The District of West Vancouver is teeing up a plan to possibly build a driving range at Gleneagles Golf Course.
The idea is only in the conceptual phase but staff are starting to talk to members about realigning holes one and two to include a training area where golfers can drive balls and practice their short game with a green and bunker, according to Dan Henegar, the manager of parks, arboriculture and horticulture.
"We've been approached by a group of resident golfers with the idea of building a driving range at Gleneagles. We've had a few discussions. We're trying to establish if it's even feasible, if we have enough space," Henegar said. "At this moment, it's just talk."
If there is enough interest to move forward, staff will come up with a draft design and approximate cost. At that point, the district will host a series of open houses and follow up with a survey.
"Based on what kind of responses we get from those surveys, we'll decide whether to ask council for any funding or not. It's always going to be council's decision whether the project goes forward or not," Henegar said.
Partly motivating the change is the hope a driving range will draw in more young people, a demographic that is increasingly staying away from the links and putting the future of the sport in question, Henegar said.
"The golf industry is not doing very well at the moment and what we recognize is the fact that youth are not participating as much as we want them to," he said. "We're not losing money but we're surviving, basically. We're breaking even."
The publicly owned Burnaby Golf Course has had some success drawing in a younger generation since it installed a driving range, though that city had a much larger piece of land to work with, Henegar added.
But the plan is already in the rough for some members, said Don Smith, a longtime user of the course.
"Gleneagles (was named) one of the 10 best nine-holes in Canada and this project is going to ruin it," he said.
Not only would realigning and shortening the holes reduce the amount of fun it is to play, installing a driving range would mean cutting down trees and putting up netting to keep stray balls from landing on the fairways or Marine Drive, Smith said.
Though the district has only recently been floating the idea, Smith said he expects the majority of members will speak against it.
"Most of the members don't want it. The course has been there since 1927 and there's been little bits nibbled away. We don't like it spoiling because it's a really nice, short little course," he said.
Henegar said he hopes both supporters and detractors of the plan will show up and make their voices heard when the time comes. And, he is open to any other suggestions that will help encourage younger players come teeoff.
"If we can get youth to play golf, I think we're gaining more than having a driving range. Having said that, youth probably enjoy a driving range," he said.
