Avid Pontiac golfers will soon have a second local option for extending their season beyond the first snowfall.
The Knights of Columbus of Fort-Coulonge have almost raised the money needed to purchase a golf simulator for their community hall. Currently the only golf simulator in the Pontiac is at the Shawville Curling Club.
The indoor equipment allows players to use real clubs and balls to play virtual rounds and practice on digital driving ranges.
The idea to bring the setup to Fort-Coulonge came from one of the Knights’ youngest members, Joël Ladouceur, who joined in the summer of 2025.
“I’m a big golf freak, I love it,” Ladouceur said, explaining that as he neared the end of last year’s golf season, he figured bringing a golf simulator to the community hall could be a hit.
“We could keep the fun times going for my friends and everybody else in the community who loves golf.”
Avid Pontiac golfers will soon have a second local option for extending their season beyond the first snowfall.
The Knights of Columbus of Fort-Coulonge have almost raised the money needed to purchase a golf simulator for their community hall. Currently the only golf simulator in the Pontiac is at the Shawville Curling Club.
The indoor equipment allows players to use real clubs and balls to play virtual rounds and practice on digital driving ranges.
The idea to bring the setup to Fort-Coulonge came from one of the Knights’ youngest members, Joël Ladouceur, who joined in the summer of 2025.
“I’m a big golf freak, I love it,” Ladouceur said, explaining that as he neared the end of last year’s golf season, he figured bringing a golf simulator to the community hall could be a hit.
“We could keep the fun times going for my friends and everybody else in the community who loves golf.”
He pitched the idea at the club’s October meeting, and it received unanimous support from members.
He said to date, he has secured $11,250 of the $12,800 needed to purchase the equipment. Pontiac community radio station CHIP 101.9 donated $7,000 from its Chace the Ace fund, the municipalities of Fort-Coulonge and Mansfield each donated $1,000, Desjardins bank donated $1,500, and several other community groups also chipped in.
“The new council decided to support the initiative as we thought this interior golf simulator would be a great activity for families, teenagers and even elderly people,” said Fort-Coulonge mayor Pierre Cyr.
“We are confident also that the Knights of Columbus is a solid partner. Bringing back the sense of community is key for our social, cultural and economic development. This is a step in that direction and we are proud to support the project.”
Ladouceur said that by some rough math, he figures the simulator could bring in about $6,000 in a winter season, all of which would go back into the club to support both the maintenance of the community hall and the club’s various community initiatives.
“It’s fun and it’s charitable at the same time, so it seemed like a no-brainer to me,” Ladouceur said.
Knights of Columbus Faithful Navigator (president) Pierre Bourrassa said the club will likely cover the remaining $1,500 or so needed.
“I think it’s a very good idea,” he said, noting many people in Fort-Coulonge travel quite a ways to use golf simulators elsewhere.
“It’s not everybody who plays golf, but it’s projects like this that keep our community hall alive, because without any revenue we would have to close it.”
Bourassa said the support from local organizations has meant a lot to the club, an indication that local businesses and municipalities care to be involved in supporting the well being of residents.
And he is particularly impressed with Ladouceur’s ambition to make the project happen.
“This young man [Joël] is involved at 110 per cent. It’s a project close to his heart and [ . . . ] it didn’t take a lot to convince us.”
Ladouceur said he hopes to open it to the public in the fall, once this year’s outdoor golf season wraps up.
