Before GPS, people used to get lost all the time. Bugs near Albuquerque, the Flintstones near Redrock, Oceanic flight 815, and who can forget that poor Robinson family. Some might say use a map. Have you seen The Amazing Race Canada? Those kids can’t read maps. Even with GPS, people are still getting lost. Turn left into this thick field of sunflowers? I don’t think so, Siri. These examples remind me of the other day when I was 3.2 parsecs from Nowhere, Manitoba. I kept driving endlessly, and lo and behold, a golf course appeared on the west side of the highway. What follows is about my pit stop at the Hartney Golf Club.
If you plan on going to this cute little nine hole offering, don’t go too early. The course doesn’t open until 9 a.m. Also, make sure you finish up your round right after the supper bells, because they close at 7 p.m. I might also suggest that if you are calling ahead to reserve a tee time, and you need a riding cart, you reserve one of those, too. When I was there, the carts were new and electric, but they only numbered four in total! The clubhouse has some indoor tables, some outdoor covered patio tables, and a licensed restaurant serving a simple but satisfying menu. There is no driving range or practice green, but there is a warm-up driving net.
The course is in good shape, with the odd little black dimple in a couple of greens. Water is no problem for this course, as it is built on the shores of the Souris River. Fairways are green and lush throughout the property. If you are teaching young ones, or prefer walking, this is a good choice. The holes overall are not PGA ridiculous, and there are no real elevation issues that would tax a walking player. The scorecard also has cute names for each hole.
Photo by Ryan Desjarlais
There is a huge tree right in front of the green obscuring any view of the flag on the first hole at Hartney Golf Club.
Starting off the round on “Old Oak Tree” is a par 3. Simple; no water, no sand, no bushes, but there is this huge tree right in front of the green obscuring any view of the flag. Picking your shot for any level of golfer here is going to be complex. You can relax on “Chokecherry Hill”, as it is open, and you can easily see the pin. “Ox-Cart Trail” offers a sand trap on the right side, about 60 yards from the hole. This trap needs a bit more sand, because as of this printing, it is about 40 per cent mud and 60 per cent beach.
“Spruce Corner” and the “Brambles” both have OB on the right. For the former, it is an active farmer’s field. For the latter, you can look into the endless horizon of the prairies. Backing the green on 5 is the flood banks of the Souris. You don’t want to over hit on this one, because that ball will belong to the porcupines. Look out for the white tee box on “The Lookout”. If you come off the green on 5, you will be see the red tee box for 6 and naturally want to go there. To get to the white tee box, you will have to backtrack a bit up the previous hole’s fairway.
“Sunset Climb” describes the hole aptly. It does head west, and it does head up-slope slightly. It is nice and wide, but just about 100 yards from its green, there are in-growths of trees both on the left an right that seem to funnel you towards the green. “River View” makes you work for the view of the river! The tee has trees across the fairway at 100 yards. If you clear them, then you are in a wide open fairway. If you don’t, making the par 5 mark will be challenging. The view comes in on your third hit, and up on the fairway green the view is nice to take in. Coming home you will be playing the par 4 “Alligator Swamp”. There were no ex-patriot Floridians on this fairway, nor were there any indications of their swampy habitat. Indeed, the hole is straight forward, dry, and easy to play.
To get to this course, use Highway 21. To book a tee time, call 204-858-2011. This course does host a number of local tournaments, so calling ahead may skirt disappointment.
Supplied photo
The view down the ninth fairway at Hartney Golf Club.
Ryan Desjarlais
Out on the Back Nine
Ryan Desjarlais is a high school physics teacher looking to shed some light on rural golf. This summer, he’ll feature a different rural course each week.
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