Twin Willows Golf Club in northwest Edmonton closed permanently after its final day Wednesday, ending 61 years as a golf course. The land has been sold and is slated for redevelopment as an industrial park, but two greens and as much reusable turf as possible will be moved to Meadowview Golf and Country Club to help with repairs after severe flooding.

Landscapers working for Meadowview are expected at Twin Willows next week to harvest the materials. The clubs plan to donate some turf to other golf courses, but most of it is intended for Meadowview, said Ed Sims, Twin Willows’ longtime superintendent and owner. Sims said the donation would put material to use before the former course is cleared.

“Otherwise, it’s just going to get bulldozed. So at least it’ll help out because they’ve got a huge expense coming at them,” Sims said.

Meadowview has faced extensive water damage after a season of torrential rain and flooding. Matteo Piscopo, the club’s head golf professional and manager, said water breached the berms protecting the course six times. By the time crews contained the water, much of the back nine was covered by about four feet of water.

“The superintendent and I were thinking, ‘How the heck are we going to recover from this?'” Piscopo said. The rain forced Meadowview to close its back nine for the season, though conditions gradually dried and the course is now preparing for sodding, with Twin Willows’ donated turf expected to help.

Two Meadowview greens were heavily damaged. Piscopo said constructing one green for a professional golf course can cost about $50,000, leaving the club facing substantial expenses for the repairs. With help from Twin Willows, Meadowview is now aiming to have all 18 holes ready for next season.

“We’ve been pretty lucky,” Piscopo said. “Well, we were unlucky and lucky.” He described the season as the worst he had seen for water issues.

Sims said closing Twin Willows has felt bittersweet, though the work of shutting down has kept the closure from fully sinking in. About 600 league members are now looking for another place to play.

“I suppose we’ve been so busy; it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Sims said. “Once all the trees are down, and the buildings are gone, then it might hit home.”

The course’s front nine began as part of Golden West, which opened in 1965. The property was divided into two courses in the 1980s, and Sims’ father was among the original owners of Golden West and later Twin Willows.

Sims recalled that the club was once surrounded by fields and that 156 Street was a dirt road, not even gravel. He grew up at the course and learned the golf business there, starting as a child operating a ball-picker tractor.

“Been doing it all my life,” Sims said. “I was ten years old, I was driving the ball picker tractor.”

After graduating from Fairview College, Sims followed his father into the business and became superintendent in 1984. He oversaw the opening of Twin Willows’ second nine holes in 2003. Before that expansion, the city had rezoned the land for industrial use.

Sims said he understood that the city’s growth and nearby development meant a sale was likely eventually. Rising property taxes also influenced his decision to sell the land. Following the closure, the course will be cleared for its planned industrial redevelopment, while some of its greens and turf will be put to use at Meadowview and other clubs.

Based on reporting by Edmonton Journal.