Summer 2009 Issue
Playing by their own rules:
Coral Creek
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Family-run doesn't necessarily mean a "mom and
pop" operation. While owned and operated by the
husband-wife team of Jerry and Darlene Magee
since 1989, Coral Creek Golf Course in tiny
Fisherville, near Cayuga Raceway, runs such an
efficient operation that they're able to pick and
choose their clientele. There are no tournaments
permitted. You'd be lucky to even book two
foursomes together. They don't want any noise,
partying or beer guzzling. A former PGA Touring
pro and head professional at St. George's G&CC,
Jerry prides his club not on the quantity of rounds,
but the quality. Targeting the mid-to
low handicapper with an eye for a special layout.
Magee's patrons are purists-often members of
some of Ontario's most prestigious clubs, including
Hamilton G&CC, The National, The Toronto Golf
Club and a wide range of others who likely heard
about the Robbie Robinson design through word of
mouth. "You gotta see this place", they'll say about the hidden gem, an easily walked layout originally designed to host a Canadian Open, with |
billiard-table-smooth greens cared for by Magee's
middle of three sons, Mark, who left Arnold
Palmer's Bay Hill G&CC in Florida to serve as the
superintendent for his parents' place after Jerry had
the final nine of Robinson's architectural plan
completed in 2000. All this with 10-minute tee-time intervals and an average round of less than four hours. And yet green fees remain a comparative pittance: $35 on weekdays, $42 on weekends. How do the Magees stay afloat? "We run a tight ship", Jerry explains. There's Darlene, mark, myself and four other maintenance staff-and that's it. Every man can do every job. "And we have an overhead we can manage", says Magee, who has the latest maintenance equipment in the barn, but a humble little structure that serves as the course's shop and clubhouse. "We run like a well-oiled sewing machine. And we know what we're doing. |
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