On Oct. 21, National Golf Foundation consultant Nathan Crace provided Universal City council and staff with his current assessment of the course. Council approved a contract with Crace for design and bid process work in August, with the main elements of the project being course bunkers, irrigation and tees.
What you need to know
Crace said the top priority is course bunkers, working with almost two acres of the golf trap across the course. Current plans, he said, call for the removal of two of the course’s 52 bunkers, while also shrinking some oversized bunkers. The move would make the course more “user-friendly,” while also reallocating some man-hours for course employees, Crace said.
Crace said weather is also a factor with bunker renovation. The current plan is to use a new concrete base liner on the bottom of bunkers making cleanup less of an undertaking.
“If we have another flood event, we won’t have to go in and completely rebuild it, the staff can take out any contaminated sand, put in new sand, and it’s ready to go,” he said.
Council member Bernard Rubal asked Crace if man-hours saved could be calculated, to which Crace said it is more of a reallocation, allowing the course to put employees on other course tasks.
“[For example] every time it rains, right now, they have to go out ... [and push] sand, trying to push it back to make the bunkers playable. Now, after a normal rain event, you won’t have to go and do that,” Crace said.
What else?
According to previous reporting by Community Impact, irrigation work is needed as some system heads have been failing. Recommended work on tee boxes is to strip turf off and expand them.
Current proposed costs for the bunkers, irrigation and tees range from $1.36 million to $1.89 million, according to agenda documents. Secondary items proposed by Crace include tree management and cart path repair.
Looking ahead
If a bid is accepted by council, construction on bunkers would take between two to three months according to agenda documents.
In August, Crace said the design and bidding process work will take between three to four months, but did note on Oct. 21 that work was delayed by a few weeks trying to get additional data.
