SPORTS FLASHBACK 1987: Niverville golf course on the drawing board

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This article was published 25/06/2023 (796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Niverville Chamber of Commerce has taken the first step towards building an 18-hole golf course on vacant park land to the south of the community.

Niverville Chamber of Commerce president Clare Braun said John A. Thompson of Golf Course Design Inc. has been retained to produce conceptual drawings for the proposed course. The drawings could take seven or eight weeks to complete.

Braun, who has spent 2½ months investigating the possibility of a Niverville course, said upon completion of the drawings, a public meeting will be called.

The course is expected to be a public, shareholder-owned facility, and development of the first nine holes could cost $350,000 to $400,000.

A more precise cost estimate will be possible after the 95-acre site, located south of the village, has been surveyed and the drawings completed, Braun said. Shares are likely to go up for sale after the initial public meeting, the chamber of commerce spokesman suggested.

“While Niverville has a lot of good, solid golfers, I am not at all convinced the village has enough to support a course.”

Braun added, however, he is confident the course would attract golfers from a large surrounding area.

George Dueck, owner of the land site, pointed out surrounding courses are “overfull.” The site will likely be made available on a long-term lease, Braun and Dueck indicated.

Braun noted Thompson, who examined a number of possible sites Friday morning, said the Dueck site was clearly the most suitable.

If development proceeds, the first nine holes could be open by late 1989. The second nine would be developed some time later; however, the drawings will provide for the development of an 18-hole course in two stages.

Jerry Cousin of J.R. Cousin Consultants Ltd., has also been hired to carry out a topographical survey.