WINTER PARK GOLF COURSE PHOTO VIA CITY OF WINTER PARK
The Winter Park Nine (Website) golf course is slated to reopen next month following repairs from a chemical mishap that damaged seven of nine greens earlier this year.
The city spent over $100,000 to redo all nine greens plus the putting green near Casa Feliz, and each green was tilled to remove all of the dead grass, then reshaped, and then sprigged with Tif-Eagle Bermuda Grass, a higher quality grass than was used during the last renovation of the course. Or that’s what they’re telling us anyway.
City Manager Randy Knight said the new maintenance company contracted to care for the courses is costing up to $197,000 for four months, which is about equal to the cost of doing the work in-house. The cost breaks down to approximately $50,000 per month, which covers salaries for a seven-day maintenance operation, fuel, equipment repairs and maintenance, fertilization, and pesticides.
The nine-hole course, located at 761 Old England Avenue [GMap], was closed in late April after an inadvertent chemical application on the greens. The mistake occurred when a spray rig was not completely cleaned, leading to contamination. The city initially estimated the cost at around $70,000, but decided to renovate all nine greens while repairs were underway, bringing the total cost higher.
The Winter Park Nine, established in 1914 and purchased by the city in 1936, is a 2,480-yard, walking course that has earned national recognition as one of the top short courses in the country. It underwent a $1.2 million renovation in 2016 that included updates to fairways, rough, greens, bunkers, and the irrigation system, along with a redesign by golf course architects Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns. The course is listed on the Florida Historic Golf Trail.
The course reopened temporarily in mid-May with temporary greens while repairs continued. Full reopening with the newly sprigged greens is expected next month once the new grass matures.
