Most facilities linked to a golf course in Saskatchewan are quiet this time of year, however the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Centre is one of the anomalies.
The 52-year-old building is the food and beverage centre for the Cooke Municipal Golf Course, but the facility houses a busy 10 sheet curling rink keeping the Rock & Iron Sports Bar rolling and swinging all year. The restaurant has recently been upgraded from top to bottom. Manager Matt Sawatzky said it was time to put funding back into the food and beverage department.
“We were definitely in need of some upgrades,” he said. “We had wobbling tables and worn out chairs and all that sort of stuff. We had a really great year, so we decided to make sure we invested the money back into the facility to make our membership and patrons experience a little better.”
Sawatzky said they renovated from the floor to the ceiling. They gutted the bar and redid that, updated the lighting, the ceiling is upgraded, and repainted the restaurant. The Rock and Iron also has a new sound system and televisions spread around the bar. Sawatzky said the members and visitors that have seen the upgrades are very pleased with what has been done.
“With the history of our club, all of our members are really happy to see the business doing well enough that we can afford to do these upgrades. The history of the club hasn’t always been as sustainable as it is now. The membership, especially the long-time membership is super happy to see we are standing on our own two feet and we can make these upgrades to make our members experience a little better,” he explained.
The Cooke Municipal Golf Course recently underwent a $2.4 million on-course upgrade putting the club near the top of the province. Coupled with the most recent upgrades the future is bright. Golf Saskatchewan will be holding their 101st Senior Men’s Championship and 57th Senior Women’s Championship at the Cooke in late July. Sawatzky said the club is looking forward to bringing a provincial championship back to the city of Prince Albert.
“We’re looking forward to hosting golfers from all over the province so they can come see what P.A. is all about,” he beamed. “We think it’s the place to be now, we have a great course and now a great facility to welcome people before and after.”