The PGA of Canada has ranked Elk Ridge Resort as the 50th best public, semi-private resort golf course in the nation.
The list is the first ever compiled by the PGA Professionals of Canada. Elk Ridge Grounds Superintendent Blaine Fagnou said being named on the inaugural PGA of Canada list made the recognition more rewarding.
“We were shocked actually,” Fagnou told Golf Saskatchewan after hearing about the honour from his mother who saw a feature on TSN. “It is an honour and we’re very proud of it. It’s definitely a team effort for sure, everybody has been working hard over the years. I wasn’t even aware the PGA had a list; this is their first one and to mentioned by them is special.”
The Elk Ridge course features 27 holes of championship golf carved out of the northern Saskatchewan boreal forest. The year-round resort has lodges, cabins, cottage, or townhouse accommodations. There is four restaurants, 7,000 square feet of conference space, an adventure park, toboggan hill, skating facilities, hiking trails, and horseback riding. Fagnou said all the amenities compliment the championship course.
“It’s a fairly nice place, our buildings and the grounds. We brought Chad Keens (proshop manager) on this past year and he brought a new vision to the proshop. We renovated and he gave it a new fresh look. It hadn’t been updated since we opened 27 years ago so it was nice to have a fresh start,” he said.
Built in 1993 under the guidance of Arne Petersen, Elk Ridge has grown from a “mom and pop” nine-hole course into one of Saskatchewan’s, and Canada’s top tracks. Petersen will be 83 years old this week. Fagnou said Petersen is still active in the operations and is proud of what the resort has grown into.
“Arne wanted to inject money into it and do the hotel and accommodations and everything, I think he’s very proud of it. He thinks big, he’s a big thinker,” Fagnou said.
The PGA of Canada list can be seen here.