This winter’s unseasonably high temperatures have meant more traffic at Lakewood’s two city-owned golf courses, and while business has been good, that weather has also brought challenges as the courses gear up for what should be a busy spring and summer.
“For us, the biggest the concern has been water,” said Mark Krick, certified golf course superintendent for Lakewood.
Krick and his crew work to keep both Homestead and Fox Hollow Golf Courses in good shape regardless of the time of year and spend the winter months doing upkeep and repairs on equipment from the maintenance facility located between the city’s two courses in southwest Lakewood.
According to Krick, watering season didn’t start until April 1 and maintenance workers had to use water from its storage in the ponds on the course that comes out of Bear Creek Lake and Soda Lake to keep the courses playable. He said until recent weather events, they had been running down the “bathtub.”
“These snow and rain events we’ve had have been huge. We haven’t had to draw that bathtub down as much,” he said.
But the weather has been great for business as the courses have stayed busy during the typically down months of January and February.
“January and February were fantastic months. The weather was absolutely on our side,” said Kimberly Montague, marketing specialist with Lakewood. “We’ve definitely had such unseasonably warm winter months that itap been a great first quarter.”
On March 30, Mike Mantey was at Fox Hollow Golf Course, 13410 Morrison Road, on his lunch hour with two friends eating at the Den restaurant and hitting the driving range. One friend, Eric Bunce, said he had gotten out on the golf course a few times this winter, but knew of people who got out more because of the warm weather.
Joe Parrino said he played more often in December than normal but then got busy with work. He noted the inexpensive rates, which made it more enticing to hit the golf ball off the colder, frozen ground.
“Itap good for your drive, it rolls further,” Mantey joked with his friend.
For Homestead and Fox Hollow head golf pro Craig Parzybok, he’s been setting up the tournament schedule and working on changing some holes to encourage more people to play from some of the closer tee boxes. He’s also trying to book more tournaments at Homestead, which is an executive course, meaning it is less than par 70 for 18 holes. But the busier winter has made things more hectic.
“These are things we normally do because there is snow on the ground, but now the course is open, so it adds more fuel to fire,” he said. “Itap been a busy time. Business has been good, but we desperately need the rain now.”
The biggest change at the courses this year was a rebranding effort to change the logos of both courses. Fox Hollow, which opened in 1993, underwent a minor change and was probably unnoticed by most, but Homestead’s was more significant, moving from a horse head signifying the ranch that once was on the land, to a more sleek design that now adorns the front of the course and the sign that can be seen from Highway 285 near its location at 11500 W. Hampden Ave. Homestead opened in 2002.
“Fox Hollow really just needed to be modernized. But Homestead, we wanted something really that more represented of the quality of the course that it is,” Montague said.
Other events this year will include youth camps in July and the return of the popular “Nine and Dine,” monthly program where people can play nine holes at Homestead and have dinner in the restaurant for $49, which starts May 19. For more information, visit lakewoodgolf.org.