Ross

Just to let you know how things went last week end (April 15th 2012). After encountering snow, rain, sleet and sun on my way up to Kelowna I arrived to sunny skies.

Got to Gallaghers Canyon Golf early teed off 20 min early which was a good thing as we had a slower group in front and may not have made it before night fall. Course was just like you said fairways were brownish with the greens being slooow instead of putters 6 irons were used haha just the same we had a blast.

Black Mountain was nice quite a challenge all went well until the rain hit at 15 side ways we managed to still keep the scores pretty good till 18 then we were wet right through would like to play again in nicer weather.

Shannon Lake Golf Club was what we expected as we played it 2 years ago and was a nice day golf was good we all shot well and to top it off we ran into our cousin who we had not seen in over 20 years. Comfort Inn & Suites Kelowna Hotel was good breakfast good would go back.

Thanks Ross for putting up with our not knowing what we want and guiding us through.
Til next year or sooner, Randy

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Just wanted to drop you a note expressing our thanks for your help in setting up a very enjoyable trip to Kamloops. We were very impressed with all the courses (found Tobiano pretty difficult and Talking Rock a pleasant surprise) and all the people we met there. The Thompson Inn was in a front lobby reno, but it wasn't an issue really, people were good and its very central, we enjoyed being right downtown on Victoria St as opposed to up the hill at say the Accent Inn, which is something you might want to hi-lite for people ( either way ). I think Kamloops has got it right in their customer/service/attitude department, found everyone from hotel, golf course and restaurant staff to be excellent, may want to pass that onto to the appropriate authorities. Big thumbs up for the 3.2.1. Bistro, awesome restaurant! Thanks again - Len

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Hey Ross. I thought I would drop you a line and let you know the golf trip was great. Canoe Creek was a great suggestion I probably enjoyed that the most out all 3 courses it was in mint condition.

The hotel was fabulous and they were great treated us very well. Thanks again for all the help and I will be in touch in regards to next years tourney.

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Ross,

Another great trip in the books, thanks to you. Although I did manage to lose our three round low-net tournament by one stroke, which still sticks in my craw.

But the accommodations were good again, and the courses - wonderful. Tower Ranch and Black Mountain were delightful. Our final round was at Black Mountain, and the course was in great shape, the staff were friendly, and the clubhouse an excellent place to wrap up the proceedings.

Our third consecutive fantastic trip booked through bcgolfguide.com!

Thank you again for fixing the shuttle at the last minute. I know that it was not for want of effort on your part, and I appreciate your diligence in helping correct the problem for us.

We will likely return to the Okanagan next year, but I think we will be looking for different accommodations in future. Perhaps a couple multi-bedroom condos at the same complex or a rental house with enough beds to have our own deck space/patio, and perhaps a barbecue.

Further, the Delta Grand, though the rooms are fantastic and beds great - they don\'t have Golf Channel. As our trip always coincides with the Open, in future we will need access to the highlight loop so we can keep abreast of these important matters.


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Hi Ross,

Well here we are back in the UK after a super vacation in Canada. We would all like to pass on our thanks for making our holiday just perfect and organizing Predator Ridge at such short notice, it really rounded the holiday of great and saved us a big headache in trying to make our own arrangements. They guys enjoyed the 27 holes at Predator Ridge as much and if not more than Bear Mountain which is saying something. We hope when in Canada next you will still be around and active in BC Golf Guide to organize our golf. Thanks again for making Canada so memorable.
Kind regards
Loraine, Barry, Sandra and Ray - England

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Hi Ross,

Here is a pic of Ben and I on the Ridge Course at Predator Ridge. I just wanted to say that we had a great time and that planning the trip through you was most certainly one of the reasons why the trip was great.

The price we paid, and selection of tee times you made available was phenomenal. Many thanks.


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Hi Ross!!

Thank you so much for setting this all up for us, we had a great time, great weather and all the courses were in really nice shape! Our favorite was Balfour but we enjoyed all of the courses as they were really different from each other.



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Hi Ross,

Just saying to you from me and my wife that we had a great time at Salmon Arm and playing golf and relaxing at the beaches. Thank you very much and we will be looking to do this again and having you set it up in the future.


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Hi Ross,

Had time to digest the Kamloops trip. I would like to start off by saying thank you for the excellent organization on your part. The Ramada personnel and service were great. No problems of any sort and they were very accommodating at breakfast time.

The 3 golf courses (Rivershore, Sunrivers and Dunes) had all the carts and names printed..... that was very classy!! Also the personnel at all the courses were very friendly and polite!!

