Over the past several weeks there have been a couple of articles in The Courier-Herald concerning the Enumclaw Golf Course. As Men’s Club president, I feel a need to offer my viewpoint on the matter. Prior articles did not provide background about the state of affairs.
There are three factors that have a major impact on the condition of the course; the economy, the weather and drainage. The state of the economy has adversely affected the golf industry across the country for the past three years. This has equated to less play and thus less revenue. Many private courses, in fact, have opened their doors to the general public in an effort to meet costs. I understand that the economic factor has forced the city of Enumclaw to carry a minimal maintenance staff, especially during the winter season. With sufficient staffing, this is a time when seasonal work can be done while the grass isn’t growing. It should also be understood that the frequency of mowing activities and the changing of cups varies based on the time of the year. Industry practices are common and have been in place for many years.
The weather over the past three years has been more severe than in recent prior years. In fact, even though we had five days of snow in the middle of March and a major ice storm earlier, this year has been better than the previous two. The weather in many instances prevents normal maintenance activities from occurring. The ice storm forced the closure of the course for the better part of a week and cleanup activities forced the limited staff to bypass other maintenance activities for nearly a month.
The course drainage has been an issue at the course as long as I can remember. The major contributor to this problem is the Boise Creek which runs throughout the course, especially on the back nine. Because this is a salmon-bearing creek, the golf course staff is restricted by a number of state agencies in what they can do. Dredging the creek is a “no-no” and, as a consequence, the water table level in the fairways is lower than the creek in many places and during heavy rains the water has nowhere to go. Because the creek bottom has risen over the years, during heavy rains and/or snow melts, the creek overflows its boundaries and finds its way onto the course.
Despite these factors, the course at this point in the year is in better condition than it has been at the same point in any of the past three years. This is due, at least in part, to the improvements that have been made. In addition to the items mentioned below, the maintenance staff has repaired drainage issues in front of the No. 1, No. 5, No. 6 and No. 9 greens.
Over the past 10 or more years, a group of volunteers from the Enumclaw Men’s Club has donated their time, equipment and energy to help with course improvements. We as an organization take pride in “our” course and seek to have it in the best playing condition possible. These efforts took place both during and prior to the city owning and operating the course. The following items were done in cooperation with golf course staff: prepared and painted the interior of the pro shop and restaurant, helped with punching and sanding the greens twice a year, repaired cart paths, trimmed tree limbs, helped with the ice storm cleanup, made boundary stakes and re-staked the entire course, placed sod behind the 11th green. We participated in general spring cleanup projects, installed a drainage system on the 15th fairway, installed a drainage system on the fourth fairway, and many others projects. I’m sure that, if called upon, those same volunteers would make themselves available to help in the future.
Rudy Petchnick
Men’s Club president
