In the rough
Golfers waiting for the grass to grow
Weekes: ‘If I could do this, I could do anything’

Joseph Johnston tees off at the first hold at the Fox Run Golf Course in Gallup, N.M. Joseph said, "I love playing golf...it's not the greatest course but is is better then nothing." The condition of the course has raised concerns from some members of the community. [photo by Daniel Zollinger]

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — Director of Golf Operations Bob Weekes stands upon a green at Gallup’s Fox Run Golf Course. It’s a week into June, and a cold wind whips down from the hills.

Weekes points at the various white patches upon one of the greens, which, he explains, were caused by ice when the snow melted in the day and froze again at night.

“People expect the course to open and immediately look like Augusta National,” he said.

Weekes has applied various treatments and expects the damaged greens to show significant improvement within a month.

But nothing is ever certain, he said. For two years, Weekes has taken on the responsibility of building a golf course Gallup can be proud of while contending with an environment not made for lush grass. Poor water quality, cold temperatures, arid winds, and recalcitrant prairie dogs all make the job difficult.

On top of that, there are the constant complaints from golfers who are upset with what they see as a complete lack of progress. And they place much of the blame for the problems on the course squarely with Weekes.

“I’m not really happy with it,” golfer Gary Leloff said.

He accuses Weekes of catering to his own interests, while not giving problems on the course the attention they deserve.

“The greens are dead. I’m afraid he’s going to lose some greens ... We have nice new wastebaskets and the maintenance shed is looking nice. Physically, the only improvement is that they’re mowing better,” he said.

Weekes has heard plenty about his maintenance shed, which was one of the first improvements he made. But, he explains, the city leased a lot of the equipment it needed to improve the course, and it had to be sheltered from the elements.

“Let me show you my office. You’ll get a kick out of this,” he said , opening the door to a cramped and cluttered 150 square-foot office that holds two people. The employee break room and bathroom aren’t in any better shape.

Leloff is not alone in his complaints. There are other golfers who don’t really see any improvement. Jerry Montoya Jr. came out for the grand opening of the course last Saturday, which included free food and drinks. He sees very little change to the golf course either way.

“I don’t think it’s getting worse ... I see they’re trying,” he said.

Another golfer, Robert Dimas, said he would like to see more improvement.

“I haven’t seen anything get better. We had a wet winter, and there’s no difference,” he said.

Then there those golfers with entirely different opinions, which show just how divided the community is over the issue. Ernie Abeita has been playing golf at Fox Run for nearly 30 years. He said rebuilding a golf course is not something that happens overnight.

“It’s been improved. We’ve had some tough luck. We lost the whole golf course ... It’s coming along nicely, but it’s not a fast process. It’s going to take a little while,” Abeita said.

Dale Crowe has a similar opinion. He said that things are much better than they were before Weekes started working.

“Last year the greens got much, much better. They’re a lot nicer. Probably the best I’ve seen it. It’s nice to see some progress. It didn’t get the way it did over night. It took a while to get that bad,” Crowe said.

Both Crowe and Abeita say that whatever shape the golf course is in, a lot of negativity from the community isn’t going to help the grass grow.

“It’s going to take a little while,” Abeita said. “People need to get more positive. Downtown doesn’t get better overnight.

The golf course is also going to take a little time. It’s a stupid battle, and we need to take care of what we got.”

But many golfers agree that the overall condition of the course is poor. Weekes is one of those.

“I’ve exceeded my own expectations. And that’s not to say the course is good. But it’s headed in the right direction,” he explains.

Weekes stresses that it’s unreasonable that in two years, considering the conditions he inherited, that anyone could expect radical changes. He said that it could be another three or four years before his greater vision for the course is realized, and he hopes people will have the patience to wait that long.

Standing on the parking lot overlooking the course, he recalls at his interview for the position how the course first looked when it was shown to him.

“We stood here, and there wasn’t anything. There wasn’t any grass. And I said right then I wanted the job. I saw it as a challenge and a way to serve the community. I figured if I could do this, I could do anything,” he said.