Yet, Peter Anholt -- who has taken over as the new general manager of the popular and scenic Waskesiu Golf Course -- says he is excited to meet those challenges head on.
Waskesiu opens for play Friday.

If Waskesiu is at a crossroads, Anholt has assumed the position of traffic cop as he helps direct the divergence of wants and needs.

"It's a real nice, fun challenge," Anholt, the former Western Hockey League coach, said in a telephone interview. "I'm really looking forward to being part of a group that's going to help this course back (to its glory).
"Things are really good. Everything is looking really good. Our greens are well ahead of where we thought they'd be. Some have come through in excellent shape. We're really pleased. It's been a little bit of a sore point here the last little while."

Indeed, some of the greens have had their challenges in recent years.

A new greens superintendent has been hired to address those problems. Gary Cross previously worked at the Hillcrest in Moose Jaw and, prior to that, in Alberta.

According to Anholt, the course may not need a complete overhaul as originally feared.
"We're going to have to set up a committee to do some long-term planning and then kind of reassess from there," Anholt said. "We're in a situation where our greens right now are so good and our superintendent (Cross) feels he can bring them back.

"We're going to, at least, assess where we're at with the course. Maybe there's not as much that has to be done to the course as it had been thought of before. They had so much problems with their greens the last four or five years that there was a feeling that they'd have to rebuild and rebuild.

"We're kind of reassessing that right now. The focus has to be the course first and foremost. Any other building has to be planned down the road."

A new clubhouse or office building would be nice, as mentioned by past directors, but, again, it may not be realistic at this time.

Waskesiu, located in the Prince Albert National Park, is handcuffed in terms of increasing revenues and raising money for future capital projects.

For now, capital projects are on hold.  "It looks like our irrigation isn't in as bad of shape as we thought it might be," said Anholt. "(Cross) continues to work through the problems, so we're finding that some things aren't as bad as they might have been. There are other things that are maybe worse.

"Because I'm new and our superintendent is new, we've got to work through it before we jump in."
Meanwhile, Greg Salmon has returned as the head pro at Waskesiu.

The Waskesiu Golf Course will hold its annual general meeting on Sunday, 4 p.m., at the recreation centre located behind the library at Waskesiu Lake.
dzary@sp.canwest.com