April 2, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Municipal Golf Course and Swimming Pool will be opening soon.
Since it was closed last fall, the course has been undergoing renovations and upgrades under a maintenance agreement the city entered into with Riverwatch Golf & Resort for a year.
Last month the Smithville Aldermen also voted to hire Ken Lacy and Pete Ferguson to manage the facilities for at least one year.
During an appearance on WJLE’s Tech Talk program Thursday, Lacy said golfers will notice a change this season.
“The city golf course has been going through renovations and upgrades since August. The anticipated opening is within the next couple of weeks. Things people can look forward to are new greens. The putting greens have been renovated and growing throughout the fall and winter. We are currently mowing them down to the same heights that we have our greens at Riverwatch. If you like playing at Riverwatch and enjoy the speed and texture of our greens you will experience similar playing conditions at the city golf course. The city crews have been in there redoing the clubhouse, getting it up and going. New golf carts will be coming in possibly by this week. Everything is going to look different and better. And within the next 45 days or so the pool will be opening,” said Lacy.
According to Lacy, plans are to have more opportunities for golfers at the city golf course this year including events which will be held in partnership with Riverwatch.
“Junior Golf is a big focus with us. We (RIverwatch) have maybe the only FREE junior golf program in the state. Last year we had about 48 to 50 children involved in this program. I do it one day a week and in that time you get two hours of instruction and we offer a small snack. We’re going to do the same thing at the city golf course. And for the second year in a row we will have the AJGA, an International Junior Golf event, held at Riverwatch featuring elite Junior golfers from around the world who will come here for seven days of competition the week of July 4,” said Lacy.
“We also plan to do a reciprocal type membership. If you join the city golf course, you can play Riverwatch at a discount and If you become a member at Riverwatch you can play the city golf course at a discounted rate. We want to make it to where golf is fun again,” Lacy said.