By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

If all goes as planned, the Sagebrush experience will cost a little less this season and taste much better.

The highly regarded Merritt-area layout is moving to a more traditional fee green-fee structure for the 2024 season and new general manager Chris Hood is also focused on upping Sagebrush’s food and beverage game.

“We did a survey at the end of last year of our players and one of things that came back from people is they wanted to see more simplified rate structure more in line with what other courses do,” Hood, a veteran of the B.C. golf industry, said in an interview.

“Things like 18-hole rates and rates that are less earlier in the week and less in May than they would be in July, so we have gone to a more traditional model.”

In the past, Sagebrush offered a daily experience ($360 last year) that allowed guests to golf their brains out. They could play as many holes as they liked and a quick lunch was provided at The Hideout near the 13th tee.

While that daily experience will still be available by request for $330, Sagebrush this season will follow a green fee structure similar to those offered by top-end resorts like Bandon Dunes in southern Oregon and Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia.

An 18-hole green fee, depending on day of week and time of season, will range anywhere from $120 to $230, and same day replay rates will also be offered. Lower fees will be offered on select days to residents living within about 90 minutes of the course and stay-and-play packages will remain a staple.

Sagebrush will also be a little busier than it has been in the past. Last year, the course limited play to 56 players a day. This year, they expect to see double that number on many days. “That 56-player model is not sustainable,” said Hood, who emphasizes that steps are being taken to ensure Sagebrush never feels crowded.

“We are keeping 15-minute tee-time intervals,” he said. “We do want to keep that legacy, that space. That is kind of the charm of Sagebrush, you don’t have groups coming every eight minutes and you don’t have guys yelling fore all the time and people hitting into each other. We like to give people some elbow room.”

The hope is Sagebrush this season will return to being the firm and fast course it was in its early days and play more like a traditional links-style layout. “I am confident we are going to come out of the spring in good shape and the course will be where we want it to be and now our focus is on the food and beverage side and getting that settled,” Hood said.

A 78-seat restaurant and patio near the 18th green are under construction and should be open when the course begins its season in early May. And Sagebrush is also making big improvements to its Hideout. “We want this to be the greatest halfway hut in golf,” Hood said. “Guests will have the opportunity to go fishing and customize a burger or a steak sandwich. We’ll have great hot dogs and smokies, everything grilled, and fresh sandwiches made to order.”

A new deck is being constructed over the small lake that sits adjacent to the Hideout and is stocked with rainbow trout. “So we’ll have the two food and beverage outlets this year which is something we were lacking last year,” Hood said.

“Last year, we had a gentleman come in and he would just fire up a barbecue and do burgers from 12-2 and that was your chance to eat. That is not the experience we want. We want people to have a proper menu and sit down and enjoy some great food.”

Hood hints that Sagebrush will have an announcement soon on who will be heading up the culinary operations. A new website is also in the works.

PGA PAYDAY: Vancouver’s Stu Macdonald made the most of Monday qualifying his way into the PGA Tour’s Mexico Open at Vidanta. In just his third PGA Tour start, Macdonald tied for 24th and earned $61,695. He finished the event at nine-under par, 10 shots behind Californian Jake Knapp, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour Canada circuit. Macdonald now heads to Buenos Aires, where he has a spot in this week’s Argentina Open on the Korn Ferry Tour. The PGA TOUR begins its Florida swing this week at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (formerly the Honda Classic). Surrey’s Adam Svensson is the lone British Columbian In the field.

SEASON-OPENERS: The SFU and UBC women’s golf teams both begin their spring seasons this week at separate California events. The Thunderbirds are competing at the The Causeway Invitational hosted by UC Davis n Sacramento, while the Red Leafs are playing in the California State East Bay Tim Tierney Shootout in Hayward, Calif.

BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER: The 25th annual KPMG Thunderbird Scholarship Breakfast goes March 13 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. A significant portion of the money raised through ticket purchases is matched dollar for dollar by UBC. “As head coach I purchase a ticket for this event annually as it’s the golf program’s one opportunity to have matching funds through UBC,” said Thunderbirds head golf coach Chris Macdonald. “Hopefully you will encourage your family and friends to join me at the event.” Former Vancouver Canuck general manager Brian Burke will be the guest speaker at the breakfast. Tickets are $275 and available at gothunderbirds.ca/breakfast.

EVENT ADDED: The new PGA Tour Americas circuit has added a second Mexico event to its schedule. The Totalplay Championship at Atlas Country Club in Guadalajara will be played March 28-21 and will follow the season-opening Bupa Championship in Tulum. The Guadalajara event replaces an event originally scheduled for April 18-21 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. According to the tour, that event was cancelled due to “unforeseen local circumstances.”

The PGA Tour Americas is the result of a merger of the former PGA Tour Canada and LatinoAmerica circuits. Six events in Mexico and South America will be followed this summer by nine Canadian tournaments and one in the United States. The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist is the first event of the North American swing and goes June 20-23 at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria. The top 10 players at the end of the season will earn Korn Ferry Tour status.

A CLOSE SECOND: Langley’s Amy Lee, the 2023 B.C. Junior Girls champion, finished second at the American Junior Golf Association’s Fortinet Girls Invitational at Stanford in California. The event was shorted to 36 holes due to weather and Lee fired rounds of 69 and 70 to finish at three-under par, one shot back of winner Kristina Xu of Claremont, Calif.

CHIP SHOTS: Kimberley’s Jared du Toit missed the cut by two shots at the Asian Tour’s International Series event in Oman. Du Toit is in the field for this week’s Asian Tour event, the New Zealand Open. . .Vernon’s Cooper Humphreys tied for seventh at the Asher Tour’s Soboba Springs Shootout in San Jacinto, Calif. . .John Randle, the director of golf at Morningstar Golf Course, is leaving the Parksville facility to become head teaching professional at Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary.