The impact of the drought has reached Red Hawk Ridge Golf
Course.
The town has decided to close the course until mid-February,
with the exception of the driving range. The golf course managers
will reassess the turf next month.
“It’s good news, bad news,” said Jay Beeton, director of
communications for the town. “The warm weather has brought more
people out to play golf. It also has stressed the turf.”
Among other issues, winter halts turf growth and the grass is
continually thinned throughout the from player traffic, said Bob
Persichetti, golf course manager.
“We are already seeing signs of this and are concerned that
these areas will not heal properly, potentially creating a poor
experience for golfers in the peak season,” Persichetti said. “We
feel acting now will prevent that from occurring.”
This winter, the course had been on a pace to exceed last
winter’s traffic by 250 percent.
Under normal weather conditions, the course could handle that,
but it is too much traffic for a dormant and excessively dry turf,
Beeton said.
The parks and recreation department and the golf course staff
members will determine when it is appropriate to reopen the
course.
Call Persichetti at (720) 733-3505.