LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A dozen golfers braved cool weather on Sept. 26 for the last tournament of the season at Seven Spruce Golf Course in Fort Simpson.

Chuck Blyth takes aim at the unofficial shooting range between Fort Simpson and the airport. - photo courtesy of Chuck Blyth

The Sneeze and Freeze tournament, which went ahead on a chilly sunny day, wrapped up the golfing season at the club.

Shaun Ouellette, vice-president of the golf course's board of directors, said the tournament was slightly different than usual.

"Due to weather, we've had to postpone certain tournaments, such as the club championships," he said. Club championships were originally scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 19 and 20. "We ended up combining the club championship and Sneeze and Freeze. Players could turn in their score cards and they get tallied up after that for the championships," he said.

Ouellette said he does not yet know who won the tournament, and characterized the golfing season as a good one.

"The members really (came) together to make these tournaments happen," he said. "There was a lot of good feedback from the community, and I think people who visited Fort Simpson who had a chance to golf found it a great course to golf on. I haven't golfed anywhere else in the NWT but I've heard our course is one of the best. That's nice to hear."

Golf course manager and greenskeeper this year were Allison Anderson and Mike Byland, respectively. Both have been involved with the course for years and Ouellette said their experience helped an all-new board of directors through some "growing pains."

"It's been an interesting year at the golf course. There were a lot of unexpected things we had to deal with - we had a few break-ins this year. I really didn't expect that," Ouellette said. "I guess it happens every year. You deal with it, you have to repair the damage and there's costs for that."

More success

The golf course had more success than usual with its Wednesday wing nights and steak nights.

Ouellette said the course was not originally going to offer wing nights, but changed their mind after the community expressed desire for the nights to continue.

"We re-established it and it was popular right away. I think everybody was very happy about that. Some people would just phone in orders and come and pick it up - it was very well-liked," he said.

The golf course will remain open over the weekend and will close as of Oct. 5.

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