Bringing Fox Run up to Par
Golfers say course shows signs of improvement

John Lewis Taylor, professor of the UNM-Gallup physical education activity course "Beginning Golf," practices chipping on the putting green at Fox Run Golf Course on Thursday afternoon. The course is in better condition than it was this time last year due to the wet winter and the addition of a golf course superintendent. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — It's become sort of a tradition among local golfers in the last few years to start the golf season by making comments about the deteriorating condition of the municipal golf course.

But this year, golfers are having a hard time doing that.

"It's in better shape now than it was at this time last year," said David Bischoff, head of the city's golf committee. "We're very encouraged."

Golfers have been complaining for years about the condition of the Fox Run Golf Course, as it was named earlier this year, and the fact that the city government has not put in enough money to make improvements; however, this past year the city government not only set aside an extra $50,000 to buy necessary equipment, but also hired the city's first golf course superintendent in years to oversee improvements in the course.

Bob Weekes, the new golf course superintendent, said he was glad that people are saying that conditions at the course have improved, even though many people are saying that the improvement is due to the wet winter the area had this past year.

The wet winter was undeniably part of the reason, but another part had to do with the work that the course's maintenance crew did to prepare the grounds for the coming season, efforts that will continue through the spring and summer.

Patience
While the efforts are paying off, Weekes said he hoped local golfers will be patient because it's going to take anywhere from three to five years to get the course up to the level where golfers will be able to compare the Gallup course favorably to other courses, such as the one in Grants.

Don't expect miracles, he said.

What local golfers can expect is that efforts will be made throughout the year to correct some of the major problems on some of the holes and for course crews to continue working to make the fairways and greens free of rough patches that play havoc on a person's golf score.

Weekes said that the primary focus this coming year will be on the back nine holes because they are the ones with the best infrastructure and the easiest to bring up to standards.

The plans are to spend a great deal of time and attention on Hole 17 "to use as a demonstration of what the golf course can be."

The crew, he said, will be spending most mornings maintaining the course and then spending part of the rest of the day in reconstruction efforts. The course will be closed every Thursday until 2 p.m. to allow for crews to have more time on reconstruction efforts.

"We're working around the golf course's schedule," Weekes said, adding that it's his desire to keep the course open as much as possible so that area golfers can get the maximum use of it.

Weather watch
Part of that $50,000 was used to purchase a weather station, which Weekes hopes to set up in the near future to give him more data on rain conditions and the effect that has on the grass that the staff is trying to grow on the golf course.

In the coming months, he said, there will be plenty going on behind the scenes at the golf course as he and the other staff members try to determine the best way to deal with the course's grass problems and improve those areas that have been devastated in the past because of dry weather conditions.

Golf course abuse is something else that Weekes hopes to see addressed as the new golf season begins.

Anyone walking around the course can see examples of this abuse at almost every hole as there are sections of the fairways and greens damaged by tire tracks.

This is caused, Weekes said, by patrons deciding to go off the paths assigned to the golf course and park next to their ball on the fairway and green. If this happens enough, it can have serious effects on the condition of the course and Weekes said there will be more attempts in the future to have patrons respect the rules of the course.

Bischoff said that members of the city's golf committee have been watching what Weekes has been doing to help the course and have supported him all of the way.

It was obvious to many golfers that what the course needed badly was someone in charge who knew what he or she was doing.

"This is something we needed a long time ago," Bischoff said.