Matt Palsenbarg, a Surrey-based champion golfer and coach, has been busy creating his dream backyard golf facility in Clayton, not far from where he lives. 

Appropriately named, The Backyard Golf Club is taking shape at Clayton Hills Par 3 course off Highway 10.

It'll be a 20,000-square-foot short-game facility for chipping, putting and driving into nets, with artificial greens and bunkers and also a single natural-sand bunker, adjacent to Clayton Public House.

"It all came together pretty quick here, and we're aiming for mid-May opening, a soft opening," Palsenbarg said on April 23.

"There's nothing like this locally," he added. "We came up with the concept about 11 weeks ago, and it has been not a mad dash, but very ambitious. I've got the right people around me — like, Precision Greens are the best at what they do. They're here today working hard to make this happen."

Work involves creating a 2,000-square-foot patio for food and beverage service from the pub, and also improvements to the nine-hole Clayton Hills course.

Palsenbarg recently moved his golf coaching/teaching services to the Haus of Golf indoor facility he co-owns in 91Ô­´´, and will also move the 15-year-old LABsters Junior Golf Program to Clayton.

He's documented progress of The Backyard facility  in recent weeks.

"I've always had this wild idea of an ultimate short-game facility, the ultimate backyard concept, you know," Palsenbarg said. "Here we have two big greens where people can practice or have a putting contest, just have fun. We'll have four hitting nets across the back fence. Even driving ranges have gotten quite pricey, so hitting nets are economical."

Quick look around new Backyard Golf Club taking shape in next to Clayton Public House and 9-hole course (video shot April 23).

"There's nothing like this locally," says golf pro Matt Palsenbarg

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Not everybody can afford a round of golf, especially at nicer courses, he agrees.

"Some places, not everybody has $180 and five hours to spend," Palsenbarg said. "This is an alternative to that, and we think this hits every demographic of golfer – ladies, beginners, juniors and even the most avid golfer around. They can come chip and putt for two hours and be happy. We'll have special nights, Ladies Nights, special events, because this is entertainment. We're creating as we go with some of this stuff."

Junior players will have their own patio in a corner of The Backyard, and maybe their own bike rack, too.

"I want kids to play here, learn the game," Palsenbarg added. "The patio is where they can hang out and feel like that's their space, charge their phones or whatever. Parents can drop off their kids, too, and feel good about that."

Admission will be around $30 for a couple hours of golf, he said, "but we're gonna push memberships. So for $200 a month you have unlimited use, kind of like a gym – drop in, hit some balls, have a bite and carry on with your day."

, some flawless play on a virtual golf course earned  the championship in the PGA of BC's first  tournament. He claimed victory with an impressive 8-under-par 64 on Scotland's iconic St. Andrews Links Old Course, a virtual challenge for 32 professionals from around the province from Nov. 15 to 29, 2024.

At the series, Palsenbarg repped Point Grey Golf & Country Club, which he recently left after five years of work as .

Now his focus is on Clayton Hills and The Backyard.

"Golf has boomed since COVID, and I think of the golf ecosystem where this is will be a wonderful place to come with your family," Palsenbarg said.

"It's an ideal location off the highway here, and we're working to get the course back up in shape as a comfortable place for beginners, too. I feel the whole point of this is to bring tons of new golfers to the game, too. The course, we know what we are — it's a $19 golf course. But I want to have greens that I'd actually want to play on. You can see them coming back, they're smoother now."