Tabernash — Pole Creek golf course sheds its winter coat, gears up for season

Fraser Valley golf enthusiasts don’t have long to wait.

Craig Cahalane, Pole Creek Golf Club course superintendent, says 21 of the 30 greens are ready, and snow should be removed from the rest of the greens by Friday.
The club is scheduled to open May 24, he said.

Workers cleared ridge eight about three weeks ago and just uncovered the turf that was protecting it to find the area bright green.

“Now I need to mow it, but can’t get a mower out to it because of all the snow — that’s our next goal,” he said.

General Manager Larry Burks said this is the most snow he has seen in 15 years.

“I haven’t seen it linger this long,” he said.

Cahalane said that at this time last year, workers were getting the sprinkler system “charged up” and watering the courses.

“We could get around the whole course,” he said. “We’re probably three weeks behind where we were last year.”

Workers are clearing the greens with the most snow first. Some of the courses were covered with up to six feet of snow. They are clearing two to three greens a day.

When they first started in mid-March it took two days to clear one green.

Cahalane said the sun is helping, “We’ve lost a lot of snow each day.”

The course has 27 holes, along with a practice, chipping and nursery green.

Employees are preparing for the $3.07 million clubhouse and $1.64 million irrigation projects at Pole Creek. Burks said it’s an “exciting year.”

The snow also has delayed the irrigation project. The wet well for the new clubhouse has not been installed yet because the area is too wet for the equipment to be transferred, Cahalane said.

The 25-year-old irrigation has gotten too expensive to maintain, Cahalane said. The new system will be “state-of-the-art,” he added.

The project should begin May 12 and could be completed 120 days after the start date, he said.

The club has a staff of 75 seasonal employees, and the hiring process is just about over. Burks said many workers from last season have returned.