A golf course just isn’t a golf course without 18 holes.
This was a common complaint about the Rupert Park Pitch & Putt, a par-three course in Hastings Sunrise enjoyed for the mature trees that line narrow fairways and raised greens. Beginner-friendly because of the condensed distance between tee and pin, like each of the city’s public par-three courses, Rupert also serves to refine a seasoned player’s short game.Â
But for more than five years, the Rupert golf course wasn’t complete. It was short a hole. No. 15 was closed, the green had gone to seed and the fairway was overgrown and waterlogged. There was no tee box and no flag to aim at. Golfers left their score cards blank between the 14th and 16th holes, which are located near the northwest border of the course.
“A 17-hole course leaves everything a little short,” said Jeff MacLean, the city’s supervisor of golf operations.
Before the complaints came in about the golf course not being a golf course, the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Parks Board heard from residents of Rupert and Charles streets, their homes located at the northwest edge of the park, who voiced serious complaints of their own.
“The direction of the tee box was originally set facing north toward the neighbours, and we had a lot of errant balls,” said Joan Probert, the supervisor of business services for the city. “People were getting up there and blasting shots, and the houses were suffering the consequences. It was designed in a way that if someone wanted to abuse it, they could.”
For this reason, in 2009 the hole was closed indefinitely.Â
This spring, thanks to a partnership with the YMCA’s First Tee golf program for youth, the Parks Board sunk about $50,000 into Rupert Park Pitch & Putt to completely redesign No.15 and make it playable again. The 75-yard hole opened in time for Canada Day. (A month later, the course still said it is "closed indefinitely.")
“I was basically a field, which turned into a swamp with weeds in it,” said MacLean. “We had to strip it, add several tonnes of sand to shape and dry it up. Then we had to add drainage to the low areas and the right side of the golf hole to intercept water off the street. We had to completely redesign and install new irrigation.”
And then came the fun part: deciding how the hole would play.
“I’ve rebuilt greens but have never designed a hole,” said MacLean. “We basically had carte blanche to do what we wanted and make it playable. We’re quite happy with it.”
The hole plays from right to left toward a large, slightly sloping green framed by willow trees. It backs onto a sports field often used for ultimate.
They planted pine trees and will introduce more saplings over the next year.
, which is run by the Greater Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»YMCA, gave $10,000 to the project and will now make Rupert Park Pitch & Putt its home course for children and teens to learn golf.
“First Tee is a charity that works mostly with inner-city kids along the Hastings corridor,” said the program’s manager Christophe Collins, noting the program draws children from nearby schools including Hastings, Begbie and Renfrew elementary schools.
“Very few people realise that the sport is more about character development and core values and life lessons, not just golf skills,” he said.
They use nine of the 18 holes, including No. 15.
