Tired of trying to book one of a limited number of tee times at the local golf clubs, John Obritsch and Ronald Algee decided to build their own course. In 1966 they purchased approximately 100 acres of land on the Old Guysborough Road and by 1968 they had 9 holes in play.
John Obritsch
Ron Algee
at the 4-Person Scramble, June 16, 2008
The new course was built on farm land formerly owned by James and Ida Ledwidge. The farm had been in existence since the mid-1800s and consisted of a large house, two barns, a garage, tool shed and chicken coup. All but the farm house was demolished during the first few years of construction on the course. The farm house, located behind the 1st green, continued to stand until it was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s. This house had a long history as an inn, boarding house, stagecoach stop and a post office. Today, the only indication that a farm once stood on this property are the old rock walls that can be found on the 1st, 4th and 5th holes.
Old farmhouse behind the green on hole 1
In order to get the course operational as soon as possible the original 9 hole course was built primarily on open farmland. While this allowed the club to keep building expenses at a minimum it resulted in the holes being crowded together. As time went by and the course became more popular it was evident that the present layout was unacceptable. In 1993 the decision was made to redesign the layout making it more user friendly. Two new holes would be cut out of the woods to replace the old numbers 8 and 9 holes. This change would result in a much less congested course, an increase in length, a change in the par from 35 to 36 as well as creating room for a putting green and practice area. With the completion of these holes in 1997 the course design was dramatically improved.
In 1997 Ron and John formed two holding companies in which their sons became shareholders. Their sons decided to continue with the improvements started by their fathers. In 1999 construction began on a new green and tees for number 7 and was completed in 2002. An aging clubhouse also received some attention during these years. A new pro shop was built, the roof was re-shingled, paneling replaced, a partial foundation built, siding and windows installed, and a new deck added.
Plans for further improvements had to be put on hold when Hurricane Juan knocked down hundreds of trees around the course. The next two years were spent cleaning up debris and fallen trees. At first it seemed like the course was devastated by the storm but in the long run it thinned out the heavy brush making it possible to make recovery shots from off the fairways.
Improvements to the course resumed in earnest in 2005. It was decided to move the 6th green to a new location helping alleviate problems caused by the close proximity of the 5th and 6th fairways. The new green was enlarged considerably and a pond added to the hole. With the opening of this new hole in 2007 a new level of challenge was added to the course.
Fortunately, during all this construction, there has been little disruption of play. Our next project will be to replace the 2nd hole with a new par 3 near the pathway that leads to the 6th tee. This construction is necessary to replace an aging green allowing us to add more length to the course. Due to the location of this new hole there should be no negative impact on the existing 9 holes during construction.
You would expect the cost of playing this course would have increased dramatically over the years with all these improvements. However, you will find this is not the case. Our course is one of the more affordable layouts in the province. It was built with the intention of keeping golf affordable to the general public and with that in mind we hope to continue making improvements in the future.
