Pinawa and Assiniboine golf courses

Every fall, we head to Pinawa for what is normally our toughest round of golf of the year. This year was no expection, in fact, it turned out to be my worst round so far.

Billed as "the course nature built", the course is attractive and well-maintained. On one hole, I entered the bush to find my ball and heard some rustling sounds. It turned out to be a deer, just relaxing in the shade, not 20 ft away. On the 9th green, which is beside the clubhouse, I spotted four deer quietly munching on the grass, totally oblivious to the golfers around them. Every time I play this course, I see deer who appear to be very comfortable around people.



I wish I played better, but it's really tough making solid contact with the ball when the fairways are so wet. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Rounds of golf on dry fairways have been few and far between this year and cold, wet weather has been a big topic for discussion this year. On one par 3, I teed off right of the green, into the a large outcropping of rocks. Anticipating a miracle, I focused my eyes on the green, in the event that my ball my bounce back into play. It did. It landed on the fringe of the green and rolled down in the sandtrap. I scuffed it up something fierce. In fact, we joked a lot about this particular Strata as I shot it into the bush several more times, only to retrieve it again and again. I finally lost it, but it served me well. The green on that par 3 also had something that I hadn't seen before - hoof marks. Soft due to all the rain, the deer left a strong impression on that particular green.

None of us broke 100 today , but we'll be back.

Yesterday, I played the 9-hole Assiniboine golf course. I never play nine-hole courses, but one of the guys from work wanted to entertain one of his friends who was visiting, with a quick round of golf.

I have never been accosted by so many mosquitoes in such a long time! Assiniboine is an attractive, wide open course that I hope to play again, but the round we had was hampered by more mosquitoes than I have seen anywhere in the City. And, the course was quite wet. The end result? A poor round for me again. My friends didn't fare much better.