Affordability Keeps Them Coming to Cardinal

Dalt Hicks is a person who would be a good candidate for the question posed in yesterday’s blog and currently posted in the GNN Forum about who should be recognized for outstanding contributions to the golf industry on Canada Day.

The 81-year-old owner of the Cardinal Golf Club near Newmarket, Ont., is naturally concerned with profit in today’s struggling economy, but he’s also devoted to affordable golf, a key factor in growing the game, according to the most recent participation study conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.

Despite uncertainty in the economy, Cardinal recently expanded to 72 holes, including its executive Kettle Creek course, with the opening last weekend of its Redcrest course, a challenging test of golf, but still playable for various skill levels.

In the March 2 edition of Hutch’s blog, Hicks indicated that he was too far into the project to stop it when the economy started tanking, but he showed no fear back then and he doesn’t seem overly concerned now. You can read that earlier blog here.

“Nobody knew what was going to happen,” recalled Hicks. “You read the papers every day and the automotive industry’s been a disaster for six months. Doom and gloom is easy to publish, but I don’t see it that way.

“People have to have something to do. Golf’s a big thing and if it’s affordable, they’ll be here,” he added.

If anything, weather has been the biggest challenge this year at Cardinal, but despite the challenges, people are still showing up, according to Hicks.

“We watch our rounds,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of wet weather this spring. Our big courses are holding their own and Kettle Creek, the small one, has been rained out on two different occasions for a week each time.

“(Last Friday), we don’t have any tournaments on the two courses and we’re filled. That tells me that people still want to play golf,” he said, emphasizing the affordability factor.

“Our price range is compatible to people’s wallets, so as long as we stay in that (affordable) area, I have confidence in the whole thing,” he said.

Affordability isn’t the only reason that golfers return to Cardinal, according to Hicks, who believes top-notch service is not something exclusive to high end public courses or private clubs.

“We do the proper job,” he said. “We tell our people to treat the people right. We get lots of good letters about weddings, banquets. The service brings people back,” he said.

The old real estate motto of location, location, location also helps Cardinal’s cause with its location on Hwy. 9, an east-west road, between two major freeways, Hwys 400 and 404 for golfers coming from the Toronto area to York Region, with its rapidly expanding population base around the golf course.

Niche markets are also something Cardinal takes seriously. Hicks says women’s leagues run regularly on the executive course and the other courses and nine-and-dines are a also standard fare. He adds the opening of the impressive-looking Redcrest clubhouse at the beginning of September should also be a draw.

Cardinal is still holding up in a highly-competitive marketplace in the Toronto area, one that has seen tremendous growth in high-end facilities, but staying humble and staying affordable seems to be a good business plan, especially in a rough economy.

“Now, with the new course open, our numbers will be bigger. Thank heavens, it’s got to be,” he said.

“We’ve been here 20 years coming up. The courses are in good shape, trees are maturing, so people enjoy coming here.”