First Gary Player course in Canada begins construction

National Post – Golf MagazineApril, 2007

Clearing the fairways began December, 2006 on the Gary Player Black Knight golf course at Wildstone, the 900 acre home of the housing and golf community being constructed by Havaday Developments Inc. in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

When the development reaches completion it will boast nearly 3000 residences, 2 Gary Player designed championship golf courses, and a village centre featuring several boutique shops and services, a lodge hotel, recreation centre and spa facilities, all of this framed with a seven acre lake and stunning views of the Rocky Mountains.

“We’re excited to have the machinery on site”, says Havaday President, Joel Savage. “The Black Knight course has been layed out and we’re clearing the fairways. The work that is underway now should be complete in six to eight weeks.”  With both the construction process and growing season cooperating, play is scheduled to begin on the Gary Player Black Knight course in 2008. Construction is scheduled to begin on the Gary Player Signature course in 2008 with play to begin in 2010, the same year BC will be hosting the Olympic Winter Games.

Gary Player visited the site of his first golf course in Canada in September. Player has designed over 230 courses worldwide and after all of those experiences, the developers of Wildstone were able to create a special memory and deliver a “first” for the Golf Legend. The site was toured on horseback and arriving at the highest elevation of the property with the Canadian Rockies painted white against the horizon, Mr. Player remarked, “We’ve never done anything quite as spectacular as this!”

Havaday has also begun construction on their Sales and Discovery Centre scheduled to open in March, 2007.  “There is so much work that we have been doing behind the scenes since our September event with Mr. Player, our days are very full” Savage added.

With more sunshine hours than anywhere else in BC, stunning Rocky Mountain scenery and buckets of fresh air, golf course development and construction is exploding in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. When asked to comment on the development of three or four courses plus their own, Joel Savage had this to say, “Responding to the promise of strong competition is easy for me. Solid competition creates a buzz and brings out the best among competitors. In sports, the end result is a much more entertaining game or match for the fans. In the golf business, strong competition assures the consumer receives a much better golf experience.” Savage’s 16 year, pro hockey career in the NHL and Europe provided him with high caliber competition and unique leadership experiences both of which fit quite nicely into his role as President of a major land developer.

Gary Player will return to Canada in September of this year as captain of the International Team at the President’s Cup in Montreal. Representatives from Havaday will make the trip east to support the International Team and attend meetings to further discuss details of the Wildstone project. This will be Player’s third consecutive year as Captain and will go head to head with old rival and dear friend Jack Nicklaus.

To discover more about Wildstone, visit www.DiscoverWildstone.com or call 1.888.901.2888