Dream (formerly Dundee Realty Corporation), the developer behind the Willows residential community as well as the owner and operator of the Willows Golf and Country Club, has an ongoing commitment to building better communities in Saskatoon and across Canada.
Plans For 2017 Include:
- The Willows Will Transition its Golf Operations to 27-Holes in 2017
- Based on Doug Carrick’s review, it has been determined that to best serve its members and players, the Willows will no longer provide play on the Island course and transition its golf operations to 27-holes.
The key considerations were:
The Island course has significant conditioning issues related to drainage resulting in poor playing conditions
The reduction in scale will allow the Willows to focus capital investment and labour on providing better quality playing conditions on the remaining 27-holes.
The inactive golf holes will continue to be maintained to preserve sight lines for existing homeowners.
As part of our decision to transition golf operations, GGA conducted an analysis confirming that 27-holes can accommodate the Willows’ historic annual number of rounds played without impacting player enjoyment or leading to capacity constraints.
Implementation of Significant Capital Improvement Plan
To reaffirm Dream’s commitment to the Willows Golf and Country Club, we intend to undertake significant capital investments to the Willows facilities commencing in 2017. Our initial report has identified nearly $1 million of potential improvement and investment opportunities. Through a process of continuous review and engagement with the Willows members and homeowners we will undertake a proactive approach to future investment.
Some of the key projects we have identified for the 2017 season include deferred clubhouse maintenance, a bunker removal project on the remaining 27-holes, cart path replacement in the areas around the clubhouse, and ongoing capital maintenance.
Rebranding Il Salici Restaurant o Feedback from our focus groups, surveys, and general customer feedback has shown that the current restaurant is not meeting expectations.
Dream plans to engage a leading Canadian interior designer and restaurant consultant to work with the Willows and study the restaurant experience so as to match the preferences identified in our focus groups and survey results.
The winter closure will be used to study the restaurant, which we hope will open with a new theme and menu in spring 2017.
