With the upcoming weekend weather looking much better than what it’s been earlier in the week, the buzz has grown at the Steinbach Fly-In Golf Course, coming off a nice opening weekend, and looking toward special things for the 2026 golf season.
“The excitement is good, especially since they’ve had to wait,” Head Professional at the Fly-In Brian Guenther explains with a smile. “You know, golfers have had to wait a little bit longer than normal, but we are open. We’re just waiting for consistent weather to be not only open but be busy.”
Reconnecting with the people
One of Guenther’s favourite parts of a new season is seeing familiar faces back around the pro shop. “That’s fantastic, for sure,” he says with a grin. “Our members here love the golf course, love our operation, and it is so much fun having them out for their first time of the year and a whole lot more after that. So it’s a good feeling when we’re open, and it’s nice outside, and there are lots of people around. It’s really rewarding.”
Starting the season with positives
“We had a really good start to the season,” Guenther explains. “Our turf conditions are incredible for this time of year. So we had the proper snow cover, and when the ice was all gone, we saw a nice green turf right off the hop. So, again, we’re waiting for growth, some heat for the grass to grow, but course conditions look excellent.”
On top of how it’s come out of winter, Guenther says they are always looking at ways to improve the quality for the golfers. “It’s a living, breathing identity here with the golf course. So there’s always things to do. There’s always things that are in need of repair or replacement. We are looking at a few things on the radar. Our bridges need to be replaced at some point in time. So we’re working on that a little bit. Other than that, course conditions, some overseeding here and there. So it’s just constant what you’re trying to do with the golf course.”
Hey, I know you
Something that Guenther says makes this year even greater is that so many of the staff are back, which makes things run smoothly right from the get-go. “This year, I’m really lucky in the pro shop here that pretty much everybody from last year came back. So that is great. There’s less training going on, and they know the members, and the members’ tendencies when they play golf. So that’s really good for our operation. We’ve also got most of our staff coming back from maintenance. That’s also really good. The course kept really well, and the operators of the equipment are excellent. So we’re looking for, again, a good year of turf conditions. Again, just working with the staff to have all those things going on.”
Earned respect
A lot of work has gone into building the reputation of the course, something that Guenther says brings people in from all over Manitoba. “We are well known around the province. We have great, great members and 60% of players are still coming outside from Steinbach area. We do get a lot of visitors out here who are playing golf and play golf all over the province. We are always ranked high in the course conditions and again, the layout. People always say they really love it.”
Signature hole’s
Guenther has been at the Fly-In for a while now, and he says when it comes to a must-play hole, there are a couple to choose from, thanks to input from golfers. “We did a poll with our members a few years ago, and it came out to number 10 being the most popular. I also like number eight myself. Par four, trouble kind of on the right and trouble on the left requires a good shot. Then it requires another good second shot to get onto a slightly hidden green. The green has lots of undulation for cutting, so it’s one of my favourites.”
