Six weeks into its renovation and Querbes Park Golf Course looks as if a legion of gophers has laid waste to its putting greens.
A $300,000 project to redesign all 18 of the course's greens is in full swing.
But the constant rain that has soaked the area over the last month has slowed the work.
"We got a real good start and then obviously we've been fighting rain ever since then," said SPAR director Gary Norman. "They've continued to work real hard to keep the project as close to schedule, but when it rains almost every day, it's a tough thing to do. Sometimes when you're out there with heavy equipment it does more damage than good."
Norman hoped to have the project completed by the middle of July, but the rains pushed that date back.
The $300,000 reconstruction will add 20,000 square feet to the course's greens, increasing them to 82,000 total square feet. Many of the greens will have new drainage systems.
The biggest overhaul will be to Querbes' "signature" hole, the par-3 No. 13.
The miniscule green is safeguarded by a steep slope that makes for a difficult approach shot from the tee box.
Norman said the green will be widened and moved back from the slope, creating a "catch area" for shots between the green and the slope.
Clay Arundel has been playing at Querbes Park three to four times a week since 1984.
"The changes will revitalize the course," he said. "The grass they will use they can cut it much lower and it will play faster. As I understand it, there will be more contours in the greens now.
"I've been real impressed with what they're doing."
SPAR is in constant communication with the PGA to ensure the work is moving along to its designs.
"The PGA reviews samples that come back to make sure everything is where it needs to be," Norman said.
With the new greens, Querbes will have to be re-rated. It carried a course rating of 69.0 prior to the work.
Course rating, which isn't the same as par, is the U.S. Golf Association's measurement of a course's difficulty for scratch golfers under normal course and weather conditions.
In comparison, Huntington Park Golf Course has a 72.4 course rating.
Querbes may not be the only city course to undergo a redesign if Norman can find the funding. Norman is hoping to secure state funding for a complete makeover of Lakeside Park Golf Course at the cost of $1.3 million.
Source: The Times (Shreveport, La.)