![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/tos-l-WP-golf1103.jpeg\")
A worker tills the greens at the Winter Park Golf Course (WP9), on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\nWinter Park\u2019s highly-regarded municipal golf course has fallen victim to \u201can inadvertent chemical application\u201d that killed the grass on many of its verdant greens, and the nine-hole historic venue now faces months of repairs, Mayor Sheila DeCiccio announced in her weekly newsletter Friday.<\/p>\n
DeCiccio expects the public course, known as WP9 andrunning prominently through the tony city, to be completely closed until May 18, when temporary greens will allow limited play.<\/p>\n
A full re-opening is pegged for mid-July.<\/p>\n
Neal Thompson, 23, who tries to play golf once a week and at least monthly at WP9, noticed a problem about a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greens, when they\u2019re in good condition, can be a little tricky, and that makes it a fun, challenging little course to play,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they went from pretty nice to pretty bad in a pretty short time\u2026I wouldn\u2019t even call them greens. It was more like browns.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described himself as \u201cdefinitely disappointed\u201d in the April 27 closure of the course which is comparatively affordable \u2014 $20 most weekdays, $26 Fridays and weekends for Winter Park residents \u2014 and quick paced. Most players can finish a round of nine in less than two hours.<\/p>\n
The narrow layout imposes a special challenge on golfers with a hook or slice: the 2,480-yard course is nestled in an idyllic neighborhood with some narrow fairways no farther than a wild chip shot from two churches and a cemetery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little scary sometimes teeing off when you\u2019ve got $3 million houses to your right and left, and all these cars driving by,\u201d said Thompson, adding he\u2019s hit a house or two but never a motorist. \u201cI feel like they know what they\u2019re getting into when they buy a golf-course property.\u201d<\/p>\n
A worker tills the greens at the Winter Park Golf Course (WP9), on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
City Manager Randy Knight estimated the golf course repairs will cost $70,000.<\/p>\n
He said the closure has teed off some area golfers who enjoy playing and walking the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve definitely heard complaints,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n
The course, which dates back to 1914, is listed on the Florida Historic Golf Trail<\/a> as the state\u2019s second-oldest. It underwent a $1.2 million renovation a decade ago that included new sod, a state-of-the-art irrigation system and a layout designed by Integrative Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n