A new ownership group took over the public property more than a year ago, and it now has electric carts for the first time in 40 years, as well as healthy grass on the 18-hole executive course, and a remodeled driving range covered with 135,000 sq. ft. of synthetic turf.
Since a new ownership group took over more than a year ago at Newport Beach (Calif.) Golf Course, the only public course in Newport Beach has become a model of success and thriving like never before, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based Orange County Register reported.
“A year ago we had no grass, no greens and no driving range,” said Director of Golf Keith Wyrick. “It was a piece of crap.”
These days, the grass throughout the 18-hole executive course is lush, the greens resemble those on country clubs, and the driving range is flourishing with its remodeled hitting bays and new synthetic turf. And, for the first time in 40 years, the course offers electronic carts as an option for golfers, the Register reported.
Newport Beach Golf Course unveiled its new driving range last spring after a seven-week reconstruction period. One of the most popular driving ranges in the region because of its lights and cool ocean breezes, it is covered with approximately 135,000 sq. ft. of green synthetic turf, including white and blue turf to create the illusion of water and sand bunkers, the Register reported.
After a devastating knockout punch last Friday, however, because of heavy rain and wind gusts up to 58 mph, officials at Newport Beach Golf Course endured a turnaround of 48 hours in getting the course back to playability after two days of closure, the Register reported.
“The rain has just killed us, but we’ve been having some real good days,” said Wyrick, whose course withstood one of its greatest challenges when it lost nine trees and saw its new netting on the driving range come crashing down.
Despite the loss of Friday and Saturday rounds last week because of the inclement weather, business has been good at Newport Beach Golf Course, which is hosting as many as 270 players a day and nets about $2,000 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the Register reported.
Before the new ownership, the golf course lacked general maintenance and was in need of revitalization. Paint had been chipping off parts of the building, the water fountain had been turned off for a decade with no upkeep, and parts of the driving range looked like barren wasteland, much of the cause because of city-mandated water restrictions. As for business, rounds of golf per year dropped from a peak of 87,000 to 30,000, the Register reported.
But, since an investment back into the golf course from the new owners, business is booming again, and this time with 17 electric carts available for golfers over 18 with a valid driver’s license, the Register reported.
“For the first time in the 40-year history of this golf course we have electric carts,” Wyrick said. “People call and they can’t believe it. They say, ‘You really have carts?’ And I say yes. It’s very exciting.”
The use of electric carts at Newport Beach Golf Course, serving people in the community of all ages, is part of a successful overhaul throughout the property, the Register reported.
“We have 3-year-olds to 93-year-olds,” said Wyrick, also the golf course’s longtime former starter and course record-holder with a round of 48. “We’re Newport Beach’s golf course. We’re not a (private) club here. A club sounds too exclusive, and we’re not exclusive. There’s nothing exclusive about us. We want to include anyone who wants to play this great game of golf. We’re a public golf course to serve the greatest community in the United States.”
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