An updated overhead shot of City Park Golf Course. (Submitted)
Fore! City Park Golf Course’s opening date is coming.
Weather permitting, the city-owned course set a tentative public reopening date of Sept. 1 for “limited play,” according to Scott Rethlake, director of golf.
“I can’t believe we’re only six weeks away,” Rethlake said. “We’ve done a great job of blending the old with the new, and some of the lifelong players of the golf course that have checked it out love it. I’m excited to give everyone the chance to play on it and get their feedback.”
After a long, cold spring stunted turf growth last year and forced the course to delay its opening date, the grass is just about ready to welcome back players.
In order to protect the turf, a limited number of players will be allowed on the golf course each day and no golf carts will be allowed. Those with loyalty cards can reserve tee times two weeks in advance, and golfers without can reserve one week ahead of time.
Prior to reopening to the public, the city will host a Denver Golf Men’s City Amateur Championship on Aug. 29 and 30, and a fundraiser for the nonprofit First Tee of Denver on the 31st.
“The hot weather we had a couple of weeks ago didn’t help the turf, but hopefully we’ll have some better luck going forward,” Rethlake said. “The tournaments are one way to measure how well the turf handles the traffic, and we will go from there.
“On Aug. 15, we’ll assess the growth and set limitations for that first week of September, and then after the tournament, we may adjust those more or less.”
The course was closed in November 2017 for $45 million worth of improvements spurred by the need for water detention areas to help protect nearby neighborhoods from flooding. The project included a new layout for the 18-hole, par-71 course, a full driving range, a four-hole course for the First Tee of Denver youth program and a new clubhouse with event space.
The new 22,1555-square-foot clubhouse has a 10,840-square-foot basement for cart storage designed by Johnson Nathan Strohe. It features a west-facing patio and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the mountains and Denver skyline — “one of the best in the city,” Rethlake said.
Broomfield-based iConGolf Studio redesigned the course in collaboration with Hale Irwin Golf Design, and Saunders Construction was the general contractor.
“The course really has a new, fresh look,” Rethlake said. “There’s a little more elevation change, which makes it more exciting.”
Additionally, renovations involved opening a 102 inch pipe to create a stormwater detention area and a water quality channel that snakes through the golf course and adds water elements to at least four holes.
“Before we only had one water feature,” Rethlake said.
Correction: The square footage of the clubhouse, along with wording regarding the water elements, has been updated.
An updated overhead shot of City Park Golf Course. (Submitted)
Fore! City Park Golf Course’s opening date is coming.
Weather permitting, the city-owned course set a tentative public reopening date of Sept. 1 for “limited play,” according to Scott Rethlake, director of golf.
“I can’t believe we’re only six weeks away,” Rethlake said. “We’ve done a great job of blending the old with the new, and some of the lifelong players of the golf course that have checked it out love it. I’m excited to give everyone the chance to play on it and get their feedback.”
After a long, cold spring stunted turf growth last year and forced the course to delay its opening date, the grass is just about ready to welcome back players.
In order to protect the turf, a limited number of players will be allowed on the golf course each day and no golf carts will be allowed. Those with loyalty cards can reserve tee times two weeks in advance, and golfers without can reserve one week ahead of time.
Prior to reopening to the public, the city will host a Denver Golf Men’s City Amateur Championship on Aug. 29 and 30, and a fundraiser for the nonprofit First Tee of Denver on the 31st.
“The hot weather we had a couple of weeks ago didn’t help the turf, but hopefully we’ll have some better luck going forward,” Rethlake said. “The tournaments are one way to measure how well the turf handles the traffic, and we will go from there.
“On Aug. 15, we’ll assess the growth and set limitations for that first week of September, and then after the tournament, we may adjust those more or less.”
The course was closed in November 2017 for $45 million worth of improvements spurred by the need for water detention areas to help protect nearby neighborhoods from flooding. The project included a new layout for the 18-hole, par-71 course, a full driving range, a four-hole course for the First Tee of Denver youth program and a new clubhouse with event space.
The new 22,1555-square-foot clubhouse has a 10,840-square-foot basement for cart storage designed by Johnson Nathan Strohe. It features a west-facing patio and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the mountains and Denver skyline — “one of the best in the city,” Rethlake said.
Broomfield-based iConGolf Studio redesigned the course in collaboration with Hale Irwin Golf Design, and Saunders Construction was the general contractor.
“The course really has a new, fresh look,” Rethlake said. “There’s a little more elevation change, which makes it more exciting.”
Additionally, renovations involved opening a 102 inch pipe to create a stormwater detention area and a water quality channel that snakes through the golf course and adds water elements to at least four holes.
“Before we only had one water feature,” Rethlake said.
Correction: The square footage of the clubhouse, along with wording regarding the water elements, has been updated.
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