With school ending this week summer vacation plans are being put into motion for families across the province, and whether you are near the east-central area or don’t mind hitting the open road make McNab Regional Park a stop on your journey.
Nestled into the area just south of Watson, the park features everything a family, group, or single summer traveller demands for a memorable day, night, week, or longer. The park features an outdoor swimming pool, 30- and 50-amp campsites with both water and sewer service, and perhaps most importantly, a nifty nine-hole golf course. Interestingly enough, another area town with an adjacent park with similar amenities is approximately 30 minutes away in LeRoy. McNab manager Kim Mitchell said the step up the park near Watson has on nearby LeRoy Leisureland is location.
“We have travellers coming on Highway 6 which is always very busy, Highway 5 is always very busy,” she explains. “We tend to get a lot of people staying in our campground because we have a few more amenities in our campground. They stay and they come golfing.”
Like many small town Saskatchewan courses McNab’s is fairly wide open but tricky doglegs, water hazards, and longer distances for called for pars make the track a challenge for all levels of golfers. McNab is a par 35 and plays between 2,946 and 3,174 yards. With over 80 members in a town of 700 the club is profitable and features the weekly men’s, women’s, and mixed leagues. The course is also working hard to generate future members with a junior program according to Mitchell.
“Every Monday night, tee off is at 5:30 p.m. It is six dollars for the round of golf or whatever we do that day whether it’s different formats, best ball, scramble, or other games. We try to keep it fun for the various ages,” she said.
A round is very affordable for guests staying at the campground, nine holes is just $10.
McNab has a full slate of tournaments scheduled every year highlighted by their Watson Fire and Rescue Pink Ball Tournament on Sept. 8. The next tournament is the Ladies’ and Men’s 2 Person Scramble on July 14.
McNab is working with LeRoy Leisureland and two other nearby nine-hole courses on a neat summer promotion. If you pay the entry fee of $20 at your home course and keep your scorecards from St. Brieux, LeRoy and Hidden Meadows between now and Aug. 23 you could win a cash payout. Members pay half prize at the other courses; the promotion is labelled the Four Course Seasonal.
The full service clubhouse has recently seen renovations, they redid the carpet, took out a wall to make it more visually appealing and allowing in more sunlight plus the park purchased new tables and chairs. Mitchell said they have the staff and capability to add a few more revenue generating services.
“We are doing more catering and outside of golf events,” she said. “We can do anniversaries, weddings, grads, we can really do anything you need.”
The club is currently awaiting new cups, pins, and flags for the course and will be installed soon. Local sponsors will be featured on the hole locators and each member is asked to volunteer for few hours per season performing various tasks. Mitchell said they don’t mind and that the local support is crucial to their success.
“A tonne of local businesses and businesses from the surrounding communities that use this place give us what we need to run. I can’t thank them enough,” Mitchell said.
Aside from the golf course, the pool offers swimming lessons over the summer. The park is also installing a playground near the clubhouse.
McNab does cater to out-of-towners and that is a huge goal of theirs’s but providing summer time memories to locals is also critical for their board, bottom line and community.
“McNab Park is very important to Watson and the area,” Mitchell said. “It gives us the ability to have three kinds of recreation, golf, swimming, and camping. Without McNab Park here there would be people travelling larger distances to gets kids to a pool for lessons or an afternoon swim, and of course to golf.”
You can learn more about McNab on their website or call 306.320.7752.