The 2025 Golf Season Begins - Finally!
by Scott A. Sumner
The 2025 golf season in Thunder Bay began for me on May 14 when I hit the driving range! First game on the course was May 20th, so it's been about a month of golf so far.
My first golfing experiences were during the summer of 1975 at a golf course in Manitouwadge my father helped create. That year only 5 holes were ready to go, but it was fun. Since then it has been great to play some amazing golf courses around the world!
Today I get to play most of my local golf at the beautiful Whitewater Golf Course, a Tom McBroom design. This past weekend it was fun to see JJ Spaun win the US Open at Oakmont near Pittsburgh. JJ won his first professional tournament right here at Whitewater on the PGA Tour Canada, now called PGA Tour Americas. Then he won $31,500. The US Open win was for $4.3 million so quite an impressive progress!
I remember being taken through the process of the building of this beautiful Whitewater course when Silvio from Bruno's Contracting would come by our office, pick up my father and myself and take us out for a tour of how the construction of the course was progressing. My father was an avid golfer from the age of 12 in Southern Ontario. He really enjoyed seeing the course construction come along.
It was in the fall of 2003 that my father and I got to play one hole at the Whitewater Golf Club, before it was open and that was an experience I will always remember.
The course has seen many good achievements, including having five very successful PGA Tour Canada events, and also many, many rounds of play from the people of Northwestern Ontario and beyond.
It is also very interesting to see the growth of the residential subdivision adjacent to the course called King George's Park. In 2005 there were six houses and four townhomes at that time. Today there are over 150 townhomes and individual houses which has certainly created a unique community if you want to experience living in a rural setting. The golf course itself is really a great asset for the community, designed by well-known Canadian architect Thomas McBroom. It is a championship course that you can definitely feel comfortable playing many, many times and not feel like it is boring. At almost 7300 yards it really is a championship golf course. I especially like the holes adjacent to the Kam River which are very scenic and basically right in nature. I think the course, when you get out and play, gives you the feel that Thunder Bay can offer the same amenities as much larger urban settings.
The team at Whitewater continue to advance the course with an emphasis on grass conditions to ensure great play!
