Flood damage, covid restrictions discussed by Golf Committee

BELLA VISTA — Members of the Golf Committee heard from Golf Maintenance director Keith Ihms about the aftermath of a rain event in April. Although most of Bella Vista only received about an inch of rain, the watershed of Little Sugar Creek received much more and that water rushed through Bella Vista.

There was only minimal damage to golf cart bridges, Ihms said.

“I’m glad the bridge at Berksdale is gone because it would be gone now. We would be cleaning it out of the creek,” he said.

Bunkers on three holes on the Country Club were washed out and are still being repaired. Ihms said he has borrowed a machine from the water department that is usually used to suck sand out of water lines. It’s not a quick process, but it frees up labor for other projects.

There’s still rock that needs to be cleaned up from the fairways, but the courses are open. Kingswood had eight greens and ten fairways covered by water, Berksdale had three greens and four fairways, The Country Club had three greens and five fairways.

The cost of the cleanup will be about $27,000, mostly for cart path repairs, he said.

Flooding has become a bigger problem in recent years, he commented, because of the growth around Little Sugar Creek in the Bentonville area.

“I’ve been in the business 39 years and I’ve never experienced the challenges and the opportunities that are presented this year on one golf course, never mind six,” he said. Besides the rain, temperatures have been cooler than usual this year and the courses have taken longer to green up.

Ihms said there is also some winter damage that his crews are addressing along with flood damage.

“I’ve been in the business 39 years and I’ve never experienced the challenges and the opportunities that are presented this year on one golf course, never mind six.”

The board heard from Golf Operations director Darryl Muldoon about lifting covid restrictions on the golf courses.

The policy about sharing golf carts returned to normal. For most of the last year, each golfer was issued his own cart as a way to remain socially distant, but that added a lot more cart traffic and at times the carts ran out. With shared carts, more tee times will be available, Muldoon said.

By July 1, all of the golf policies will have returned to pre-covid normal.

Muldoon said custom club fitting days with specific golf club vendors will continue this year for people who are ready to purchase clubs. Last year, the fitting days replaced a single-day event that was called Golf Fest and it worked so well, the fitting days will continue this year.

Rounds were up in April and the year-to-date numbers were up compared to last year. The driving ranges have been very busy and the Property Owners Association golf pros have been busy giving lessons.

Alex Sanford reported that a successful “Shot in the Dark” tournament raised funds for local golf teams. The Spring Mixer Tournament returned this year after covid canceled it in 2020. Also returning are junior golf camps and the PGA Junior League.

— Keith Ihms, Golf Maintenance director