Golf Burnaby Sets A High Standard While Keeping Green Fees Affordable
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
Peter Sorokovsky will never forget his first day on the job as superintendent of Golf Burnaby’s four-course portfolio.
Sorokovsky had been hired after spending several years as assistant superintendent at Northview Golf Club in Surrey, where he had learned some things while helping oversee a massive slit drainage project. It didn’t take him long to realize that he was going to have to put that knowledge to work in a big way in Burnaby.
“I distinctly remember my first day of work with Golf Burnaby and I still have a picture I took that day of the foreman standing in the middle of the 10th fairway at Riverway in late January of 2007 and he has his rubber boots on and he is at least ankle-deep in muddy water and the grass is six inches long,” Sorokovsky says. “And I’m like, oh, no, what did I just step into.”
Turns out he had stepped into a great opportunity. Thanks to support from management at Golf Burnaby and the City of Burnaby, Sorokovsky and his staff were allowed to do the work necessary to turn Riverway into what it was intended to be: the crown jewel of Burnaby’s golf collection and one of the top municipal courses in the country.
Riverway always had lots of promise. It opened in the early 1990s as a 7,000-yard layout with a solid design. What it lacked was top-notch conditioning. Like so many courses, it didn’t drain well and apart from the summer months the course was, to put it kindly, soft.
Its conditioning resurrection started in the summer of 2007 when former Golf Burnaby boss David O’Connor got $50,000 in funding from the city to do slit drainage work on two holes. “So we did the worst two holes, which were 7 and 10, as a pilot project,” Sorokovsky says.
“They were done in July so nobody would know what the results were until the winter. Fast forward a few months later and we are in January and those two holes are the best two holes on the entire golf course and they are dry as a bone and the proof is in the pudding. In a heartbeat, David saw the writing on the wall and he was able to apply for capital funding and received $750,000 to do Riverway. In 2008 we did all of the fairways at Riverway with slit drainage and so you might say the rest is history. That one simple maintenance act of improving the drainage transformed how well the course managed water.”
Drier fairways helped lead to healthier, firmer and faster greens. Another massive drainage project on Riverway’s 76 bunkers further enhanced conditioning. Eighteen years later, Sorokovsky is now managing more than just the turf for Golf Burnaby. His job title is now manager of golf course operations, which means he also oversees pro shop and driving range operations at Burnaby’s four courses, Riverway, Burnaby Mountain and the the Kensington and Central Park pitch-and-putt courses.
Sorokovsky says Burnaby is blessed to have such a strong collection of golf facilities that serve all levels of players. “We have probably have the best of all worlds in that Burnaby Mountain is not maybe a championship golf course, but it’s pretty darn close, and then you get to switch to Riverway if you want to have a different experience. And if you just want to have some fun and hit a few pitch shots you can go to either Kensington or Central Park. Not a lot of municipalities have that ability or that option and without the support of Burnaby council it doesn’t happen. Money talks. Put your money where your mouth is and that is what they have been doing supporting us through their budgets.”
Sorokovsky says hiring the right staff has also been crucial to Golf Burnaby’s success. “We have an incredible group of maintenance staff members who are dedicated professionals,” he says. “Many have their diplomas in turf grass maintenance or even bachelor of science degrees. The pro shop staff are also a big part of our success because frontline staff are there to service and make people happy and deal with all the problems. Without them we are nowhere near what we need to be.”
Hal Eremko recently retired after 25 years with Golf Burnaby, most recently as head professional of golf services. He hired many of those people and says he considered it one of his most important jobs. “The thing I enjoyed most was the people I worked with,” Eremko says.
“I was lucky enough to be involved in the hiring of virtually everyone I got a chance to work with. We wanted people who were part of a team prior to working with us, either an athletic team or a student council or volunteering in their community, that sort of thing. We also say we can teach skills, but we can’t teach nice. So we have tried to hire that way and it is has worked out really well and we think our customers appreciate it. And the numbers would bear that out.”
Those numbers are off the charts. Burnaby Mountain is the busiest course in Canada. It logged 83,107 rounds in 2024. Riverway was not far behind with 80,117. There is a rather simple explanation for the popularity of Riverway and Burnaby Mountain. In today’s post-Covid world of skyrocketing green fees, they offer exceptional value along with great conditioning.
Peak season weekday fees this year at Riverway are $59.50 and $48 at Burnaby Mountain. They are great examples of why municipal courses are so important. It isn’t all about profit.
Sorokovsky is quick to credit the City of Burnaby with allowing Golf Burnaby to keep the reins on green fees. “Council wants a sort of a happy medium where we are making money for the community to help lift the burden of budgets, but not so much that it is making it unaffordable for your average citizen,” he says.
“That is the line that we try to walk to ensure it is affordable. . .at the same time you are still making a good profit for the city. I guess the reason why we are so busy is because the playability and the level of the conditioning are so good relative to the cost. That creates exceptional value.”
While Riverway is clearly the star of Burnaby’s golf portfolio, Sorokovsky is also extremely proud of the work that has been done in recent years at Burnaby Mountain. “There are so may things we have invested into the golf course over the years,” he says. “We would be here for an hour if I tried to explain them all.”
Sorokovsky knows that many years ago Burnaby Mountain was not held in particularly high regard by the local golfing community. A goat track, some called it. “We are proud of Riverway, which is our crown jewel, but to convert Burnaby Mountain into the busiest, most playable and fantastic-conditioned golf course is testament to staff and the maintenance practices and all the rest,” he says.
Golf Burnaby has decided it’s time to show off its courses. Riverway will play host to the 2026 B.C. Amateur and 2027 B.C. Women’s Amateur championships. Burnaby Mountain will be the site of this summer’s B.C. U15 Championships. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley is a big supporter of his city’s golf operations.
“The City of Burnaby is proud that Riverway will be hosting these two competitions,” Hurley said. “Being named to host these two prestigious events speaks to the exceptional quality of Riverway as a course that can challenge golfers of all skill levels, including B.C.’s best.
"We know it’s a rarity for a municipally-owned public course to host tournaments of this calibre but it’s no surprise to us as we know the exacting standards that our grounds crews and course professionals adhere to in delivering a high-quality golf experience to all players, from beginners to those on the verge of turning pro.”