LATEST
NEWS

Sean Dudley
/ Categories: News

New nine-hole course takes shape on Canada-US border

  • Lovely Golf Course

    Work got underway in October 2014 and is scheduled for completion next year

  • Lovely Golf Course

    The layout for the course was put together by six local golfers

  • Lovely Golf Course

    The course lies to the north-east of Emerson, on the Canadian side of the border with the US

A new nine-hole golf course is taking shape on the Canada-US border in the town of Emerson, Manitoba.

A three-hole course was built by the town’s residents 40 years ago, but was forced to close due to flooding.

“While most communities would simply shut down and admit defeat, we decided to relocate,” said Wayne Arseny, a member of the project’s building committee and a former Mayor of Emerson. “The government only provided us with a small flood incentive, and due to costs, hiring someone to build us a new one was totally out of grasp. So a small committee of five individuals was formed, each of us having some personal expertise to add, but none of us having a background in building a golf course.”

A group of six local golfers drew up the course’s layout, the elevations, the greens shapes and contours, the drainage scheme, and the irrigation layout. The final plans for the course were drawn up by Jacques Rollier, as one stipulation from the Canadian government when the committee sought to move the course to a non-flood area was that an architect drew up the plans.

“We had our plans looked over by a university graduate of golf course design and maintenance,” explained Bob Felsch, a member of the course’s committee. “He looks after a major course in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ‎Jacques drew up the plans to satisfy the government.”

Work got underway in October 2014 and earth moving has now been completed. The course’s greens are shaped, and landscaping is currently being finished before irrigation work begins.

“We are in the Red River Valley and it is very flat,” said Felsch. “Elevation change over the entire area was less than three feet. The central item is the irrigation reservoir. It measures approximately 3.25 acres and is 14 ft deep. We landscaped the course with the soil we removed to build the reservoir. Five of the nine holes are over, around, or beside the reservoir.”

The course’s clubhouse is yet to be determined, but the committee is hoping to acquire a nearby abandoned railway station.

“We want to move it, refurbish it and create the historical ambience of a clubhouse which would fit into the historical theme we want to create,” Arseny said.

Work at Emerson is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in July 2016.

“We will now have a course that will not flood, will be quite challenging from the 2,900 yard tees, has a par of 35‎, and that we can proudly say that the residents built,” added Felsch.

Previous Article Extensive project gets underway at Oak Meadows Golf Preserve
Next Article Development of new course in France’s Limousin region gets underway
Print
6311 Rate this article:
No rating
Sean Dudley

Sean DudleySean Dudley

Other posts by Sean Dudley
Contact author

Contact author

x
The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!
Magazine, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

The April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture is out now!

Includes reports from Maggie Hathaway and Apogee, interviews with Martin Ebert and Dave Axland and a feature on golf art

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now
Magazine, News | Fri 14 Mar, 2025

Spring 2025 issue of ASGCA’s By Design magazine is out now

New issue asks whether the golf boom has led to an increase in municipal golf investment

FEATURE
ARTICLES

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt
Lukas Michel/CDP
Opinion | Mike Clayton

The future of vegetation management on Melbourne’s Sandbelt

Mike Clayton discusses Alister MacKenzie’s transformative impact on Australian golf and how clubs can avoid repeating previous mistakes by establishing a long-term plan focused on indigenous plants

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good
Stephen Barton – Second Collective
On site | Adam Lawrence

Maggie Hathaway: A force for good

The reconstruction of the nine-hole course in Los Angeles is the golf industry at its best, says Adam Lawrence

Designs for the big screen
Pizá Golf
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Designs for the big screen

Chad Goetz and Agustin Piza discuss their design decisions for the virtual holes that featured in the first season of TGL

The ties that bind
Crooked Stick
Opinion | Justin Olmstead

The ties that bind

Justin Olmstead of Profile Products talks about the relationships behind the renovation of Crooked Stick in Indiana

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz
Konrad Borkowski
Interview | Adam Lawrence

Bob Harrison: Wizard of Oz

The Australian designer has had a long career and, like many of his countrymen, has spent much of it away from home. Adam Lawrence listened to his tales from the road

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build
Kinsale Golf Club
Interview | Richard Humphreys

Jim Wagner and Rusty Mercer discuss Kinsale design and build

Florida course is a tribute to the Golden Age designs of Raynor and Macdonald

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?
Larry Lambrecht
Feature | Adam Lawrence

Are bunkers getting too pretty for their own good?

Is the beauty of bunkering being over-emphasised at the expense of its function, asks Adam Lawrence

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor
Grant Books Ltd
Good Read | John Moran and Rand Jerris

Good Read: The Prairie Raynor

John Moran and Rand Jerris share insight into their book about Seth Raynor’s design at Chicago Golf Club

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam
Vinpearl Golf Leman
Report | Richard Humphreys

Vinpearl Golf Léman: New pearls for Vietnam

The first of two Golfplan-designed courses at club near Ho Chi Minh City has opened for play

Seven Canyons: Desert drama
Brad Klein
Report | Bradley Klein

Seven Canyons: Desert drama

Brad Klein reports on a Phil Smith Design renovation in Sedona, Arizona

Golf Club Föhr: Reinvented for a new century
Stefan von Stengel
On site | Adam Lawrence

Golf Club Föhr: Reinvented for a new century

Adam Lawrence reports on a visit to the far north of Germany where Christian Althaus has completely rebuilt the 27-hole course over the last 15 years

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025
Gopher Watch, News | Wed 16 Apr, 2025

Gopher Watch Competition – April 2025

Which course has Sandy the gopher visited this month?

MOST
POPULAR

FEATURED
BUSINESSES