Grant Fuhr(Director of Golf)

top 14 of 2014 after the stanley cup roaD to rIo THE SEASON’S BEST MOMENTS grANT fuHr MOvES frOM riNkS TO liNkS CANADA’S gOlD MEDAl gOlfEr MAUI MAGIC SAY ALOHA TO THE ISLAND’S BEST + GREAT GOLF FROM AROUND THE WORLD IN OUR Your Golf Canada offiCial HandiCap makes Golf more fun. golfcanada.ca ANNUAL TRAVEL ISSUE Golf Canada memBers reCeiVe Golf Canada maGaZine deliVered free To THeir Home. BeCome a memBer aT golfcanada.ca after tHe staNLeY NHL LegeNd fiNds a New Home – aNd goLf career – iN tHe desert BY BRUCE DOWBIGGIN cup @dowbboy 70 goLf caNada september 2014 september 2014 goLf caNada 71 t’s the spring of 1999 and the NHL intense competitive drive. playoff series between the St. “When the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes let me play other sports in the summer, I has come down to Game 7 in the turned to golf,” Fuhr says. “That allowed stifling heat of the desert. Exhaust- me to be competitive with my mind for four ed players on both sides practice or five hours a day. It kept me sharp for the one last time the day before the concentration and focus you need to play big game, trying to summon the goalie in the NHL.” energy and commitment they He’s also been a regular on the golf celeb- need for the contest. rity tours alongside other greats of sports and IAll the players, that is, except for the entertainment. “I have gotten to know a lot Blues’ star goalie Grant Fuhr. The future Hall of great athletes from other sports by playing of Famer is not on the ice with his team- these events,” he says. “Guys like Charles mates. Instead, he’s teeing it up on a nearby Barkley, Jim McMahon, Jerry Rice and Tony course with golf great Phil Mickelson. Romo. Plus I’ve met a lot of the actors from “That was my way of relaxing,” Fuhr Hollywood who like to play as well.” recalls. “I did the same thing when I was in Since leaving NHL goalie coaching in Edmonton. It was Game 7; there wasn’t much Phoenix, Fuhr has settled in the Palm you could do but relax. I wasn’t worried Springs, California area, indulging his about what they were thinking.” passion for the sport as Director of Golf at Sure enough, Fuhr shut out the Coyotes Desert Dunes, the only Robert Trent Jones through three periods and overtime until the Jr. layout in the valley. In the winter, when Blues’ Pierre Turgeon scored to win the series the snow birds head south, the Palm Springs for St. Louis after 78 tension-filled minutes. area is almost a Canadian enclave, especially Golf is as much in the blood as hockey for those from the Western provinces. It was for the NHL Hall of Fame goalie. Even as he Canadians who helped the region through starred for Edmonton, St. Louis and four the U.S. financial crisis of 2008, supporting other NHL clubs, Fuhr attempted to qualify the golf clubs and tourist industry when for the Canadian Tour in the summers off other sources of income dried up. the ice. Now he’s trying to qualify for Cham- Seeing the enthusiasm for Palm Springs pions Tour events such as the Shaw Charity among their countrymen, four Canadians Classic held in Calgary. (Michael Chiapetta, Mike Nyhuis, Glen Bray- Fuhr’s love for golf can be traced to his shaw and Sean Runnells) purchased Desert late father Bob, who introduced Grant to golf Dunes in an effort to create a golf Mecca for in his teens in Spruce Grove, Alberta. From snow birds. (They hope to have a condomin- his junior days playing courses such as Royal ium development break ground this fall.) Colwood in Victoria until today, when he’s Looking for a figure who could attract these played almost all the great layouts in North snow birds, Fuhr was their natural choice America, golf has been an outlet for his Now, 60 to 65 percent of the winter players 72 Golf Canada september 2014 at Desert Dunes are Canadian. the Coachella Valley are as much a part of The chance to merge his love for golf the challenge as Jones Jr.’s testing track (73.8 with learning the business was irresistible rating for men/ 75.9 for women). According to Fuhr in a location that boasts over 300 to Fuhr, it presents a hybrid of options not days of sunshine per year. He’s involved in often seen in the Valley. everything from promoting the club to run- “You can flight the ball high or you can ning the pro shop to improvements in the play it along the ground in a true links style,” 6,876-yard (from the tips) track. he says. “You can play in a 90 kilometre an “We’re now learning the golf business hour wind, because it’s set up for you to play from scratch,” he says, looking out at the the ground game. There aren’t many courses imposing Mount San Jacinto that towers over around here that allow that many options. If the valley. “I find it interesting; at the same you don’t have a good short game you’re not time it’s occasionally overwhelming. The going to score here. The greens are subtle guys I work with here, they go to school for and they’re on the smallish side. If you don’t turf care or pro shop management — they’ve approach them from the right direction studied for it. Myself, I just go by what would you’re going to roll off. They’re set on some I like in a golf club.” funny angles.” Since joining Desert Dunes in 2013, it’s Asked his favorite holes on the course, been a whirlwind of learning for Fuhr. “I Fuhr picks the 181-yard No. 8 as his favorite knew something about the marketing side par-3. “You have water running down the from other places where I’ve had member- entire side of it. And when the wind is blow- ships. But learning about the grasses, what ing, you have to start the ball over the water works and where to plant it has been a new to have a chance at landing on the green.” experience. It’s given me a whole new ap- The 530-yard No. 16 is his choice as a par preciation of what it takes to run a course 5. “You have to play in over top of the lake.” like this on a day-to-day basis.” And No.18 rates highest as a par-4. “It’s a real For a time, Desert Dunes hosted a Cana- meat-and-potatoes par-4. The approach to dian Tour event (before the PGA Tour took the green is very tricky if you’re not careful.” over and focused on Canadian venues). The The best time to play Desert Dunes, says course record of 63 is co-held by Canadian Fuhr, is just before the course is over-seeded Adam Hadwin, who notched his mark dur- in September and then from April to May, ing one such tournament at the facility. De- but Canadians flock there all year long. spite the absence of the big tours, Canadians “Our greens are good year-round and the playing Desert Dunes can still see a number course plays fast and hard in July. But no- of players from the mini-tours and athletes body tears up this course, nobody,” he says. from other sports at the course. That includes Fuhr himself, who’s recent- Located just north of Interstate 10 in ly had his long-troublesome knee replaced Desert Springs, Desert Dunes is a rolling, after years of pain. “It’s nice being able to challenging layout where the fickle winds of swing with two legs again,” he laughs. september 2014 Golf Canada 73.

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