Why Perdue, you ask? “Why not?” replies Scharf, whose family owns and operates the Perdue Oasis Golf and RV Resort which opened its fairways to the public last Saturday with little hype or advertising fanfare.

Instead, word of mouth has been working overtime.

“Why not Perdue? There isn’t an 18-hole golf course west of here all the way to the Alberta border,” pointed out Scharf. “It’s good for the community; it’s good for this area. It’s a major development. It’s only 33 minutes out of Saskatoon (on Highway 14).

“The first day, nobody knew about us and we had 60 rounds out here.”

General manager Myrna McIvor says the initial response has been “very good.”

“It’s been fairly steady,” said McIvor, noting that their clientele has been primarily from Saskatoon. “Ideally, we would have liked to have opened earlier but we had some rainouts.”

Scharf and his wife, Bruna, are seeing their dream come alive two years after they put their idea to work.

First, they built small lakes as water hazards. The, they moved dirt in. Last fall, they seeded nine holes.

They seeded again. And again.

“We re-seeded them four times,” noted Scharf. “They blew away. We now have 20 holes seeded.”

Currently, nine holes are in play. Twenty holes are expected to be ready by next spring. Eventually, the course will expand to 27 holes.

The course, designed by world-renowned designer, Glen Campbell, features bent-grass greens and tee boxes, six water hazards and one of Saskatchewan’s largest sand bunkers.

The Par-71 course stretches out to 6,794 yards from the black tees, 6,042 yards from the gold blocks and 5,222 from the whites.

“I’m told it’s challenging for the professionals and the duffers will love it,” said Scharf.

He’s been told because Scharf isn’t, himself, a golf nut.

Hardly.

“I don’t know anything about golf; I don’t golf,” Scharf admits. “But I have a couple of sons and a nephew who golf.”

Family connections have also helped to put together an all-inclusive spa with a licensed massage therapist and salon. The impressive clubhouse, situated on a hill, sits like a grand beacon overlooking the course is all directions, in all its diversity and splendor.

To the west is the rugged terrain of the Bear Hills. To the eat, the flat Saskatchewan prairie is carved by a lake which is home to all sorts of wildlife, from Canada Geese to rare whooping cranes. The main pond, stocked with trout, features a foot bridge, on which you may be held up by ducks waddling across.

The Oasis has a fully-stocked pro shop and licensed restaurant with 2,200 square-foot terrace overlooking the course.

The restaurant has renowned chef Brad Gerwing, formerly of the Sheraton hotel and the Willows Golf Club.

Among the golf course’s unique features is the use of red shale.

“All our cart paths are red shale and our driving range is red shale,” noted Scharf. “We’ve done that to conserve moisture. That’s what they do in (Las) Vegas now and it looks great.”

The cost of playing nine holes, along with unlimited driving range balls, is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $14 for youth. With a power cart, it’s $30, $25 and $21.

For 18 holes, the cost is $40 for adults, $34 for seniors and $28 for youth. Hop on a power cart and it’s $56 for adults, $48 for seniors and $40 for youth.

The RV site has yet to be developed.