Oakfield Golf & Country Club
A family oriented club continually moving forward
The
early 1960’s witnessed the founding of a premiere golf club, not far from the
Halifax International Airport, based on the principle of unrestricted membership
and the promotion of family recreation.
The Oakfield Golf and Country Club was built on a portion of
the Laurie family's historic Oakfield Estate. General John Winburn Laurie came
to Canada in 1861, following service in the Crimean War and, in 1866, acquired
3000 acres of woodland at Grand Lake. He had grand plans for the property. He
brought families from Devonshire, England and established the Estate of
Oakfield, which included cottages, a school, a church and a model farm, noted
for its Guernsey cattle. In 1961, 340 acres of the estate were sold to the
Oakfield Golf and Country Club by Lt. Col. Kendrick Laurie, (son of General J.
W. Laurie) and Mrs. Violet Laurie. The property included water frontage on both
Grand Lake and Fish Lake.
C.E. Robbie Robinson, widely recognized as the most
experienced golf course architect in Canada at the time, was selected to design
the course. In 1965 Oakfield opened its entire eighteen holes for play.
Although initially recognized as a long and wide-open course,
a tree planting program in the mid-eighties and the recent reconstruction have
changed the original character of the course. It certainly now ranks as one of
the best courses in Eastern Canada.
“Oakfield has always been known as a family membership club,” says Gordie Smith,
host CPGA professional and General Manager. “Our membership is very active. We
have a beautiful beach on the property, as well as several trailer sites where
some of our members park their trailers and reside for the summer.”
Membership
has been fairly constant over the years and presently includes 595 full playing
members and 115 juniors. Most are from the Halifax area, mainly Bedford,
however, there is an increasing number from the Fall River-Waverley area. Over
the years Oakfield has hosted many top events, including the Canadian Men’s and
Canadian Ladies’ Amateur Championships and, for eleven years, the CPGA Atlantic
Zone Championship was contested here. “Recent renovations have prevented us from
hosting large events lately,” admits Smith, “however, when our renovations are
complete, perhaps, we will look at hosting a national championship in the
future.”
Oakfield’s philosophy is to offer its members a quality
product throughout the entire golf season. With the renovations and the
aggressive plans being pursued, they have succeeded in providing their members
with one of the top facilities in the region.
There is a strong junior program at the club, which continues
to compliment the family membership philosophy. “My assistant professionals,
Andrew Noseworthy and Joel Campbell and I work very hard to offer the juniors a
full program,” reports Smith. “ We have clinics, camps, tournaments and a
pre-junior program. We really stress a family atmosphere.”
The recent renovations at Oakfield started out as green
replacement program in the early 90’s.“The club decided it was best to go with
USGA specifications and incorporate sand greens with bent grass,” advises
Gordie. “Our greens were getting old and had limited drainage. There was
considerable ice damage in the winter, resulting in greens that really weren’t
in good shape until mid-June.”
The green rebuilding project evolved into a total renovation
package. Well-known Canadian golf course architect, Graham Cook, has prepared
all the renovations on the course to date.“The final project will be done this
fall and it will be the largest,” says Gordie. “Five new fairway bunkers will
add a great dimension to the layout. All golf car paths will be paved and forty
tee decks will be built. I do have a small plan to renovate the practice range
facility- that should finish up everything. If the weather co-operates, by the
end of next spring, all 18 greens and the practice putting green will have been
redone. Every hole will feature four tee decks, a paved cart path system will be
completed and five new fairway bunker complexes will have been installed.”
Par for the course has also changed, as number 14 was converted from a par 5 to
a par 4. When all course renovations are complete, the par will be 72 for both
men and women.
The clubhouse has seen changes too. “We decided to move the
pro shop up to the top level,” continues Gordie. “There was a vacant area at the
front of the building that we converted to a new pro shop and added a starter’s
area.”
The
new shop provides the staff a greater visibility of tees one and ten. The whole
flow of the building seems very productive and more convenient for members and
staff. The former pro shop now houses a valet service area for club storage and
cleaning, golf car and range operation. Seventy-five electric golf carts can be
housed and everyone who requests club storage can be accommodated. The club also
has a fleet of 25 new golf cars. A patio extension, overlooking the golf course,
was constructed and new deck furniture installed. The men’s and women’s locker
rooms have been modernized, complete with walnut lockers. New business offices,
a boardroom and washrooms were also installed.
Oakfield enjoys all the dining facilities a member could want.
The clubhouse has a full service dining room and lounge area. A chef and a very
capable food and beverage staff are on hand to cater to your post-round or
luncheon requests. A full service canteen and grill is found on the lower level
of the clubhouse, en route between the ninth green and tenth tee. An order phone
is located on the ninth tee. A full service beverage cart travels the golf
course four or five days a week.
“The condition of our golf course has been fabulous the past
few years as our superintendent Hughie Yorke and his staff are doing a wonderful
job,” reports Smith. “We are doing the things we need to do to get our golf
course into better shape. We have a specialist who assists Hughie with the
fertilizer program. With all the renovations a lot of new soil was introduced.
We decided to seek outside expertise to work with our superintendent. These
efforts are now paying dividends, as this year, we opened in as good a shape as
we have ever been. Now, in mid summer, we are still in fabulous condition. I’m
sure that the members appreciate that.”
“Although our focus, right now, is to complete the existing
renovation,” admits Smith, “we are always looking at ways to improve our
facility. There is the option of future expansion, as we have considerable land
available to us. Perhaps the construction of another nine holes, along with a
housing development - it’s a possibility.”
How do I get to Oakfield Golf & Country
Club, Grand Lake, N.S. ?
It is easily accessible from the Trans Canada
Highway.
Take Exit 7 off Hwy. 102 and drive 2.5 km to Grand Lake
There are restrictions in effect for non-members
Please check with the starter at 902-860-2124
For other information please call
902-861-2658 or Visit their website
www.oakfieldgolf.com
