From prairie dogs to divots — golfers face it all
Most weekday warriors praise condition of city's course

A sign declaring the grounds are under repair sits next to a large hole in the fairway filled with water at the Gallup Municipal Golf Course Wednesday. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

Kevin Fuqua from Baton Rouge, La., scratches his head while planning out his put at the Gallup Municipal Golf Course Wednesday. Fuqua is in the Air Force Reserves and is in Gallup helping to design and build houses on the Navajo Reservation. Fuqua said that the greens on the course are in excellent shape and you cannot beat the $20 price tag for a round. {Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

GALLUP — It's about the middle of golf season in Gallup, and there's a lot of talk within golf circles here about the condition of the Gallup Municipal Golf Course.

Of course, that's nothing new.

Bob Weekes, who was hired by the city several months ago to be greenskeeper, said he is "fairly happy" about the condition of the course.

"I'm told that it is in better shape than it has been for a long time," he said.

Nolan Wallace, who was out on the course on Wednesday agreed, saying he has been golfing since he was eight years old. "It is better than I have seen it in 12 years."

Even out-of-towners were impressed.

Billy Gibson, who is from Mobile, Ala., said he was impressed with the condition of the course. The roughs have some problems, he said, "but what do you expect in the dessert?"

That does not mean that all of the course's problems have been remedied, not by a long shot.

"Our irrigation system is an absolute mess," he said. The greens staff is still trying to find a way to control the prairie dog population, and the driving range still causes every golfer who uses it to cry out in frustration.

Weekes said he recognizes all of these problems, and efforts are being made to correct them. "They're all covered in our master plan," he said.

When he came on, Weekes said that people shouldn't expect miracles, especially after this course has seen several years of neglect.

There are some problems Weekes does not have control over, such as people who don't respect the golf course.

Serious golfers hate it when people don't clean up their ball marks on the greens, because it affects their putts. And then there are those blankety-blank people who do not repair their divots.

"There's some nice people who play, and there are some others who don't seem to care," he said.

He said his crew is able to correct some of the damage caused by golfers, but they have so much to do they can't correct it all, so it is up to golfers to monitor themselves and urge others to follow the rules.