04/14/2018
ARTICLE IN HAMILTON NEWS.COM
April 13, 2018
By Garry McKay, Sports Writer for Hamilton Spectator
“Fisherville’s hidden gem, Coral Creek, closed.
The golf season is finally beginning in this part of Southern Ontario – but not in Fisherville.
In that little corner of the province, at the Coral Creek Golf Club, the greens and fairways remain uncut, and the flagsticks and tee blocks stored away.
Sadly, they will remain that way.
Owner-operator Jerry Magee, and his family, have decided the course will not operate this year, and may be closed for good.
Coral Creek may not have been your everyday course, simply because of its out-of-the-way location. It was, however, a great design with some really neat features, and, thanks to superintendent Mark Magee, Jerry’s son, was always in great shape, especially the greens which were among the best of any public course in the province.
It was one of those courses that you wanted to get to at least once a year, and take a friend who hadn’t yet experienced Coral Creek, including the way it operated.
Jerry didn’t take tournaments, insisted that you book a tee-time in advance, offered few amenities in the small cinder-block clubhouse, and – hallelujah – enforced pace of play.
So why is it closing?
Mark points out that his dad and mother (Darlene) are both 85.
“He would work 80 to 100 hours a week, and they’ve never had a holiday in the summer.” said Mark. “They’ve always talked about getting a mobile home and doing some travelling.”
“As a family we talked about it over the winter, and if they’re going to do it, they want to do it while they’re both in good health.”
It’s a terrible time to try and sell a golf course because the market simply isn’t there to get much of a return on your investment. And bringing someone in to operate it wasn’t an option either, because the Magees felt they had created standards that they didn’t want compromised.
So, they’re simply shutting it down.
Coral Creek has a unique history. It was designed in the mid-to-late 1960s by Stanley Thompson protege, Robbie Robinson, to be able to host a Canadian Open.
Only nine holes were built, however.
After retiring as the head pro at St. George’s G&CC in Toronto, Jerry Magee purchased the club in 1989.
Along with it came the plans for the other nine, which he built and opened in 2000.
Perhaps the most unique feature of the golf course is Hemlock Creek which cuts through, and lays bare the bottom of an ancient seabed and with it, Devonian fossils that could be up to 400 million years old.
You can step off the 14th green into the rocky creek and there they are, a part of the planet’s ancient history right at your feet.
Jerry admits shutting down Coral Creek will be a bittersweet experience for him, because it’s been such a big part of his life.
Interestingly, both Jerry and Mark say ‘never say never’ at the prospect of reopening the course in the future.
And when pressed about how many years the course would have to lay fallow before it couldn’t be brought back, both talk about new strains of grass that could be used that would even upgrade the facility.
So maybe there is hope.
For now, however, Coral Creek is closed and there are no plans to open it.”
- Garry McKay is a veteran, award-winning golf journalist and former sportswriter with The Hamilton Spectator.
