Sweet.

Just one of the cool little extra featured here at The Oasis Golf and RV Resort, an impressive rolling links-style course located – yes, just like an oasis in the middle of a desert – in the middle of the Prairie nowhere.

There are telephones located on Hole No. 8 and Hole No. 17 with a direct link to the restaurant, so you can place your order so it’s ready when you swing by the clubhouse.

Another unique feature is the Global Positioning System (GPS) included in each power cart, informing the golfer of the exact distance from your golf cart (and ball) to the middle of the green.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you arrive at this upscale championship golf course located on Highway 14 just past Perdue, about a 45-minute drive from downtown Saskatoon.

“Amazing,” is an adjective used repeatedly by Star Phoenix golfing colleagues Randy Burton and Richard Marjan, the two most serious and active golfers among the enthusiasts in the SP newsroom.

“It’s hard to believe, really.”

Once you get past wondering why somebody would build a golf course of this magnitude at this particular location, you’ll be immediately impressed by the scenic views and vistas of this course.

Esthetically, it’s some kind of wonderful.

There are red shale cart paths to match the red-dish roof of the swanky clubhouse. The fairways and greens offer different shades of greens.

The tee-boxes are in amazing shape, better than some of the greens you’ll play on.

The greens, through the front nine, are also in immaculate shape right now.

The back nine, all of it new for 2005, needs some work – in some cases, a lot of work – but it will come in time.

There are plenty of water hazards and bunkers to avoid, making the course challenging enough. There is a foot bridge over the main pond, stocked with lake trout and frequently visited by waddling ducks.

The clubhouse is top-notch. No expense appears to have been spared.

Massage therapy and esthetic services are also offered at the club’s hair salon and spa.

We arrive at the course at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning and are greeted by owner Jim Scharf, who is seated on a lawn tractor and raking the parking lot. It’s refreshing to see management blended in with the working grunts in the maintenance department.

We are the first golfers there on this morning and pretty much the only ones for most of the morning. Actually, the workers outnumber golfers.

It’s an odd feeling having pretty much the golf course to yourself, but it’s also very cool.

Coffee arrives a few holes in, delivered by Andrew from the Pro Shop. A nice touch, indeed.

Whether there are enough golf-thirsty people out there to indulge in this oasis remains to be seen, but there is yet another calibre course out there to try out.

It’s worth checking out, for sure.

Sure, it’s a bit of a hike to get there from Saskatoon, but, if the course isn’t busy, you make up for it with a quicker round of golf.

Already, there are expansion plans in place of the Oasis. Twenty of the 27 holes panned for the future have been completed. The 19th and 27th holes have been done ahead of time so to not disrupt the other 18 holes when further expansion does take place.

“It’s in the works,” says general manager Kevin Lewis. “It will be done, for sure. It’s just a matter of when. We want to see how things go in the first year or two.”

“We just have to do the best job we can out here,” offered Lewis. “We rely on word of mouth. We do some local advertising and in-house advertising and promotions. We’ll just try to push the product as much as we can.”

Weekday (Monday-Friday) 18-hole rounds of golf is $33 for adults, $28 for seniors and $11 for youth (15-and-under) golfing with an adult. Twilight rates are $24.75, $21 and $8.50.

On the weekend, 18 holes are $40 for adults, $34 for seniors and $14 for youth golfing with an adult. Twilight rates are $30, $25.50 and $10.50.

A power cart will cost a twosome $32 for 18 holes and $16 for nine. It’s half price for just one rider.

Massages are $26 for 30 minutes, $42 for 60 and $65 for 90.