By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Work continues at the former Stone Ridge Golf Course on the
northeast edge of Great Bend. Many in the public have been curious about the
progress being made at the course, but Great Bend Rec Enrichment and Activity
Center Director Garet Fitzpatrick asks the public to stay on the roads when
taking a peek.
“It is a work zone,” he said. “There are ditches being dug
for drainage. There are holes being built for the sprinkler system, for irrigation,
or whatever. Please stay off the golf course. You don’t know where a hole is
going to be. You don’t what you may be damaging that we’re working on right
now.”
The first employee at the golf course started on Monday.
Ethan Swartzman has been the head golf course superintendent at the Salina
Municipal Golf Course for approximately five years. He has also spent time at the
Smoky Hill Country Club in Hays, as well as at courses in Dodge City and in other
states.
Fitzpatrick said while work continues to clean up greens and
fairways, and bunkers are currently being built, the push for donations also
continues.
“The more money we can raise, the more we can do with the
money on the golf course and make some improvements we’d really like to do,” he
said. “It comes to a point where the budget is what we have to watch out for.
The more money we can raise, the more features we can put in to do things.”
Sprinkler-system installation at the course is expected to
begin at the end of September and into October. If all goes well, the full
system will be completed by February 2027. New turf will be installed after the
irrigation system is installed.
Anyone interested in donating to the renovation is
encouraged to contact the Great Bend Rec.