Two Hills Lions Golf & Country Club’s Rolling Landscape a Beautiful Backdrop for Golfers

Two Hills Lions Golf & Country Club’s Rolling Landscape a Beautiful Backdrop for Golfers

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

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Just like the characteristic expansive undulating hills at the Two Hills golf course, the Lions Club has had many ups and down over the years, but its members and supporters have managed to come out the other side stronger than ever.

There have also been many upgrades to the Two Hills Lions Club Golf & Country Club in recent years, and several more projects and improvements are currently in the planning stages.

Darwin Makowecki has played a key role in those projects as he has developed the successful grant applications to the Government of Alberta, and will soon be submitting another request for funding under the Communities Facilities Enhancement Program, (CFEP).

CFEP funding provides financial assistance to acquire, build, purchase, repair, renovate, upgrade or expand sports, recreational, cultural or other related public-use community facilities

Makowecki said this will be the third times he’s applied for funding under this grant program. The previous two were successful, and he’s hoping for the same result this time around. The request is for funding to assist with clubhouse renovations, a new fairway and tee box mower and sprayer, and golf cart fleet upgrades. The total cost of the project would be $148,460.

The Lions Club’s previous application stated that, “The golf course continues to operate as a recreational and gathering spot for the community. However, we were in need of an upgrade and renovation of our modest Clubhouse. This consisted of replacing and upgrading our washroom to accommodate the handicapped, upgrade our heating system to a more efficient and modern system, and change our traffic flow within the clubhouse to be more efficient. This would more than double our interior public use space. We proposed this project and with the help of a CFEP grant we managed to do the above in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021.

After 28 years the course is operating well. We have 145 golf members, many green fee players from throughout NE Alberta and the Lakeland area and a junior golf program. We employ 30 local residents on a part and full-time basis and have projected a near breakeven financial year for most years. However, 2017 was a year of a larger loss. 2019 and 2020 have us back at slight surplus revenue.”

Read the full story in the May 12, 2021 edition of the News Advertiser - now online!