Burleson Director of Golf Dave White stands on the new 10th fairway overlooking the new 5-acre lake surrounding which will be greens for holes No. eight, 10, 11 and 12. White is standing near what will be the approach area to green No. 10, where the bulldozers are working over his right shoulder. The hole may become the course's signature hole. (Paul Gnadt)
Golfers familiar with the previous layout at will notice the difference in the new layout right off the bat.
Make that right off the first tee, which is now a 560-yard par 5 whose green is that of the former hole No. 2, which is now hole No. 3 without the unsightly concrete drainage ditch. Drainage on that hole has been relocated underground.
Only four holes retain their old number in the course’s seven-month, $2.1 million redesign and renovation.
The new course is on schedule to open in mid-September with a new par — 72 — but the same fees that were in effect when
Personnel from Mid America Golf and Landscape sculpt the fairway of new hole No. 8, a par 3 that plays over the new 5-acre lake to a green that is on a peninsula, behind the fountain. (Paul Gnadt)
“Holes one, eight, nine, 10, 11 and 12 are all new holes,” Director of Golf Dave White said. “Other holes have been completely redone and the course configuration has been changed.”
The former par-5 hole No. 5 is now No. 14, with former holes No. 6-9 now holes No. 15-18 as the last three holes parallel the I-35W service road (Burleson Boulevard) into the prevailing south wind.
“Even on the holes that are not being refurbished, City Council agreed to improve the old bunkers, so they are being redone with new liners, new sand, new drainage and being resculpted,” White said.
Architect for the redesign is John Colligan of Colligan Golf Design of Arlington, architect
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The view from the tee box of old hole No. 9 that is now No. 18. Improvements include widening the fairway and sloping it right to left, new sod around the bunkers, and elevating the fairway to green level to the left of the green so that a shot has the possibility of rolling on the green. (Paul Gnadt)
Public/private partnership
The renovation and redesign has been made possible by a public/private partnership between the city of Burleson and Chesapeake Energy Co, White said.
“That’s what really allowed all of this to happen,” White said. “Chesapeake contributed to the project, plus we have four gas wells on the course — we’re our own pool — which have produced more than $14 million in revenue for the city, none of which has ever been utilized at the golf course. It was a perfect opportunity for council, in conjunction with Chesapeake, to do this. By using gas funds and Chesapeake’s funds, 100 percent of the project was paid for that way.”
There is no debt service or ongoing expense, White said. The course is redesigned and refurbished with existing funds, allowing it to reopen with the same greens fees and other rates in effect when the course closed.
White, head pro and general manager Mike Krsnak and assistant pros Chase Smith and Brian Hendricks asked Colligan to fix certain problems, such as the 300-yard distance from the 17th green to the 18th tee box and the unusually difficult hole No. 9, an elevated par-4 that required precise tee shots and pinpoint approach shots.
Existing greens and sod versus sprigs
Colligan and his team took the requests and returned with multiple options for redesigning the course.
“Never did we think Colligan would provide us with so many options,” White said. “When I looked at their plans, I couldn’t believe we could get that much done within the budget.”
The key to Colligan’s redesign is the use of existing greens, White said.
“Greens are very expensive to build,” he said. “They’re $85,000-$90,000 each. The more existing greens you can incorporate into a redesign, the less expensive the project will be. That’s the situation on No. 1 that plays to the green on what was the former hole No. 2. We get a brand new hole without having to pay for a new green. There’s only four new greens on the entire course, yet 12 of the holes are being altered in some way, shape or form.”
The final configuration was approved by City Council, White said.
One feature of the redesign is a five-acre lake, around which are four greens. Two of the holes are par-3s that bring the water into play.
“What drove the redesign was Chesapeake’s need for dirt to elevate a pad site that was in the flood plain,” White said. “Chesapeake needed 65,000 cubic yards of dirt, and Hidden Creek needed an expanded irrigation lake. The golf course was able to dig the 14-foot-deep, 5-acre irrigation lake with Chesapeake purchasing the dirt from the lake bed.”
The new lake tripled Hidden Creek’s water capacity and is such a unique feature that it will probably become the course’s signature.
“A lake that size on a golf course is unusual,” White said. “It gave Colligan the opportunity to design some really good holes that didn’t exist before around the lake.”
The greens on holes No. 8, 10, 11 and 12 sit near the lake.
After Colligan won the design contract and wrote the bid specifications, the city anticipated receiving six-10 bids. However, it only received three or four, probably because of the short time frame in which the project needed to be completed, White said.
Mid America Golf and Landscape of Lees Summit, Mo., is the construction company. (Numerous courses throughout the Midwest, www.mid-americagolf.com)
“We are fortunate to have Mid America,” White said. “They have a great reputation and have been great to work with.”
