Laurie Craddock
Contributing Writer

THE forested acreage
at Northlands has had
its share of recogni-
tion.

From a community plan-
ning design award to captur-
ing the prestigious Golf Digest
magazine runner-up, best
new golf course in Canada for
1998. -

In the late 1980s, the
District of North Vancouver
won an award for the com-
munity plan devised by its
planning department which
would have seen 1,200

~" homes built on the 80-
hectare site which now con-
tains Northlands Golf Course

“and two large playing fields.

A group of citizens, led
by the lete Anne Macdonald
and local insurance man Don

. Davis, lobbied council and
succeeded in getting a Jand
use switch from housing to
golf course.
.. -+In late 1993, after a
"detailed feasibility study was
reviewed by a citizens’ com-
‘+ mittee, District staff pro-

; , i: posed a plan that was

“approved by council to build
a quality, regulation-size 18-
: hole golf course and club- —

Ouse.

* Canadian golf course
architect Les Furber, well-
known for his design of

“mountainside golf courses,

AUTOBIOGRIPH

was hired in 1994. Laurie
Craddock, a business execu-
tive and golf consultant, was
hired as project. manager.
Construction began in tiie
fall of 1994 and was su
vised by renowned gol
course builder Bo Mclvor
who came to Northlands
directly after building
Nicklaus North in Whistler
— in concert with Jack
Nicklaus himself. Nine holes
were opened in October
1996 and the full 18 holes
and clubhouse opened in
June 1997.

‘The original intent of
council was to have a large
driving range included in the
project. However, space was
imited. After reviewing sev-
eral design options with and
without a driving range,
council opted for the recom-
mended full-length quality.
golf course rather than set-

‘ling for a shorter non-regu-

THE lay of the fand at Northlands public golf course.

lation venue. By then there
was a reduced need with the
opening of two large driving
ranges east of the Seymour
River.

Northlands has been built
by the District of North

itustration Northlands Golf Course

Vancouver for play by the
public. Sculpted from a 100-
year-old forest at the foot of
Mt. Seymour, Northlands
provides challenging golf,
scenic beauty and the peace
and quiet of wilderness.
Huge ite outcroppings
burst through lush green
fairways. A mountain stream
meanders the back mine and
mountain peaks act as a
backdrop to sweeping down-
hill shots — a memorable

. golf experience “where
" nature ts your playing part-

ner.” ;

. Northlands clubhouse has
been built for public use as
well. Designed by Nicolson
Tamaki Architects to serve
the needs of the golfers and

to be available for the public

as a restaurant and a

. bar/lounge, the clubhouse
- accommodates both groups
_ quite effectively. In the

warmer weather the large
outdoor patio with a stun-
ning view of the golf course

* ‘has been designed to be
enjoyed by golfers, diners
_ and casu:

family visits.
Throughout the project

' staff worked in close liaison
~ with public advisory commit-

tees to assure a link with
public needs. Neighbours to
the development were con-

" sulted and informed of

progress. This beautiful facili-
ty came to fruition and
became operational in sum-
mer, 1997. The start of oper-
ations of Northlands became
the responsibility of
Craddock who carried for-
ward from project manager
to general manager of
Northlands operations.
Bentley Sly was named golf
course superintendent. Sarah
Cruise, and later Gary
Nedergard, took over super-
vision of golf play. Food and
beverage services were ten-
dered out. Georgia and Joe
Uvegas, experienced restav-
rateurs and golf course cater-
ers, were selected to operate
Northlands Bar and Grill.

Council mandated that
the golf course be available
for play by the general public
on a first come, first served
basis with no provision for
special groups and that the

ubhouse serve the needs of
the public golfer and the
casual public user.

Craddock applied a few
basic principles for operations
to provide a quality golf
experience, to excel at friend-
ly customer service, to main-
tain a clean, neat and orderly
facility. The food and bever-
age contractor promised to
meet the needs of the goifer
and provide a casual family
atmosphere along with an
opportunity for “low-end
fine dining.”

In the first two full years
of operations, customer feed-
back indicates that
Craddock’s basic principles.
are being met. Fnendly cus-
tomer service is provided . -
consistently by Golf Play and
by Northlands Bar and Grill.
The facility operates effec-
tively and in a clean and
orderly manner. .

The course in its infancy -

rovided considerable chal-
lenge to Sly and his mainte-
nance crew. Golfers were los-
ing balls in the underbrush
and many found it overly .
challenging to play. Tender

greens were sometimes under -

stress from spike marks and
heavy play. Craddock and Sly
worked closely together
developing projects te miti-

- gate playability problems.

Underbrush was cleaned out
in selected landing areas and
habitat was restored with
indigenous chips.

The big story is in the

complete turnaround of the~ °

greens. .
Sly was diligently moni- -

toring the progress of a U.S.

university developing a par-

ticular strain of grass that
would be much better suited
to B.C.‘s wet, moderate win-
ters. The new plant was test-
ed by overseeding one of the
weakest greens at Northlands
and it flourished. Although
not yet commercially avail-
able Sly hung in with his
interest in the new seed.
Eventually he was able to
acquire enough for a light
overseeding of the weaker
greens ia the spring of 1999.
Again outstanding success.
Sly’s efforts encouraged a
seed supplier to harvest a
crop and provide the first
commercially viable supply.
All greens at Northlands
were overseeded in che fall of
1999 and by now, in the
spring of 2000, we have
some of the best greens in
the Lower Mainland and
their future can only be
brighter — an outstanding
achievement.

Golfers who play
Northlands come to realize
that the key to good scores is
course management, i.e. ©
where to place your shots,
what clubs to choose, how to
avoid severe hilly lies, how to
manage testy tee shots and
approaches to greens. - .

The very first hole at
Northlands is a wake-up call:
A narrow landing area. *"
between trec line and pond |.
may belittle the player into a.
lay-up shot short of the

water — wrong! This results:

in a long difficult second _
shot from a downhill lic and.
you still have the water in the

- way. Best play is to go for

length off the tee, get to the
flat part of the fairway (at the :
150 marker), don’t worry: -

about the water. —- it’s only a:
one-stroke penalty. A drop at

vated well bunkered green -
for a two-putt bogie — not
an cight or nine. 01"
The awesome. 15th hole.
532 yards (blue tee) over a
forced carry area, uphill to

‘the grcen provides man!
_double digit scores as you
hear from talk on the patio '

after the game. Keeping c
with the forced carry shot
the first problem. The key.
here is to place the shot just °
short of the bunkers on the

left. Don’t try to. go any fur:

ther ~~ it is just trouble all’:

the way. From the bunkers.

it’s a 100-yard shot to 4 shal-
low green. You don’t need to
be closer and have an °

See Northlands pose 28...