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Major renovation -- Heritage Hills to offer new challenges
McCOOK, Nebraska -- For a golf course, 31 years is getting old. It needs a change, something new ... a new challenge ...
To eliminate that "deja vu" feeling that regular golfers have developed, and to create a new buzz that will attract new golfers and professionals, the Heritage Hills Golf Course in McCook, Nebraska, is undergoing a renovation.
For about $250,000 and lots of volunteer time and labor, golfers at Heritage Hills will get a "new" course that will put the fun and challenge back in the Hills.
Casual talk of changes started about four to five years ago, Heritage Hills board member Ron Friehe of McCook said. "The course needed some upgrades," he said. "We were seeing a steady decline in out-of-town play. Golfers were developing a 'been-there, done-that' attitude."
The board members' and stockholders' first "official" meeting-of-the-minds was in August 2009, to put together a viable plan, Friehe said. Members wanted a course less daunting for beginners and seniors, new and exciting for regulars and more challenging for pros. "We decided to move forward, and fund-raising started," he said.
Every hole except 12 and 13 will have some sort of upgrade, improvement or change. On some holes, golf course designer Kevin Atkinson of Phelps-Atkinson Golf Course Design, Arvada, Colorado, widened the fairways and moved the ladies' tee boxes -- making the course more playable for beginners, ladies and seniors.
They're not taking out any of the old tee boxes -- they're adding more challenging tee boxes for the very avid golfers and the pros, Ron said.
A golf course designer's "magic number" -- the total length of an 18-hole golf course -- is 7,000 yards, said golfer and Heritage Hill board member Kirk Kilpatrick. When the renovation is complete, Heritage Hills will be just beyond 7,000 yards for the very good players, he said.
Two fairway bunkers on the No. 9 hole will be eliminated to make the landing area larger. Leland Shiers, a Heritage Hill board member, said other bunkers have been restyled, making them easier to hit out of and easier to maintain.
The three board members praised Bill Bieck and his maintenance staff for their regular work during the disruption of the construction and for their support of the renovation project. "Our compliments to Bill," Kilpatrick said, especially after a terrible hail storm in August 2011 killed lots of grass.
"Our hats off to Bill and Clint Coleman for their work to recover after the hail," Kilpatrick said.
With the renovation project and improved irrigation systems, the course will become more water efficient, Kilpatrick said. "We're not irrigating more acres. We're putting in new sprinklers in problem areas, like on the right side of 17 to soften the area," he explained.
Board members and stockholders are pleased with renovation plans. "Rick Phelps is the designer of the original course, which opened in 1982," Kilpatrick said. This time around, Kevin Atkinson of the Phelps-Atkinson design firm "is putting his heart and soul into this renovation project. He wants an impressive renovation because of his firm's connection to the original Heritage Hills," he said.
Heritage Hills is fighting a "golf course recession," Friehe said, "and many courses are closing around the country."
Kilpatrick said that many courses the size of Heritage Hills "are dying, or they're hurtin' bad."
Heritage Hills will maintain its $700 yearly single membership. "You can't go anywhere and get a membership to a course of this caliber for a fee like that," Kilpatrick said.
The renovation is being funded with donations. Kilpatrick said they're spending about $250,000, "but we're getting close to a $500,000 renovation considering all the donated time," he said.
The renovation will put the heart back in Heritage Hills, recreating a fun and challenging course for everyone from youngsters to seniors, from beginners to pros.
It's expected to be 90-95 percent complete for play next spring.
Planned improvements
Hole-by-hole, here's a list of renovations at Heritage Hills:
Note: Blue tees (for the professionals) are the farthest back; then white, then gold (for seniors) and then red (for women).
Hole 1 -- One fairway bunker removed, and one pot bunker added to the south of the green. Native grass line changed.
Hole 2 -- Added a new women's tee box. Fairway moved to the north, and native grass added to the south of the fairway. Extended the fairway in the landing area close to the green. Greenside bunker redesigned and drainage added. New cart path added to direct traffic to the south of the green.
Hole 3 -- New blue (back) tee added. New white (men's) tee added. Lengthened the hole by 40 yards. New cart path.
Hole 4 -- New blue and white tees. Lengthened the hole by 90 yards for the blue tee and 70 for the white tee. Installed a berm to guard the #3 green. Eliminated the pot bunker in front of the green. Improved remaining bunker.
Hole 5 -- Extended the tee box for the blue and the white tees. Improved the bunker.
Hole 6 -- Redesigned the hole to a drivable par 4. 320 yards from the blue tees. Improved and redesigned the bunker. Added fairway north of the green. This redesign makes the course safer for those players on #7 green and No. 8 tee boxes.
Hole 7 -- Improved all 3 bunkers. Added fairway to the northwest of the green.
Hole 8 -- Added a women's tee box. Added irrigation to the south to extend the fairway.
Hole 9 -- Added a women's tee box. Removed a fairway bunker. Improved the bunkers.
Hole 10 -- Added a new blue tee box. Redesigned the hole to speed up play, expanded the fairway to the east and improved the irrigation.
Hole 11 -- Added a new blue and white tee box. Lengthened the hole. Eliminated two bunkers and added one bunker. Expanded the fairway for the average golfer. Made it a little harder for the advanced golfer. Improved all bunkers.
Hole 12 -- No changes to this hole.
Hole 13 -- Added irrigation to the north of the fairway.
Hole 14 -- Added a new blue tee box. Added irrigation to the north of the fairway. Improved/redesigned the bunkers. Changed the native grass line behind the green.
Hole 15 -- Lengthened the hole by adding a new blue and white tee box. Eliminated a tee box to improve the view of the hole. Redesigned fairway bunker and extended the fairway to the south.
Hole 16 --Added two new blue tee boxes. Eliminated two bunkers.
Hole 17 -- Lengthened the hole by adding a new blue and white tee box. Expanded the fairway landing area by scraping a hillside and extending the culvert. Added irrigation to the east side of the fairway.
Hole 18 -- Lengthened the hole by adding a blue and white tee box.