NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
(From left) Marion Woolfrey, Emily Baker and Mac Baker stand above Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course on Friday, June 5, 2020. The three took over ownership of the course in late March.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course is looking to the future without letting go of the past.
Three of the course’s four original partners recently made the decision to move on from their roles, but Marion Woolfrey says she couldn’t bring herself to step away from the links that serve as the legacy of her late husband, Ted. Instead, she turned to general manager Mac Baker and his wife Emily, and in late March, the trio took over ownership of the course.
“For me and my family, this means something. I’m glad we’re giving it a go,” said Woolfrey, who has had children and grandchildren work at Cottonwood over the years. “It’s just something I wanted to preserve.”
Before it was a golf course, Cottonwood Coulee was known simply as Woolfrey’s Coulee, and it happened to be one of the biggest outdoor party destinations in the city. Having always dreamed of turning the expansive space into an 18-hole golf course, Woolfrey says Ted recruited three partners in Elvin Semrau, Ed Bleile and Fred Ammann, and in 1993 they turned that dream into a reality by opening Cottonwood Coulee to the public.
“It was the party place. It was rented out, Rotary used it for several parties, always the annual Stampede party. That’s how we got the roundabout there, the cement pad, to start out with,” said Woolfrey, adding it took roughly one year to turn it into a golf course. “That was his dream. It was their dairy farm, this is where the cows would graze.”
While some things have changed, Cottonwood still keeps that social atmosphere alive with a campground attached to the golf course – an area Mac says they plan on expanding in the future.
“It’s kind of that idea of taking the history of what it was – it first was a gathering spot for people to come down and have a good time. We still want to keep that,” he said. “We want to be known as a casual, easy-going place where everyone is welcome to come play golf. We’re looking at adding some other things, growing the campground business and possibly adding some other things to bring other people down here to sit on the patio.”
Mac joined Cottonwood eight years ago as the par-66 course’s superintendent, then added general manager to his duties a few years later. When he heard the course’s previous owners were thinking of selling and moving on, Mac says he expected the sale of the course would likely force him to move on as well – until Woolfrey approached him with a different plan.
“Marion and I started talking about what was possible,” said Mac, who was born in Medicine Hat but grew up in the Okanagan. “Marion wanted to stay in, because obviously there are strong ties to her family and she wanted to keep her family involved in the golf course.”
Emily says that sense of family legacy quickly became apparent upon moving to Medicine Hat, and before long it worked its way into the Baker household as well.
“Since Mac started here, we’ve got three young kids, and this has become kind of a home away from home for them,” said Emily. “Marion talked about there being family ties, and for us it feels like that’s already starting to be built in. Our kids, this is home to them.
“For (Mac), this has really been a dream come true and for me it’s been a learning experience, but one that has really made us feel at home.”
Mac added he hopes to extend that feeling into the community, while continuing to provide a unique option among Medicine Hat’s diverse selection of golf courses.
“We want that for other people, to realize, ‘Hey we can go down and spend a Sunday afternoon there, and bring the kids,'” said Mac, adding Cottonwood recently launched a program called Youth On Course, which allows kids under-18 to play for as little as $3 per round.
“We’re not like everybody else. We don’t have to be like everybody else, and I think that’s OK. With everything that’s changing in golf, and just in people’s lives with time and money, I think there’s a great spot for a course like this to do really well … Between the par-3, us and the other courses we have in town, we have a really good progression. We cover all the different aspects.”
Cottonwood Coulee’s golf course, league nights, driving range and campground are open with some added precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, though tournaments – like the Ted Woolfrey Memorial, slated for August – are still on hold until further notice.
