LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Rakes and shovels were the forerunners of drivers and irons on the Seven Spruce Golf Course on Sunday.

Katie Wang, left, and Alex Campbell were among the approximately 23 people who donated part of their Sunday to the annual spring clean-up of the Seven Spruce Golf Course in Fort Simpson. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Approximately 23 people volunteered part of their afternoon on May 15 to help with the golf course's annual spring clean-up. Golfers and other Fort Simpson residents raked leaves, picked up brush and rid the course of garbage.

"The course is in really great shape considering all the water we had," said Shane Thompson, the club's president.

Thompson said he was pleased with the turnout considering the weather in the week leading up to the event. The clean-up was expedited by Mark and Shawn Gillis and Trevor Kjeldsli who came out a day early and took down the snow fences around each of the greens, he said.

The course officially opened on May 16 but carts won't be allowed until June 1. The club is looking forward to another successful year, Thompson said.

"Last year was phenomenal," he said. "People enjoyed the season."

Highlights from 2010 included seven tournaments, many with record high participation, including two new events the It's Pink Golf Fore the Cure Tournament and the Fort Simpson Hole in One Extravaganza. The club also expects to hold its normal lineup of seven to eight tournaments this year.

To keep the course running smoothly the club has hired its staff. The course employs between four and seven people during the season and this year all of the staff are returning members, which will create continuity, Thompson said.

Golfers can also look forward to new experiences on the course. A committee is being formed to look at putting hazards on the course this year.

"That will make the course that much more challenging," said Thompson.

NWT Golf is also bringing in a specialist to rate the course. Having a rating will help people establish their handicaps, he said.

Lee Scobie, one of the clean-up volunteers, said she was looking forward to her first round of golf of the season. Scobie, who has helped get the course ready almost every year, said it was the cleanest she's seen it.

"It was awesome," she said.

Scobie learned how to golf and how to curl when she moved to Fort Simpson 13 years ago.

"It's a great course to golf on," she said.

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