Hidden Creek was averaging between 41,000-43,000 rounds until last year’s excessive heat and drought dropped the number of rounds to 38,000, the lowest total in eight years, White said.
“That prompted us say it’s time to reinvest in the course,” White said. “Hidden Creek is 17 years old and typically, you need to reinvest in a golf course every 15-20 years. Greens need to be refurbished, irrigation needs to be upgraded, and we were getting near that time frame.”
Last year’s drought was hard on Hidden Creek because the course didn’t’ have the capacity to store water, White said. Play was off 3,000-4,000 rounds, a drop of 10 percent, he said.
“That’s why this was the perfect opportunity to work with Chesapeake,” White said. “We had a one-time opportunity to get the project paid for and to use the gas funds before gas revenue depreciates throughout the shale. And we could pay for it without issuing any debt.”
The course has three Trinity wells on site — the most recent one dug by Chesapeake — that feed the course’s three lakes, which are connected and are balanced by a transfer pump, White said.
“Not one drop of city water is utilized to irrigate the golf course,” White said. “One-hundred percent of the water is non potable water from our three Trinity wells. That gives us the flexibility of not having to work through the issues involved in city water and we’re ecologically friendly because all of our irrigation is natural well water.
Grass needs time to grow
Initially, all construction and installation of grass was to be completed by July 6, which would provide about seven-eight weeks for the grass to grow, White said.
“We were hoping to be open by the first of September, but because of 10 rain days, the end date for construction is now July 16,” White said. “That means, barring any unusual weather occurrences, we should reopen sometime the first two weeks in September, ready to play.
Some areas have new sod, while some portions of the new fairways have been seeded with sprigs.
“Sod versus sprig is strictly a financial decision,” White said. “Sod is considerably more money. We knew how much money we had, but needed more sod, so City Council appropriated an additional $80,000 for sod.”
Sod was placed around all new greens an on areas that have a lot of slope, because water runoff makes it hard for sprigs to grow, White said.
The redesign allowed some problems to be addressed, such as the difficulty of old hole No. 9 — now No. 18 — which drew a lot of complaints. Now, the fairway is wider, it slants from right to left and part of the fairway is level with the green.
“Until people play the course, they won’t realize how dramatically some of the same hole are, and the new No. 18, the old No. 9, is a prime example,” White said.
Everyone worked on the grounds crew
What began as a large crew digging the lake and bulldozing other areas, is currently reduced to a crew of 12-15 people plus the regular HC staff who were offered the opportunity to work on the redesign and renovation clearing wooded areas, trimming trees, laying sod and building bunkers.
“We didn’t want to see any employees temporarily laid off, and didn’t want them sitting around with nothing to do,” White said. “They were given the option of using vacation time or working with the maintenance crew and all chose to work with the crew,” including Krsnak, Smith, Hendricks, and guest services personnel Kenny Batchlor and Andy Golladay.
“Each has told me they feel far more invested in this project from having been involved in the construction,” White said.
White applauded the City Council for the foresight and commitment to tackle the project and do it without taxpayer expense.
Golfers and others continually ask White about the new fees, expecting fees to be higher to pay for the project, he said.
“We are refurbishing this course with money that was produced on the property, and will reopen at the same prices with a product that will be twice as good as before,” White said.
“We’re very pleased. Colligan, Mid America and Chesapeake have been great to work with. We got way more than we ever thought out of this redesign as far as improvements are concerned. It really is exceptional.
Course highlights:
• It’s longer. Previously a par 71, the new Hidden Creek is a 7,000-plus yards par 72, with two par-5 holes on the front nine and two on the back nine.
• It’s different. Hole No. 1 is now a long par 5 hitting to the green from old hole No. 2. Old No. 3 is now No. 2 and old No. 4 is now No. 3. Old holes 5-9 are now holes 14-18, with 16-18 into the prevailing wind.
• It’s efficient. The needlessly long trek from old green No. 17 to the No. 18 tee box is gone. Those holes are now Nos 7 and 8 and the distance from green to tee box is within 20 yards.
• It’s beautiful. The old No. 18 fairway is now No. 10, hitting away from the clubhouse to the west with an approach shot that overlooks the new 5-acre lake, surrounding which are four greens: Nos 8, 10, 11 and 12.
• It’s a challenge. Put a snorkel in your bag. Water will be in play on old No. 12 and new holes No. 8 and No. 11, both par 3s. The new No. 11 green sits on a peninsula with water in front, to the left and behind.
• It’s the place to practice. The driving range has been expanded. A synthetic grass-like strip will be installed for use by tournaments. The material will hold a tee and behave like grass, but will not incur a divot. Also, the old No. 18 green will be used for chipping practice with hitting distances up to 50 yards.
• It has more in store. The clubhouse and restaurant will receive minor cosmetic improvements but will not be relocated. However, the course has been designed with a future hotel and conference center in mind, but such a project is on hold for now.
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