By the way, we got very lucky with the weather .. just got a little wet on Tuesday but all in all very fortunate.

Thanks again and it was a pleasure doing business with you. John Nakamoto

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Morning Ross,

May I thank you for the excellent organisation and support you provided to us. The Borgata Lodge was quite superb and the courses challenging. All in all - a great holiday. We did try to call you directly to say 'thanks' but could not get through. Ah well, back to work.

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I wanted to thank you for helping pull together another excellent golf trip to Kelowna.

I have been \"chairman\" of our annual golf trip since its inception 8 years ago. This summer (2010) was our second trip to Kelowna, and the second time I relied on you to orchestrate the hotel bookings, tee times, and ground transportation.

Once again, I was impressed by your professionalism and attention to detail. Your course recommendations over the past couple years, including the Bear, the Quail, Predator Ridge, Gallagher\'s and Shannon Lake, have all been well received by the guys. In fact, this year was unanimously tagged as the \"best\" and \"most memorable\" of all the previous trips by my friends.

As it will fall on me to plan our 9th annual trip next year, I have no doubt that we will be returning to Kelowna for the third consecutive year...and I will be in touch early in 2011 to start putting that together with you again.

Thank you again - A. Keats

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Thanks for organizing the golf Ross. We had a great time dispite the very chilly weather. We would all like to do Black Mtn again when it\'s warm and not so windy and snowy. We did enjoy The Rise and Canoe Creek as well. Very much spring conditions. We also loved the hotel in Salmon Arm (Podollan Inn) but can\'t say we were really taken with Kelowna\'s Accent Inn. Hope to be out that way again in the summer. (it will be summer some time won\'t it?)
The Lozerons and The Tuckers

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The Dunes at Kamloops and Ross Marrington- BC Golf Guide have had a great business relationship since 2005. During this time I have seen BC Golf Guide grow as a company and has eventually turned in to one of our most popular booking avenues for our out of town guests. Having said that, this relationship has transpired due to a great personal relationship with the owner, Ross Marrington. Ross gets it. He attends our BCPGA trade shows and has built a personal relationship with the majority of the golf professionals in the interior of BC and beyond. His attention to detail on group size changes and communication with our staff is second to none, there are rarely any mistakes made on the entire booking/cancellation process. This relationship building has been imperative to business relations with myself and Ross and weve seen an increase in destination rounds due to continuing popularity of his company. Another attribute to BC Golf Guide is, Ross is the only Tour Operator owner that makes a conscious effort to bring his own personal group of 24-36 players to our club and others in the interior each year. This does not happen with other agencies and is a unique trait that Ross makes a conscious effort to bring extra revenue to the golf clubs he deals with, and we all appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Mike Porco, Former Director of Golf
The Dunes at Kamloops

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Hi Ross,

Just sending off another much deserved thank you to yourself for our recent Kelowna golf getaway last weekend. As usual, it was spectacular and everything went off without any glitches, etc. The weather even was surprising good with just one small shower over 4 rounds. All the courses were in mint condition and our guys thought they were in heaven each and every course!!!! We had one of our guys bail on the whole trip the night before....but it seemed to work much better with just 4 golfers as you can imagine. Thanks so much again for the excellent service you provide us each and every year. Looking forward to talking to you next year when we get to do it all over again!!! Thanks, Scott

PS. We are thinking of organizing a winter excursion as well.....perhaps Phoenix/ Palm Springs???? Do you or could you arrange something like that. It most likely won\'t be this winter but 2012 and beyond for sure.

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Ross,
Just wanted to thank you for putting the golf trip together.We just returned last night and all 4 of us had great time.

Predator Ridge was the hi-lite as the golf and the accommodations were 1st class.We already discussed coming back next year when the Ridge course opens.

I strongly recommend paying the extra $$ and staying at Predator Resort. The golf course was perfect for a low handicapper as well as high one.The practice facilities,the food,and the staff were as good as I've seen, even the unpredictable weather was only a minor
inconvenience and it gave us an excuse to check out the Fitness Ctr after the round,which was a bonus.

The Rise was an interesting course,with incredible views but I don't think I would play it again as there were too many blind shots and strange holes.The last 4 holes were my favorite, even though I incurred a couple of penalty strokes. I'd only recommend it to low handicappers and short straight hitters.The staff & treatment was excellent.

Kelowna Springs was ok and it was nice to play an easier course on the last day. Thanks again Rick & the guys

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Danny, thanks again for your help with our Bend Oregon trip. Everything went great.

Caleb Anderson took an interest in our entire trip and made every effort to make us feel welcome. The bookings with the other courses went like clock work.

