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p18 weekender june 17 1995 sy rvsrsrrv 3i8sata vv aird links golfers with the maples of ballantrae by bruce stapley correspondent its 930 on a pictureperfect thursday morning in june tom aird is fielding an endless barrage of phone calls in the maples of ballantrae golf club pro shop you can almost see the disap pointment on the faces as he tells caller after caller the only available teeoff times for the coming satur day are before 630 am as he breaks away for a short meeting hes sought after by a myr iad of people looking to book tour naments and organize golf func tions at the maples not to mention the employees who come to him for direction its just another day for the 45- yearold head pro who has been in charge of golf operations at the semiprivate hwy 48 facility for 11 seasons for aird june is prime time hes there around 530 am to open up and 12hour days are commonplace hes in charge of dovetailing tour nament bookings with members and public play with an eye towards keeping all players moving at a steady pace to avoid backups he also handles the food and bev erage operations in the club house oversees the driving range and is in charge of power cart and equipment maintenance aird cut his teeth with the burlington golf club signing on as caddy as a boy of 10 he began his class a golf pros apprenticeship at the burlington club at the age of 17 aird had limited success as a com petitive pro in the early 1970s while on a circuit which included tours of florida and the bahamas he was an associate pro at both torontos rosedale golf club and the brampton golf club before coining to work for maples own ersdevelopers michael and shirley wade in 1985 aird is impressed with the approach taken by the wades through the years he said the owners have tried to provide a quality golf facility that is constantly moving forward mmm with another golfing season well under way maples of ballantrae golf club pro tom aird has been kept busy in recent days photobruce stapley the maples started as a driving range then underwent a transfor mation that eventually saw it turned into a scenic 18hole course complete with full amenities the wades try to upgrade the course every year to make it a little different said aird this year weve added 600 yards to the championship tees bringing the course up to 6700 yards and weve redesigned a couple of the holes theres also been some tree planting the result of the annual makeover has been an everincreas ing volume of play rounds have increased from 20000 the first year to over 40000 last season weve averaged 38000 rounds the last seven years a facility like this would normally do around 34000 rounds aird said that while the maples will host from 80 to 90 tournaments of varying sizes each season includ ing half a dozen charity events the emphasis is on the public golfer we look for a balance of member ship tournaments corporate and public play but public play is num ber one its from 85 to 90 per cent of our business aird said golf continues to attract new converts with women making up the majority of those taking up the game in recent years he said interest in golf seems to go in cycles peaking every six or seven years with the tough economic times of the past half decade dealing a hard blow to the golf clubs that were emerging in the 1980s aird believes the future lies in providing facilities for the everyday golfer i think the trend will be towards good public courses courses that are fun to play and that charge rea sonable rates with greens fees at the maples undergoing their first increase in four years this season he said the course fits the trend aird said the appeal in golf lies in its being an individual sport and in the desire to do better no matter what level a golfer is at youre one on one with the course its you versus the course and no matter how well you play you always feel when you come off the 18th hole you could have done better thats what brings you back must be a lennox air condition no i heating buy 1 get 2 free choose any two of the following 4 promotions when you invest in a lennox furnace andor air conditioner from a hurry limited time offer 1 instant cash rebate 2 free honeywell setback thermostat 3 free lennox air cleaner 4 free carbon monoxide detector heating air conditioning ltd v authorized aurora 7278851 ia consumers gas markham 4799566 vy dealer toronto 7560820 markham youth summer hockey markham centennial arena july 5 to september 9 4th season wednesday night league saturday morning power skating junior division players born 198284 limited space last call to register power skating for players aged 714 to register call steve macaulay at 905 6493053 bmkimtieimi special delivery stouffvllles rick smith delivers this crucial shot in a lawn bowling match against a team from newmarket during the york region seniors games at the stouf- fville lawn bowling club on tuesday photosteve souerv1lle may golf tourney slated for thursday the markham stouffville hospital stands to be the big winner when cherry downs golf club hosts the brad may celebrity classic golf tournament on thursday roughly 155 players have been confirmed for the event along with may of the buffalo sabres the celebrity lineup should include toronto maple leaf star doug gilmour rob ray and todd simon of the sabres jason arnott of the edmonton oilers and ron tugnutt of the montreal canadiens john der ringer of the fan 590 and former sabre don luce the tournament which has been sold out gets under way with a scramble format at 1230 pm at the claremont area course openings remain for mayors golf tourney tickets are still avail able for the inaugural mayors annual golf tournament to be held at the sleepy hollow golf course on wednesday the event which is to be a fundraiser in support of the mayors youth pro gram activities is to include 144 golfers there is to be a mens and ladies division with several sports celebrities partici pating all particiants are to receive a 60 grab bag along with a prize valued at 20 or more the entry fee of 110 also includes golf the use of an electric golf cart and a steak din ner a holeinone contest sponsored by williamson motor sales of uxbridge will offer a 1995 pontiac sunbird or cavalier as a prize other activities include putting contests three hole sponsorships are also still available for further information contact mayor wayne emmerson at 6401900 or 8952423 or wayne jack son at 6400508