Some of the improvements planned at Tony Butler Golf Course in Harlingen, Texas, include upgrades to irrigation pipes that are on top of a $3,000 irrigation pump that was recently installed. The course will begin renovations in September and will close the last 18 holes until April 2024, leaving the front nine holes playable to the public. “Once this project is finished, this golf course will be either the best or one of the best golf courses in all the Rio Grande Valley,” says Jeff Hart, Operations Manager for the course.

More than $5 million is going toward major renovations at the Tony Butler Golf Course in Harlingen, Texas, valleycentral.com reported.

The money comes from the city’s 4B board which gets a percentage from Harlingen’s sales tax.

“They specifically can only use that money for health and wellness projects in the city of origin,” said Jeff Hart, the Operations Manager for the Tony Butler Golf Course. “This is a golf course. This provides health and wellness to people playing. That money cannot be used for drainage or streets or any kind of other thing besides the wellness.”

Some of the renovations include improvements to irrigation pipes that are on top of a $3,000 irrigation pump that was recently installed. This is something Hart says will help with occasional flooding due to broken pipes, valleycentral.com reported.

“We’re going to put in HDPE piping, which is like a garden hose, but with really thick walls,” Hart said. “It has a 20-year guarantee that it will not leak.”

This is something he says will bring a lot of revenue for the city, valleycentral.com reported.

“When they come here, they’re going to eat at our restaurants here,” Hart said. “They’re going to stay at our hotels, so they’re going to spend money in Harlingen, which is going to create more sales tax money, more money for the city to use in other projects.”

Hart says the course will begin renovations next month and will close the last 18 holes until April 2024, leaving the front nine holes playable to the public, valleycentral.com reported.

“Once this project is finished, this golf course will be either the best or one of the best golf courses in all the Rio Grande Valley” Hart said.