The recommendations were spot on. Tetherow was terrific, though the greens were recently sanded so we missed out on what are reputably beautiful and fast greens. Brasada was a real contrast to Tetherow. It\'s another beautiful course with a completely different feel. Huge views and lots of decisions involving changes in elevation. The wildfires in the area partially obstructed the view of the mountains, but the views were still great.

The Nicklaus course at Pronghorn was our favorite. It\'s a beautiful desert course that doesn\'t overpower the desert. Rather, it lets the desert in to serve as part of the landscape. Nicklaus is a thinking man\'s designer. You\'re never sure you see all the options or all the possible consequences. If your shot is below average there is likely to be a consequence. There were no lucky misses. We (including a 3 and a 6) were all mentally tired after the round. We have great respect for Nicklaus after playing his courses at PGA West, La Paloma and Pronghorn.

We have a gift to send to you. What address should we use? Is there a carrier that works best from USA to Canada? Thanks, again. We\'ll be back.


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Thanks for arranging a great Okanagan golf trip. Everything went completely smooth, no glitches with anything, including the weather. Of the 9 courses played, our favourite 3 had to be Tobiano, Predator Ridge and Tower Ranch with Gallaghers Canyon, Okanagan Quail and the Rise just behind them. Sun Rivers was mostly interesting but had a few contrived holes that were quite easy to lose a ball on even after a good shot down the middle. Black Mountain was interesting but felt a bit jammed into too small an area. The Dunes was fun but not as interesting as some of the mountain courses. Thanks again for the great arrangements, we'll certainly use you again for our next trip to the west.

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Hello Ross .... I just wanted to thank you for your help on our golf holiday... Everything went like clockwork. All reservations were as stated and were waiting for us upon arrival. We will be happy to recommend you and use your services again.

Thanks again
Harvey

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Ross….My time at Tobiano was more than I could have hope for or imagined!! The course is terrific, and the staff was second to none. I can not wait to come back again. Surely, it will be an annual trip for me at least. Dave, Nicole, Jesse, Sam and the other gals in the restaurant went the extra mile to make my experience memorable. Miles left me a momento, which I will send him a thank you note for. A golf club head cover…horse with Tobiano written on it! Fanatastic!! I appreciate all you did to put the lodging and golfing together…and for passing on the vette pics. A way cool trip!!



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We were a group of twelve golfers and made Salmon Arm our home base. We stayed at the Podollan Inn where we we treated like kings. Their hospitality was great. We played Salmon Arm Golf Course, Hyde Mountain Mara Lake in Sicamous, Talking Rock in Chase and Canoe Creek in Salmon Arm. All the courses were in great shape and the employees from the Proshop to the greenkeepers were friendly and helpful, A trip of a life time. Thanks Ross

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Hi Ross,

Just wanted to let you know that the trip went off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time (even if the weather didn’t co-operate). I wanted to thank you again for all your work and setup. Your communication with the hotel and courses is amazing. Everyone knew exactly what we had arranged and were totally prepared for our arrival. Thank You once again and we look forward to planning next year’s trip with you. BTW next year will be Kelowna.

Paul Cowl and the HACK 2010 team


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I just wanted to give you some feedback about my golf trip/package. I had a GREAT time. I had no problems with the Coast Capri Hotel, nor at the Okanagan Golf Club or at Gallagher's Canyon Club.

I found the Coast Capri Hotel to be in a good location, my room was clean and of good size. Also, it was in a very quiet location. The room was about half-way back and on the side facing Kelsey's Grill. I didn't use the swimming pool, but it looked good. The lobby and restaurant area was spacious and had a friendly ambience. The staff at the front desk was always friendly and professional. I would definitely stay there again, as well as recommend it to other travelers.

As for the golf courses, I loved all three of them. I found Gallagher's to be a little more of a challenge, but still played it well and had a good time with a couple of club members. The Bear and Quail Courses of the Okanagan Club are also "must play" and beautiful courses. I liked the Quail Course a little better because I liked the challenge of the 17th & 18th holes. They are beautiful finishing holes, both of which I parred. I also think that the Okanagan Club is a little more casual and felt a little more comfortable playing with the golfers that I was paired up with. The first day I was put in with three very nice friendly locals. When I played the Quail, I was paired up with a nice gentleman from Vancouver who was visiting your city, like me. I would definitely play all three again, but it will have to be after I try to play other courses in your area. All three courses are what I call "feel good" courses. These are courses that it feels good to be playing there. That makes my golf day.

Anyway, thank you again for all your help to make my golf vacation a memorable one.

