Perdue Oasis first and foremost a Saskatchewan Success

By Bill Dafoe

It’s a year of firsts for Perdue Oasis Golf & RV Resort, Saskatchewan’s newest and sweetest championship golf course. It’s the first-time a new course in Saskatchewan has garnered nominations for a cartload of awards: the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for “outstanding ethics and integrity in business”, the North Saskatoon Business Association “New Direction Award”, and Tourism Saskatchewan’s “Rookie-of-the-Year” honours.

“We’re up and running and ready for our first full year of operation,” says Jim Scharf. “We’ve created a high-end course that’s has an experience second to none.” Scharf is best known for the hugely successful E-ZEEWRAP plastic wrap dispenser.

This World Class Course draws from a large area. Saskatoon is only 33 minutes down the road. As you head west, the next nearest 18-hole courses are in Lloydminster, Camrose, Alta. or to the south, at Saskatchewan Landing.

It’s guaranteed to turn your head with the level of service and first-class amenities. For starters, the golf carts have GPS (Global Positioning Systems). There’s a two-hole practice loop, driving range, on-course food phones and 40 full-service RV hook-ups are in the works for 2006. It’s arguably, the best conditioned track in the province with more than 440,000 square feet of luscious bent grass greens and tee off boxes.

Perdue Oasis is also the only course in Saskatchewan that has a distinct South West Arizona look with red shale cart paths winding throughout the facility. At par 72, the current 18 measures 6,943 yards off the tips, with two distinct nine’s – one flatter and the other more rolling. When complete, the third nine will be hilly using the nearby hills to full advantage.

Golfers will need to dodge a meandering stream and six water hazards developed from the ponds originally on the property. A couple of the ponds are stocked with lively rainbow trout and support a flock of resident waddling ducks. The second hole has an enormous “extreme” bunker, one of Saskatchewan’s largest.

The eastern slopes of the Bear Hills, just before it gives way to the great outwash prairies and Lake Vanscoy is the backdrop for Perdue Oasis. Over 6,000 trees were purchased to provide shape and variety to the landscape. The course will be hardly recognizable as this transplanted forest matures. The rough is carpeted in a variety of natural grasses and colourful prairie flowers.

The southwestern-style clubhouse is situated on a hill, along Highway 14 like “a grand dowager surveying the grandeur in all directions.” The 2,200 sq. ft. clubhouse deck and its enclosed glass terrace provides a spectacular, 300-degree view of the entire course. From here, golfers can enjoy a burger and beer, or better still, tasty gourmet delights like wild boar tenderloin with wild mushroom demi-glaze.

The inside of the clubhouse is a storehouse of hidden delights. The grand salon is reminiscent of a hacienda with its imported furnishings, and the magnificent art by Saskatchewan artists which grace its walls. The renowned restaurant offers an eclectic menu of delectable choices. The lower level, which lets out directly onto the course, houses the fully stocked pro-shop, Arizona’s Salon and Spa and a fully licensed massage therapist.

Another first at the course is the exceptional “Oasis Savings Passport”. There are NO Members so this unique $20 passport gives golfers up to $700 in unrestricted savings on such items as green fees, carts, pro shop discounts and the on-site salon and spa.

For more information and tee time bookings, visit www.PerdueOasis.com or phone 1-306-237-GOLF (4653).