The former St. George Golf Course celebrated its official reopening under new owners on July 5 as The Hollows Golf Club.
With an ode to its former nickname, the newly branded 18-hole course is located on the edge of Lake Utopia, east of St. George.
“We’re done but not finished, and that’s our slogan for the next three years,” said Ryan MacDonald in his opening address. He, along with his wife Alicia, are the new owners of the golf course.
Ryan MacDonald told members the work has just begun as the club plans to continue the refurbishment of the golf course. The course remains open, and the MacDonalds still plan on making improvements.
Ryan and his wife Alicia met growing up in Blacks Harbour and playing on the St. George Golf Course.
During the address from Ryan, members mixed at The Rouxbarb, the club’s restaurant.
Guests were all given complimentary glasses of prosecco, which were raised in a toast to the reopening.
“Being retired, the game of golf is everything, I play every other day,” said Mike Barry, a Hollows Golf Club member. “It’s exercise, enjoyment, and a chance to get out with friends.”
MacDonald said the community’s continued enthusiasm makes the club unique.
The name, ‘The Hollows Golf Club’ comes from when the locals would call the area ‘Stinky Hollow,’ due to the pulp mill which used to be there.
“We always joke that we took the stink out of Stinky Hollow at the end, and now we’ve got a great little hidden gem here,” said MacDonald.
The rebranding and refurbishing of The Hollows Golf Club has been well received by the community.
Alicia MacDonald said membership has already doubled since their applications opened.
“The most incredible part is that it’s gone from a few juniors to a lot more junior memberships, and a lot of seniors are still here…. The community isn’t just St. George, there are people who play here routinely from Sussex, Fredericton, St. Stephen, and it’s absolutely incredible,” she said.
The MacDonald’s love their sport and community, commenting many times during their opening speech that the people in the crowd, and their staff, are like family to them.
“Golf is way more than just a sport here, we grew up playing golf, and we’ve travelled all over the world essentially and played golf in every country that we’ve traveled to,” she said. “The amount of happiness and smiles that we get here versus everywhere else is just absolutely incredible.”
