Golf course on a greener path

Dave Bigley holds the flag for Buddy Cadell as he attempts a put on Thursday at Fox Run Golf Course. Much of the winter damage that was seen on the putting greens has healed. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — The golf course is far from perfect, and Director of Golf Operations Bob Weekes will readily admit it. He’s faced bad soil, bad water, recalcitrant prairie dogs, but, he said, the results over the past couple years have exceed his expectations.

“Before I started, I told them ‘Don’t expect anything for three years,’” Weekes said. I’m just now coming up on my second year.”

With little more than people’s opinions, it’s hard to know just how much improvement there’s been since September 2006 when Weekes first started. However, it appears there has been some improvement over the summer. When the course opened in June, several greens had patches of lighter-colored dead grass on them. Weekes attributed the problem to a couple of winter freezes. In addition, prairie dogs were everywhere.

The changes are quite apparent now. In several places the greens have recovered, and the prairie dogs are few and far between. Weekes attributes a lot of the success to the employees he manages.

“I really appreciate how hard the crew has worked,” he said.
But the challenges continue. The biggest right now is that the irrigation system is so old, it’s in need of constant maintenance to keep it running.

“We’re having a break a day,” Weekes said.

Just a couple days without water, and the stress can show on a green. There is also the aging pump house, whose equipment is running over 20 years longer than it was designed to.

“The thing could break any time and not be repairable,” Weekes said.

Weekes said he just tries to take it day by day and deal with the problems as they come with what resources he can get.

“The whole course is a living, breathing organism, and I’m responsible for its health,” he said.