Aloha, Randy

Photo - Quail course at the Okanagan Golf Club

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Thanks Ross for your assistance in putting our trip to Kelowna together.The weather was great & the course selection was terrific.Predator Ridge was our favourite.The Rise would be a close second,definately need to play this one more than once to find your way around it.Tower Ranch is another great track.All of these have spectacular views.Osoyoos Desert was a fun course but too far to drive for just one round.The Bear was a great choice for our opening round but Black Mountain was a bit of a disappointment.It doesn\'t stand up against these other courses.The Holiday Inn was a good choice & their breakfast every morning got us started on the right track.Overall a great experience.Thanks again.

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Ross, I just wanted to say what a great time we all had in Kelowna at the Manteo Resort and I thank you for making it all possible. Everything worked out as you had laid it out for us for golf course check in. Many thanks, Sharon.

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Hey Ross. Thanks for putting together a great golf & stay package. Everything went perfectly. The Cove in Westbank was excellent, the tee times were all booked and the golf courses were expecting us. I would recommend your services to anyone planning a golf trip. Thanks again.

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Ross, thanks so much for organizing our BC golf holiday. We had a great time in spite of the weather!

St Eugene Mission is a lovely resort - food was good and staff were friendly. The resort has wonderful ambience and it was very clean and totally non-smoking.

We golfed at St. Eugene the first day - sunny and warm - great course. Wednesday it sprinkled on and off all day but we enjoyed Trickle Creek - very challenging course and beautiful views. Would love to go back when the weather is better. We passed on Shadow Mountain as it poured rain and we thought the course would be really soggy - and so would we. We asked about a rain check but they said we would need to discuss with you - based on our previous conversation, I gather that unless they closed the course, we are out of luck? (Editors note - Yes this typically the case however we will get Donna 2 rain checks)

On the whole though, it was a great getaway. Thanks again for your help in putting it together.

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hey ross. just a note about our trip to Kamloops. it was awsome!!! all the courses were excellent. the weather was great and all the boys had a great time. thankyou very much for all your help. we are planning for next year. probably we will golf Okanagan and Kelowna areas. will be in touch with details . thanks again!! m. firestone

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Good morning Ross. Just a short note to inform you that the package you provided to the seven golfers from the lower mainland was a great success.

Everything went smoothly, without a hitch. We enjoyed a sunny round of golf at Tobiano. The wind got up for the last four holes and cooled it off, but nothing compared to what it might have been.

Wednesday was cooler and rainy in Kamloops, but the sun came out when we arrived at Talking Rock. Played the entire round without one drop of rain. All the golfers enjoyed that course, commenting that it was more \'player friendly\' than Tobiano, and held much different but very beautiful scenery. Eagle Point did not disappoint on Thursday morning, and they all left having enjoyed their trip into the interior.

Thanks again. Bill Brown


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Thanks for organizing our recent golf holiday. We had a great time and the Watermark Resort in Osoyoos, it was perfect. It is brand new and in a great location, with a nice little restaurant downstairs. They gave us a two bedroom and the lake view was perfect. We enjoyed the Osoyoos CC, desert course, as the weather was perfect. We golfed Monday in thunder and pouring rain at Inkameep, with a couple from our own course in Richmond. We joked how only Vancouverites would golf in this rain. Fairview was excellent, sunny, and hot. Thanks again for everything.

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Just a belated note to thank you for the wonderful job on booking our golf trip. Everyone had a great time. The hotel was very good to us as far as the meeting room went and we were able to use it both nights. The golf courses were great especially the Dunes which every one agreed they liked better. I am sure you will hear next year from the couples planning that trip. Again thanks and if you ever need to refer a satisfied customer we will all be glad to contribute.

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We have booked thru BCgolfguide.com for 3+ years and I enjoy dealing with Ross. When i call he already knows who i am, as he remembers our past conversations and my voice. It is a pleasure to deal with his company. Always quick and efficient. Our groups travels all over North America to various resorts, and i can honestly attest that no one i have dealt with at resorts in Florida, South Carolina and California match the attention to detail and accuracy. the trips are executed without hassles and mistakes. thank you. Golfing in the Okanagan is awesome!
Herb - Oregon

