Burnaby Golf’s Steady Ship
November 17, 2014
by Alfie Lau, Inside Golf
It’s a typical West Coast autumn day, with grey skies and intermittent showers and rain, but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of David O’Connor.
As Burnaby’s manager of golf operations, O’Connor has weathered his share of storms and one day of bad weather never fazes him.
“Are there going to be ups and downs in this business? Of course,” said O’Connor. “But we’re just looking for consistency in this market.”
And by consistency, O’Connor means looking at the golf market as a whole and not just looking at short term money and goals.
“In the last 10 years, we’ve shown slight growth and the last three years have been particularly exciting for us,” said O’Connor, pointing to the shiny new clubhouse at Riverway that opened in 2011 and is fast becoming the crown jewel of the Burnaby Golf empire.
Because of all the options Burnaby can offer, even on this rainy day, you can see a busy restaurant in the clubhouse, handfuls of golfers hitting balls in the two-tier driving range and even some brave golfers headed out to play 18 holes.
Not so visible, but equally as important to the golf department’s growth is the miles and miles of slit drainage that was put into Riverway, also in the last three years.
The Two-Tiered Driving Range At Riverway Offers Plenty Of Room To Work On Your Game
“You see that big puddle by the first tee when we arrived? It’s all drained within 15 minutes,” said Hal Eremko, Riverway’s Head Professional. “With the great drainage, not only can we get more rounds in, we can also get a lot more work done in times you don’t expect work to be done.”
In the last year, that’s meant all of Riverway’s bunkers have been re-worked, and with much of that work done in off-peak times, it has been much less of an inconvenience to the golfing public.
O’Connor, Eremko and Burnaby Mountain Head Professional Don Mark aim to provide the best value golf experience by being deadly honest about their operations.
For example, Burnaby Mountain’s demographics show that many seniors and women play the course and while the course isn’t long by PGA Tour standards, it certainly is from the red tees.
“It’s one of the longest courses for ladies in the area so if we can add more tees to turn it from 5,600 to 5,000 yards, we will add more versatility to that course,” said O’Connor.
A Well Stocked Pro Shop Is Also At Your Disposal Here At Riverway
And while Riverway can play to more than 7,000 yards from the championship tees, O’Connor admits that an everyday golfer playing from those tees on a regular basis wouldn’t be a fun experience.
“When you have more tee boxes that offer a different look to a hole, you get a different course that is interesting to the everyday golfer,” said O’Connor.
“Look, we’re in the entertainment dollars industry. We’re competing with the Canucks, the movie theatres, anything in a person’s entertainment budget. If we can give our existing customers great experiences so that they play two or three more rounds a year, that’s another 1,000 rounds for our bottom line. That’s a reachable goal and that’s part of why we have steady growth.”
As for the future, O’Connor said plans are still going ahead to look at converting the Kensington Par 3 Pitch-and-Putt into a 9-hole executive course.
“Our business plan has us looking 10 years ahead at all times,” said O’Connor.
“We started looking at Riverway’s clubhouse a decade before it opened and I’d say we’re past the halfway mark on (Kensington’s conversion).”
As for the future, O’Connor knows sunny days are always ahead. “Too many courses get too reactive to the cash register,” said O’Connor.
“We know who we are and what our brand is. During the dips and valleys, we stick to our guns. We have something for every price range and the quality will be there at every level. If you have time after work and want to work on your game, go to Central Park for the pitch-and-putt or go to Riverway or Burnaby Mountain and hit some balls at our fully renovated driving ranges.
If you want to play a course that won’t beat you up too much, Burnaby Mountain is an affordable option. And if you want a weekend treat, well, Riverway is still very affordable.”
And as if on cue, a sliver of sun peaks out on the otherwise cloudy day and it’s business as usual for the Burnaby Golf team.
www.twitter.com/AlfieLau