Golf practice area finally opens to the public

Last weekend, a few hundred golfers took advantage of the new facility even if the site was not officially open. The president and major shareholder of Trinité Golf, Pierre Émond, explained to the Magazine that the facilities had been “broken in” and tested before inviting the public to enjoy them. After making sure that everything was working, several golfers went to the site and were able to practice their strokes.

As he pointed out during a previous interview, Mr. Émond wanted to ensure that the grass was in perfect condition before opening the facility. A net to protect cyclists and walkers who use the neighbouring paths also had to be installed and completed. There were, among others, final re-touching work to the landscaping and measures to ensure that the facility was capable of welcoming customers. Now, everything is ready and golfing enthusiasts can enjoy the site for as long as the weather allows.

On several aspects, the driving range of L'Île-des-Soeurs does distinguish itself from other similar facilities in the metropolitan region. The dimensions are exceptional; it occupies a land area of 300 yards by 100 yards and provides a magnificent view of downtown Montreal, the lac des Battures, the island’s forest and the river. Golfers can also use one or the other two tee-off points; the farthest one is accessible by an electric minibus that fetches and drops off golfers.

Also, this practice area or driving range is the only one, in North America, to use robotic equipment for lawn mowing and ball recovery. The Belgian company, Bel-Robotics manufactures these types of machines. On Tuesday morning, the company’s representative, Christophe Sepulchre, was in the area to adjust the machines. He explained that the mower is equipped with five rotating blades (a little like an electric razor) and that the machine works independently. It moves by following the programmed tracks in its computer and has a detector that enables it to avoid obstacles. When its battery becomes weak, it automatically heads for its recharging motor-base and connects itself without any help from a human. The other robot works on the same principles: it recovers balls from the course and puts them in receiving containers that are juxtaposed along the recharging motor-base. Because they use electric power, these pieces of equipment do not produce any noise or cause any pollution.

Mr. Émond confirmed that he wants to use the same environmental protection principles for all other layout aspects of the new golf course. He won’t hesitate to adopt unique and innovative technology even if it means delaying the work. For implementing the customer service division of the practice area, he engaged the services of two female entrepreneurs of L'Île-des-Soeurs - Manon Sylvain and Sophie Charbonneau. Both work for the company Que du temps www.quedutemps.com). They specialise in managing those small details that managers don’t have time to get bogged down with.

The Trinité Golf president believes that the landscaping of the golf course will be completed in 2009. He hopes to be able to welcome the public at the end of May next year but would not want to make a firm commitment date. If he has to allocate a few more weeks of work that will enable the facility to meet the requirements of its clients, he will do it. Even if he won’t hesitate to use the most innovative technologies to achieve his objectives, in the end, it is Mother Nature who will make that decision.