Greenskeeper Russ Grover said, during a meeting of the advisory board on Wednesday, that several of the course’s older patrons have asked him to make the tee more accessible, since players must walk up a slope to get to it. Although he first suggested simply installing a handrail at the steepest point to make it easier to get up the slope, he said some customers didn’t think that would be enough. The rest of the board gave Grover preliminary permission to install a set of steps from the cart path to the tee box this summer.
“Are we just going to cut (the grass) short and put a handrail, and then six months from now, decide that didn’t work?” Grover said. “Then we’re just doing stuff twice.”
Other board members pointed out the course already has steps to access the tee box for the first hole, which were built for the same reasons.
“I’m certainly in favor of going ahead and doing it ... if we have the discretionary funds to do it,” board member Sam Jarvis said.
Grover said he would research the cost of materials for building the steps and get back to the board at a later meeting. But he guessed the cost would be about $500. Parks and recreation director Dean Palmquist said he believed there would be plenty of money in the course maintenance budget to pay for the construction. He said he had never heard any complaints about the tee box before, but he was in favor of installing the steps.
“This is an example of listening to patrons’ feedback,” he said.
The board also discussed plans to create the position of a golf course superintendent, a title that could go to either a current golf course employee or a new hire. John Gross, a Men’s Golf Association representative, presented a draft letter to the Cortez City Council asking permission to create the position, but board member Mary Englehart said she would have to get it approved by the Women’s Golf Association before it could go before the council.
The board agreed to discuss both issues further at their meeting in June.