 18-hour days are getting hard for me to take.”

For the 2015 golf season, members and the golfing public at the Cedar Glen Golf Course can expect conditions to be every bit as good as they were this past summer, and they were great. Casselman suggests that they will even get better with the focus now on just nine holes.

Work continues on the new tee on the second hole and plans are in the works for some other sodding in needed areas.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but we will make the best of it. We look forward to continuing with all the fun events of the past and to develop new ones. We believe that with the lessened pressure of maintaining the entire 165 acres, we will be able to provide better facilities, better course conditions and an even more enjoyable golf experience.”

Golfers were out and about thanks to the warm spell earlier this week and play will continue until the snow flies…again.

In the spring, it will be golf as usual at Cedar Glen with golfers returning to the 42 year old original nine holes for their action.

[…]

The ladies night on Wednesday, June 26 was decided by draw. Closest to the pin winners were Ann Cook on the par three sixth hole and Sheila Bush on the par 3 ninth.

On Wednesday, June 19, it was Cheryl Lowe leading the way with a 44 to claim the A flight low gross prize while close behind was Lynne Shaw with a 46. A flight net winners were Sheila Bush and Pat Reaney.

In B flight, it was Christina Yelle with the win thanks to a 45, while Barb Barkley zeroed in on the low net win. Sandra Julien posted a 55 for the win in C flight, and Jane Hess was the top D flight shooter with a 62. Cory Witteveen scored the low net in C flight. Closest to the pin shots were made by Gerry McEwan on the par three sixth hole and Sue McMillan on the par three ninth.

Dave Bird fired a 36, at Men’s night on Thursday, June 27 for the low gross in a Flight. He narrowly edged out Rick Barkley with a 37.

Jeff Whitteker and Harold Chalker tied for the low gross in B with 40s, while Darwin Bird also counted a 40, his to win low gros in C flight. A 57 carded by Allan Crowder was the low for the evening in D flight.

Net winners were Lonnie McIntosh in A flihgt, George Bloom in B, and Byron Brunt in C.

Jeff Byvels and Jeff Taylor dropped the closest to the pin shots  on the part three sixth and ninth holes respectively and David Casselman had the long drive.

In men’s action on Thursday, June 20, Kurtis Barkley led the field with a 36. Jeff Whitteker was the now shooter in B flight with a 41 and Liam Morrow shot a 44 to win C flight. The first low gross prize in D flight was claimed by Josh Freak. Net winners were Greg Vandellan in A flight, Mitch Hutt in B and Ron Rutley in C.

[…]

As March break comes and goes I’m sure you’ve been dreaming of swimsuits and tropical beaches and really, they’re not so far in the future.  The days may be getting longer and the temperature may be skyrocketing but in the rink winter isn’t over yet.  

With our annual year-end carnival just around the corner MDSC skaters are working as hard as ever to bring you a show you’ll never forget.  With performances from everyone from our little future Olympians to our dedicated star-skaters it’s sure to be a night of enjoyment.  

If interested you can find tickets at the door, Friday March 29, or you can purchase them ahead through any of our skating club members.  The canteen will be open and seating is available in both the heated lobby and stands.

Just because the year is coming to a close doesn’t mean the competitive season is finished.  Competitions include the much anticipated all Ontario championships, which Ali Vanhoof competed in this past weekend of March 24th in Fort Erie. We all had our fingers crossed for great results from Ali. And we’re not finished yet, Morrisburg is proud to say we have many Starskaters travelling to Ottawa for the annual Gloucester Spring Fest.  We wish everybody luck in their events and hope they can end their season with a bang!

 Just as the carnival is a MDSC ritual our annual banquet is a yearly tradition that we aren’t planning to break.  This year the awards ceremony will take place the evening of April 7th at the Morrisburg Legion.  Tickets can be purchased at the skating office and will include a dinner with dessert and an evening of awards and memories.  

A new tradition for our club began last year with the Ice Cream party for our Canskaters. It continued this year at the MacIntosh Inn and was a large success. Each of our skaters was treated to a homemade sundae and a medal of accomplishment.  Way to go Canskaters!  In addition, we would like to remind all of our Canskate parents and skaters that they to can attend the banquet.

Speaking of new traditions, many may remember the Fun Fair from last year.  Families could come and enjoy a day of games, bouncy castles and petting zoos all while supporting our club. It was such a success we are hosting another one this year. Watch for further details this spring.  

As you can see, the skating season may be winding down but this last month will be the busiest of all!  So, remember, skate great, and have fun!

[…]