For the first time in 18 years, Gamètì golfers enjoy upgraded greens

A golfer in Gamètì, N.W.T., welcomed the community's recently installed greens with a hole-in-one last week. 

This is the first time the greens, made of artificial turf, have been replaced in the course's 18-year history. 

"They're really good," Brenden Bekale, an avid golfer in the community, said of the new greens. 

On the old greens, balls would either bounce right off or roll well past the hole when golfers would try and putt, Bekale said. 

"Before we used to shoot over the green. Now we're not getting it over, we're getting it short … which is a good thing." 

The new greens at the nine-hole course were officially open to golfers last week and it didn't take long for one person to have success with them. 

Community member Jerry Simpson shot the hole-in-one, the first on the greens, Bekale said. 

"The ball disappeared on the green … Everyone started cheering," Bekale said. 

A video on Facebook shows Simpson taking the ball out of the hole and celebrating the accomplishment.

Bekale said the Gamètì golf course is unique, referencing the various animals he's seen around it, including a possible moose sighting last week.

"We have all kind of wildlife on the course and you can actually hear them," he said. 

All-terrain vehicles tend to be used as the golf carts, and it's not a place for peace and quiet.

Bekale said fellow golfers like to distract one another while playing, adding a challenge to the game.

"I shouldn't call it trash talking, but you know, like teases," he said. "We'll sometimes just like tease … try and keep it exciting."