A new era has begun at Huron
Oaks Golf Club in Sarnia.
The club officially
completed their renovation
of the golf course Friday
with the opening of the new
first hole.
The first hole now runs east
to west compared to the old
hole that went south to
north. It is a 367 yard par
four with water running down
the right side of the
fairway. There is also a
large tree in the middle of
the fairway 117 yards from
the green, according to
greens keeper Ted Ellis.
Three members of Huron Oaks
hit the opening drives on
the new hole, along with
Steve Bennett, director of
golf. The members won a
contest at the club with
proceeds going to the Breast
Cancer Society.
Remodeling the first hole
ended a two-year project
in which a total of six new
holes were constructed and
four others modified. Other
than the first hole, other
new holes include six, 10,
15, 16 and 18. Modified
holes were two, seven, 12
and 14.
"When I bought the golf
course in 2003, we developed
a plan to redevelop the golf
course," said owner Jay
Peters during a press
conference. "One of the
things we wanted to do is
maintain 18 holes through
all of this. It was a
challenge, but we were able
to do that. We now actually
have 19 holes on the golf
course. We will take one out
of play."
Peters says the mission of
Huron Oaks is to become the
premier residential golf
facility in the area. "We
aren't quite there yet as we
need some of our new holes
to mature. but overall we
are pleased with our new
holes, especially number
one," Peters said.
Peters said architect Kevin
Holmes of Toronto wanted to
maintain as much of the
original character of the
course as possible. The
course is now over 6,500
yards in length along with a
new modern driving range.
Also constructed was a new
maintenance barn.
Peters will now turn his
attention to the
construction of a new
resort-style residential
area around the golf course
named The Enclave at Huron
Oaks.
According to Peters the plan
is to construct 80 single
family detached homes (no
townhomes or duplexes).
"We have applied for two
building permits to begin
our home construction.
Hopefully we will begin in
the new couple of weeks.
There has been a lot of
interest in our residential
project. We will be using
two builders, Maher Homes
and Bridlewood Homes. Each
lots will be a minimum of 50
by 130 with 52 lots viewing
the golf course with full
basements. We plan to be
very market competitive as
prices have not yet been
set."
Peters explained how he
arrived at the name Enclave.
"To me the word enclave
means inside something else.
We wanted to build our
residential project within
the golf course. It was a
tough decision, but felt the
name we chose fit well."
The street where the homes
will be built will be called
Mike Weir Drive. That is in
honour of PGA golfer Mike
Weir who grew up in Bright's
Grove and learned to play
golf at Huron Oaks.
Peters added that there is
no timetable when the 80
homes will be completed, but
hopes to have them all built
over the next three or four
years.
Peters has owned Huron Oaks
since December of 2003. Last
year he also purchased
Greenwood Golf Course. The
two sites now have 800
members.
"From a business
prospective, having two
courses has been very
positive," said Peters.
"We've had positive feedback
from our members. We
understand everyone doesn't
want to play two courses.
Right now we've been
focusing on Huron Oaks as
there's obviously a lot
going on right now."
He added, "this project has
been a long road and hasn't
been easy. But at the end of
the day we feel it will be
positive not only for us,
but the community as well.
We've had support from all
levels of government."
