Los Alamos Golf Course Improvements Taking Shape

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on May 16, 2024
- 10:37 am

Workers use a giant drill to bore holes for the 165-foot tall poles that will support the net at the golf course’s driving range. Courtesy/LAC

A bulldozer, operated by contractor Terry Nickel, scrapes the sod off one of the holes on the Los Alamos County Golf Course. Nickel explained the sod will be re-purposed as top soil. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

The Los Alamos County Golf Course is looking a little different these days. It is not the whack of a golf club hitting a ball that can be heard at the course but the rumble of construction equipment.

When looking out at the course, plastic orange fencing sporadically appears to seal off certain areas, dirt is being scooped out and deposited into a dump truck, a bulldozer scrapes off sod at one of the holes, a giant drill looms over at the driving range and a series of towering black poles rise out of the earth that will eventually hold a net to capture wayward golf balls.

So, the golf course is looking a little rough but starting in October and finally in November, the community can expect to see a new, improved version of this County facility.

In October 2023, council greenlit improvement project funds, which include the following:

Improving holes one through 18, which covers tees, bunkers and greens as well as two new restrooms; and
Improving the practice range, driving range and car paths.

Council further approved in October installing a new net at the driving range.

During the council meeting May 7, Public Works Project Manager Anthony Strain provided an update on these projects.

Strain said the contractor started about three weeks ago, doing the pole and netting started installing 14 of the 18 poles. The project’s completion is scheduled for the end of June.

As far as the golf course improvements, grading and excavation on the t-mats on the closest side of the driving range is ongoing, he said.
The practice area is scheduled to begin later this month. The drill and fill operation or the process to inject sand in the greens has been completed on 16 holes. The remaining two are the new holes, seven and eight. Speaking of the new holes, Strain said they are shaped in and the seeding process is scheduled to begin soon.

Cart paths construction is underway, he added. A crew for concrete and the crew for irrigation for the new holes are on site. Right now, 24 employees are working on the course.

As far as holes still open for play, holes one, three, four and five are available with temporary tee boxes and temporary greens, he said. The back nine is expected to begin in a week.

The projects are on schedule, Strain said the final completion is expected in November.

There are numerous benefits within this course improvement project, Strain told the Los Alamos Daily Post in a recent interview.

First, the course – from the cart paths to the holes – will be more ADA accessible. He explained there will be more ease of access with less steep slopes and lower grading.

The turf itself is getting improved; take the drill and fill operation, for instance. Strain said this process of drilling holes 12-inches deep and filling them with sand reduces the clay and allows for more nutrients to get into the soil. Plus, to address safety concerns with errant balls being hit into traffic coming down Diamond Drive, holes seven and eight are being swapped, Strain said. As far as hole nine, Strain said in his opinion, it will be the standout hole on the course with its additional bunkers to add difficulty to the hole.

The second project, the poles and netting in the driving range will be significantly different than the original ones. Strain said the new net will reach 165 feet in height, compared to the old 45-foot tall net. As a result, it should offer 97-98 percent containment of golf balls.

Strain said the projects total more than $8 million but credits the contractors and County staff for keeping the price tag climbing even higher. Furthermore, he noted that this project has been a long time coming.

“For as long as this project has been in genesis, it is coming to life now,” Strain said.

He added that it is a good investment for a facility that brings revenue to the County.

Golf Course Manager Mike Lippiatt explained that for the past five years the course has recovered 90 to 95 percent of its budget each year. So, with its approximate $1.2 million budget, Lippiatt said it generates about $1 million in revenue. This money is used to subsidize those County facilities that do not generate revenue, he said.

Lippiatt further pointed out that the money is well spent because the golf course is such a popular asset to the community.

Last year, 27,000 rounds of golf were played and between the Cottonwood on the Greens restaurant, and community room functions approximately 80,000 additional visits were produced through the facility. So in total, Lippiatt said, 115,000 people utilized the golf course in one form or another. He added the golf course brings out-of-town visitors. Many will use the course as their “base” but will travel, spend money, throughout Los Alamos and the surrounding areas.

“It’s great for our budget recovery but it is a shot in the arm for all over town,” Lippiatt said.

Strain agreed.

“On a more local level,” he said, “it is a providing a great opportunity for recreation to folks.”

Lippiatt said the course sees a diverse range of players. They can be as young as 6 to as old as 90, he said.

The golf course hosts a junior golf project that brings in 80-100 kids, the high school golf teams play at the local course and Lippiatt said there has been a growing influx of golfers in the 25-35 age range.

He noted while the construction has put a dent on this year’s numbers, the improvement projects are only going to increase these numbers.

“This is really going to bring us up to speed in so many ways,” Lippiatt said.

Strain added, “It’s going to be one of the better ones in New Mexico.”

The course has already been recognized, Lippiatt said in 2021, the Albuquerque Journal North dubbed it one of the top three public golf courses in the state.

Perhaps most valuable of all is the support the golf course receives from the local golfing community, Lippiatt said.

“The golf community has been very supportive,” he said.

Contractor Angel Santiago operates a steam shovel at one of the holes on Los Alamos County Golf Course. Santiago said he has worked on golf courses across the globe. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com