The weather was so nice Saturday that it was easy to forget erratic slices into water hazards.
At least that was the opinion of some of the 88 members of Mountain View Golf Club who competed in the Mountain View Opening Member Scramble.
“The course was in great shape and the turnout was awesome,” said Mountain View president Tom Amson, whose foursome golfed a six-under in the tournament.
“We weren’t expecting the weather to be so nice, and having almost 90 members show up was great … we’re off to a great start this year.
“In the big picture, it’s better than in previous years; the membership is much more invested in the golf course this year,” added Amson.
The scramble marks the start of golf season and was restricted to just members of the club.
In golf lingo, “scramble” means each foursome — or in some cases threesome — will play from where the group’s best shot lands. The club will hold another members-only scramble in the fall to mark the end of the season.
Once everyone had completed their 18-holes, the players adjourned to a dining area for a barbecue and awards ceremony.
Although the emphasis was on having a good time more than low scores, awards such as hats, sleeves of balls and golf bags were given out to those with the best score, longest drive and for a closest-to-the-pin competition, to pick just a few.
“It’s a social event,” said the club’s golf pro Jeff Wiggins. “That’s why I keep saying there’s no winners or losers. It’s not about the score at the end of the day. It’s an opportunity for the members to go out, be paired up with people they’ve never met before, maybe never played before.
“It’s an opportunity for the membership to have the golf course for themselves for four and a half hours,“ said Wiggins.
This weekend Mountain View is hosting the Air North Midnight Sun Tournament and the BCPGA Stroke Play Championship.
The former begins at 10 a.m. and the latter at 6:30 p.m.
Club members can enter the tournament for $50 and nonmembers for $90.
“We will probably get done at 11:30 at night, and then we have a big soiree and dinner and everything else,” said Wiggins.
“One of the catches to it is that you can play to 11:30, 12 at night. I know that Yellowknife has one that’s similar, but (Mountain View) is the most northern 18-hole golf course, grass from tee to green, in Canada.”