CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Greenskeepers at the Camp Red Cloud Golf Club are working to overcome damage to greens, fringes and fairways caused by extended play over a cold, dry winter, garrison commander Lt. Col. William Huber said Wednesday.
The course was closed for two weeks earlier this spring and three holes have been off-limits Monday through Friday for the past month to stimulate grass growth, he said, adding that the CRC Garrison Golf Championship, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until Sunday.
“The golf course will be open completely for the tournament and then we will close (three holes) during the week,” Huber said.
The weekday closures will continue until the course fully recovers, he said.
Huber said labor, supplies and lost profits at the course have cost from $80,000 to $100,000 since early spring.
“Every Monday we go back and reseed all the bare spots,” Huber said. “We try to let those seeds germinate and take Monday through Friday.”
Work also is to begin shortly to raise the golf club’s driving cage roof. It was built last year but is too low for taller golfers, he said.
The greenskeepers’ work appeared to be paying off this week, with grass growing in the areas on which they’ve concentrated. Other areas, however, seemed to show golfers ignoring basic course etiquette by failing to repair divot or pitch marks.
While the primary purpose is to provide a course for the U.S. community, Huber said, most of Tuesday’s golfers were South Korean visitors.
“Opening the golf course up to South Koreans supports that primary purpose because we cannot run a golf course and meet the costs of maintaining it on our own,” he said. “Based on space available, we open it up to fulfill a community relations role.”
South Koreans who are members of the Association of the U.S. Army’s South Korean branch, People to People or the Second to None Soldier Support Group are eligible for membership, which costs $1,650 per year, he said. Soldiers pay from $100 to $400 for an annual membership, depending on their military rank.
Huber said tournaments like the one planned Sunday are popular with the soldiers.
“The tournaments give soldiers the opportunity to go out and get introduced to the game,” he said.
