(Kimberley, BC) - The deal closed in February of 2021 and Harold Simkins and his son Trevor, both seasoned golf industry veterans, were suddenly golf course owners.
That acquisition of Bootleg Gap brought with it incredible excitement and considerable angst.
After all, they were taking a gamble by emptying their bank accounts and assuming a significant amount of debt to swing the $3-million deal with Bootleg’s previous owner, the City of Kimberley...
Four and half years later, we are pleased to report that the Simkins’ bet on themselves and the game of golf has paid off.
Business is booming at Bootleg Gap, a family-friendly golf operation that is able to serve golfers of all abilities and ages. Bootleg has an expansive grass-tee driving range, a par-34 ‘Recreational 9’ course, and a championship 18-hole layout that is regarded as one of the best in the province.
“Can’t imagine how it could have gone better,” says Harold Simkins, who has worked in the golf business for more than 50 years. He was a longtime club pro at Kamloops Golf & Country Club before moving to the Kootenays.
“We knew the facts of the business going in, but any time you invest a lot of money, you worry,” he says. “We haven’t taken any money out of the company and we’ll have this thing paid off pretty soon. It was never about making money, it was about this being Trevor’s job for life if he wants it.”
Trevor Simkins joined Bootleg as an assistant pro in 2004, became head pro in 2006 and general manager in 2016. Now he is the owner, along with his dad and step-mom Jeanna.
Trevor, who serves as general manager and head professional, pretty much runs the place, but Harold, now 75 years old, is ever-present.
Bootleg Gap is playing host to this week’s 123rd playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship and both of the Simkins were up early in advance of Monday’s practice rounds. Trevor is taking charge of the driving range this week. He’s arriving at 6:15 each morning to make sure it looks just so.
Harold was raking bunkers with one of the club’s founding members early Monday morning. Later in the day, he was picking balls off the range.
Trevor Simkins feels blessed that things have turned out so well. He describes being a golf course owner this way, “I tell people when they ask what it’s like to own it now instead of just managing it, I say it’s extremely stressful and extremely rewarding.”
The Simkins’ timing was perfect as the golf business has boomed since the Covid pandemic. But beyond that, Trevor Simkins senses that more than Covid has made golf cool again. “I don’t know if it’s social media, but all of a sudden golf is cool to play and there’s tons of young people playing,” he says.
“Maybe we see it more at our facility because of our nine-hole course and our driving range being so accessible, but there’s tons of people out on the Rec 9 and the range and we have seen increases on our 18-hole course, too. But on the nine-hole course we just see it with different types of golfers. They are younger, a lot more girls and women, and I don’t think it is just Covid any more. It just seems like there is a buzz around the game right now.”
Bootleg has focused on trying to keep golf affordable for families. Green fees for their Rec 9 are $26, including taxes, Monday through Thursday, and $28 on Friday and weekends. The Rec 9 logs about 13,000 rounds a year, while the championship layout does about 22,000 annually.
The 'Recreational 9' At Bootleg Gap - image courtesy Bootleg Gap website
The golf season here runs from mid-April to mid-October. Weekday green fees on the championship course are $91.70, including power cart and taxes, and $102 on weekends. That’s lower than most other top-end courses in this golf-rich area.
That’s part of the reason why business is booming. On a recent Tuesday, the club ran through 450 players on its two courses. “We have seen a dramatic increase on our nine-hole course and driving range,” Trevor says. “A lot more young people are playing on the Rec 9 or just hitting a bucket of balls.
“The whole facility is a little more welcoming for non-golfers and beginner golfers. It’s not like a private club or semi-private club where you are sent out to the first tee and you are around a bunch of members who have played there for years. Here, our driving range is accessible to the public or if you want to go out on the nine-hole course you can play out there. It’s called the Recreation 9 for a reason because you are recreational golfers. We have seen golfers start on the driving range and move to the nine-hole course and now they are playing the 18-hole course.”
The Rec 9 should not be mistaken for an executive course. It features a long double-dogleg par 5, three par 3s and five par 4s. But the real gem at Bootleg is the Les Furber-designed championship layout that winds its way through forest along the St. Mary River. Framed by mountains and visually stunning, it can be stretched to more than 7,100 yards.
Trevor and Harold Simkins have honoured a commitment made to the City of Kimberley that they would not change the way Bootleg was run. They have also found a way to give back to the community. Each year, they raise several thousand dollars for a select local charity.
“Our family understands we could get more for green fees, we understand that we are cheap,” Trevor says. “I think we get more players because we are cheaper. So you could raise the rates and get fewer players, which means less food and beverage revenue. We have a good formula, we can keep it cheap because we feed off each course, so why mess up a good thing. So next year I only see us increasing it by a couple of bucks. We are not a greedy family, we are not in it for the money.”
Unlike many courses, Bootleg does not sell annual passes. “If we started offering annual memberships that Purcell Course (formerly Kimberley Golf Club) would just close their doors and we don’t want to do that,” Trevor says.
“That was our pledge to the community, nothing changes, everything stays the same. It’s still an affordable place to play. We live here, we want to be able to hold our heads high in the community, so that is what we have been able to do. It has been great.”
While 80 per cent of the Rec 9 play is from locals, the championship course is almost the complete opposite. Eighty per cent of its play comes from outside the area, most notably Alberta. One of the reasons the club decided to play host to this week’s B.C. Amateur is to give it more exposure to good B.C. players. The vast majority of the competitors had not played Bootleg before this week.
“Everybody in Alberta knows that we exist, but not a lot of golfers in Vancouver and the Okanagan know,” Trevor says. “You have to go through a lot of good golf corridors to get here. So that’s our goal, just to get the word out about our area west of us. Everybody east of us already knows. Saskatchewan is starting to come, Alberta is coming, but it’s hard to to get people from the Lower Mainland. It’s a big distance.”
One other family member is involved in the Bootleg business. Harold’s sister is the facility’s book-keeper. Others may soon join the fold. “I have three young kids and they are eyeing it up,” Trevor says with a laugh.
“My nine-year-old son is ready. My three-year-old picks the range with me on my lap and that’s his favourite part. And they all go for cart rides every once in a while. But they are in it for the French fries and hot dogs right now.”
Click HERE for Bootleg Gap website.