The municipally-owned Tomahawk golf course just outside Thornbury continues to be a popular and well-used facility, with more than 8,000 rounds of golf logged at the course in 2022.
At its committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 10, The Blue Mountains council received the community services orientation report from members of staff.
The report reviewed for council the town’s various community services and facilities including: Tomahawk, the harbour, the cemetery, the Beaver Valley Community Centre, parks, trails, transit services and small halls. The full report can be found here.
The numbers in the report showed that the Tomahawk golf course rebounded nicely in 2022 from the COVID-19 pandemic. The town bought the golf course property in 2007 to ensure it had adequate space for soccer fields. The purchase of the Par 3 pitch and putt course has proven to be popular with the public.
Tomahawk is one of the few municipally-owned golf courses in the local region and is open from May 1 to Nov. 1, weather permitting.
In 2022 rounds of golf increased to 8,104 from 6,788 in 2021. Member rounds grew to 4,064 from 3,313 in 2021, subsidized kids rounds were up to 1,839 from 1,769 in 2021. Season pass sales increased to 133 from 93 in 2021. Town staff are forecasting those numbers to continue to grow and anticipate at least 9,000 rounds in 2023 (depending on the summer weather).
The town’s facility manager and building maintenance coordinator Aaron McMullen said during the pandemic the town was able to make some much-needed changes at the golf course. They included:
- Switching from donation-based revenue generation to green fees collection and season passes.
- Switching from first come/first serve tee times to tee times being booked in advance.
- Switching from limited staff presence at the course to a full complement of staff being there from opening to closing daily.
“It’s a lot better now,” said McMullen.
This year the town will have a new starter shack at the golf course that will allow more revenue generation possibilities include: the sale of Tomahawk garb, confectionary items and pull cart rentals.