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Ross - I'm sorry it's taken a week to write this letter, but the week since we came home from holidays has been very busy as we expected it would. We both wanted to write to say what a fantastic golf holiday we had, and to thank you for setting it all up for us. We are already looking forward to doing something similar next year. We both think that we would do it a little earlier next year - maybe the last couple of weeks of Sept - the Okanagan was having unseasonably cold weather and there were 3 or 4 days where we had frost delays. However, we had sunshine most of the time, and only one day of rain. A minor hitch was a couple of days with no hot water or heat in our suite at Playa Del Sol. However the woman we dealt with - Leanne was extremely pleasant and was ready to move us if needed - fortunately the problem was fixed and we were able to stay in the suite. We were very pleased with the accommodations in Kamloops - the room at the Hampton was lovely. And the Playa Del Sol suite was gorgeous - we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite with a fabulous view and we were able to have all our meals in comfort in the suite. Our son came up for the Thanksgiving weekend and there was plenty of space for him. Possibly as a result of how nice this room was, we were a little disappointed when we first got to the Surfside Hotel. We were in the old part of he hotel, and although the room was very clean, it was very basic, there was no view, and very little soundproofing. However, after the first night we checked with the manager, and chose to pay extra to upgrade to a suite in the new part of the hotel with a stunning view over the lake and with a fireplace (which was very appreciated after a day of golfing in October!).

So as I said before, we are already excited about next year. We think that we would go for 2 weeks again, but would probably look at staying in only 2 places and would choose somewhere like the Playa or the suites at the Surfside with a kitchen. (Anne would like to try some other similar accommodations next time to allow us to experience different places). It is definitely worth it to us to spend a little more on the accommodations to get somewhere a little upscale. We absolutely loved the golf and the courses you helped us choose were great, but next year I think we would plan for 3 days of golf in a row and a day off in between so that we have time to travel around and do and see other things. So once again - thank you for a very memorable trip.

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Thank you for arranging our Kelowna trip for us. The Accent Inn was in a great location and the beds very comfortable and clean.

We enjoyed the courses you picked (Sunset Ranch, Black Mnt and Shannon Lake). So many nice courses there, loved the scenery and there was a nice breeze on each of them that made the heat more bearable. We headed to the lake after every game which was refreshing.

We will keep your number for sure for any future golf trips.

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Hi Danny,

The Scenery was great, the food was great, the beer was cold, the accommodations were nice and the golfing was spectacular!!

Thanks for your help in scheduling a most excellent weekend.

In fact...we were supposed to drive back to northern Alberta Monday morning but had to do another round @ Silvertip first..

Cheers,
Larry C

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I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your services. We had a great trip and really enjoyed ourselves. The weather held well for us too. Everything was set up for us at the courses and the hotel. You're one-stop / one-call service is really appreciated. As to the courses. The greens on Bear and Quail were playable but definitely still impacted by the 3 week old punching. The greens at Black Mtn were immaculate and that course may soon surpass the others as the best course in Kelowna. It's our favorite so far in the area. Thank you again and we'll be in touch next spring

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I've been meaning to contact you, just to give you the 'thumbs up' on our holiday package in Kelowna. The Coast Capri was a great place to stay, close to everything. We encountered a bit of drizzle/rain the first two days, but nothing to hold us back from golfing. We were very happy with the courses we played; and their hospitality was wonderful...particularly Sunset Ranch - I'm just sorry we didn't plan that day to stay there to eat, they seemed to have been the most friendly, and accommodating. Trena Cole and Ladies

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Ross and Co.

Once again, a flawless execution. I called with the days we had available and the courses we wanted to play. BC Golfguide lined up the rooms and rounds for our foursome within a few hours and we were off within the next couple days. Played The Rise, The Ridge, Canoe Creek and Tobiano in three days!
Great vacation. Thank you for your service
Will call again in the Fall.

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hey ross. how are you? just a note to say we had an awsome time on our golf trip in kelowna! the weather was perfect as was the accomadations. all the courses were great. gallaghers was my fav with towers ranch a close 2nd. looking to expand to 16 for next year. will probably come back to kelowna again! try some different courses. thanks a lot for all your help! you make me look good to the rest of my group!! will be in touch for our next trip. take care. mike firestone

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Ross, Thanks again for setting everything up this weekend\'s Kamloops trip. Your system is super user-friendly and efficient. No complaints.
The boys had a great time. Everyone said they would be sure to use the service again when setting up future trips. Regards, Dan.

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Just wanted to let you know something about our group trip to Kelowna earlier this year. At the Quail course, we were all given a $10 credit because two tiny patches of green were roped off as unplayable. Essentially we all got a free sleeve of balls due to a very minor course issue. I (and the rest of my group) was totally impressed by this gesture by the Quail course...something many courses would not have done. That really made a positive impression on us. We in BC sometimes complain about service, but certainly not at the Quail course. They were top notch in every way. Thanks again, we are looking forward to next year's trip!

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