Twenty-four hours of golf, 7 days a week!

By Tim Baines

If you're playing a game of word association and somebody throws "Northwest Territories" at you, you might come up with "snow" or "polar bears" or maybe "damn cold." It's highly unlikely you're going to respond "golf."

But there are golfers in the Northwest Territories and, believe it or not, there are golf courses.
In the remote community of Ulukhaktok, in the far reaches of the Northwest Territories, some 900 km north of Yellowknife, they have a nine-hole track that has become an important part of the community. The course doesn't have much grass aside from the odd tuft of moss; it just doesn't grow that far north.

Lining up a putt on one of the artificial greens can be an adventure in itself. Imagine muskoxen standing between you and the pin as you line up a 10-foot birdie putt, or an approach shot that looks good that can hit a rock and ricochet in another direction, or maybe even a snowstorm will kick up in mid July. Interestingly, during the "summer" months it never gets dark, which means 24/7 golf from the middle of May until late July. Best of all, there's no charge to play.

The course is the pride of Ulukhaktok, a cozy community of few more than 400, a place that oozes friendliness. It does not have the lush fairways or sprawling clubhouse that "southerners" have become accustomed to, but there's something about the ambiance and the ruggedness that makes it so special.

"When you get there and take your first look, it sort of looks like the pictures of Mars taken from the land rover. It looks like nothing else you'd see on this planet," says Gary Bunio, VP for MGM Services. He visited the town two years ago and found the experience so wonderful that he returned last summer with his then 12-year-old son Lyndon. He's hoping to clear his schedule and return this summer.

"The whole town is so friendly," says Bunio. "It's like that that always gives you a big hug. They're genuinely happy to see you. It's amazing how welcoming they are and how quickly they make you feel at home. I'm a real fan of the whole area."

Visitors have a wonderful place to stay, too. The Arctic Char Inn is big on hospitality, and wants to make visitors feel like they're in a home away from home.

The town rallies around the Billy Joss Open Celebrity Golf Tournament, held each year during the third week of July (July 17-19, 2009). The event is a huge party and celebration, fishing included. This isn't just fishing, it's FISHING: Fifteen-to-20-lb. arctic char are common.
While you're golfing, volunteers will have the fire pits stoked, offering up delicious servings of bannock, fried muskoxen and char. There's no shortage of coffee, tea and maybe some other beverages.

"We want to see it more as an experience, rather than just as a golf game," says Judith Venaas, Regional Tourism Officer: Industry, Tourism and Investment for the Inuvik Region. "You can go all over Canada and the U.S. and find beautifully manicured golf courses. This is different. You follow your ball around and it may have fallen into a crevice. It's an experience."

Ulukhaktok (known as "Holman" until April of last year) has one of the oldest golf histories in the north. In 1969, Billy Joss, a trader for the Hudson's Bay Company brought the game to the community. By 1983 golf had become popular enough that when the community received funding for recreational facilities, they spent the money on a golf course, establishing the world's most northern course.

Gary Bristow created the original three-holes. Then with plenty of community support Tony Kulbisky expanded it to nine holes.

The rules are not very strict: It's basically winter rules year round, with golfers permitted to move their ball a club length away to get a reasonable lie. Golfers have come to expect the unexpected. "It can get up to about 18ºC and it is normally about 10ºC," says Billy Joss tournament organizer Susan Kaodloak, "But they've played in a snowstorm in the middle of July, too."
Fishing for Arctic char
The world's northern most course!
Inuit heritage.
The Midnight Sun Tournament.

"Right now, we're having raven problems," says Bristow. "I was out there and the ball hit left of the pin. A raven came down and took off with the ball." Did he play it where it lay? "Nah, it's not our fault. There's no penalty," he says with a chuckle.

With the rough terrain, there's no need for golfers to tote along their pricey clubs. "I took my driver, five iron, nine iron, sand wedge and putter," says Bunio, whose two trips have given him some course knowledge. "Your short game is very essential. Instead of fringe around the green, there's a sandy area. If you hit the rocks in front, you have no idea where your ball is going to go. But there's some bite in the sand, you want to hit the sand and roll it on."

If you're looking for something larger, there's the 18-hole golf course in Yellowknife that celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Stretched across a scenic rock and sand course, it's the location each year for a number of tournaments; including the Canadian North Midnight Classic, played each June 21 weekend on the longest days of the year.

Inuvik has gotten the golf bug too, and construction of a new course is being led by fire chief, Al German. "We've been working on this for five years. It's become a real community project."
The End of the Road course now has three holes and a driving range, with six more holes in the working stages.

"The grass goes in this year," says German. "It's really going to look like a golf course. People have been using the three holes we have, 24 hours a day, around the clock."

It's golf at its truest form. No pomp. No pageantry. Just a lot of fun.

06/09

 

 

For more information visit www.arcticgolfing.ca

For more specific
information email ulukhaktok_recept@yahoo.ca.
or contact Judith Venaas at Judith_Venaas@gov.nt.ca

 
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