The recently planted grass was just beginning to show some life last weekend on holes 2, 3 and 4 at Edgewood. It's a low-lying part of the golf course that in the last few years has made for a better fishing hole than a fairway.
But the recent heavy rains took care of the work that followed this spring's record Red River flood.
It's called a nuisance flood and it's something the Fargo Park District hopes to eliminate with the latest renovation plan for Edgewood.
Plan "B-1A" calls for raising key areas of the entire course to around a river level of 28 or 29 feet. It crested early Tuesday morning at 27.59 feet, meaning if the plan were in place now, most of the course would probably be playable once the river recedes.
"I can only speak for myself," said Park District executive director Roger Gress, "but
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doesn't this just drive the point home?"
The renovation is still in committee stage, but it appears the plan is close to being ready to be presented to the Park Board for a vote. Gress puts the cost estimate between $600,000 and $700,000. He said it's about $100,000 cheaper than the original B-1 plan.
It's a figure Park Board commissioner Joel Vettel calls "relatively small compared to the impact we have on the bottom line both from a revenue standpoint and a maintenance standpoint of fixing these things."
Vettel said the money would come from a contingency fund that is set aside every year for flood issues.
The revised plan is being developed by Phelps-Atkinson Golf Course Design from Evergreen, Colo., with significant contribution from Houston Engineering of Fargo.
It calls for moving No. 2 slightly south to higher ground and making it a par 4 instead of its current par 5, turning No. 3 into a par 3 near the road leading into the course and making No. 4 into a par 5 with an optional high-water tee box.
The two main issues at Edgewood, said Gregg Thielman of Houston Engineering, are the majority of the course is located in a floodway and the instability of river banks.
"Putting material on an already unstable bank can lead to bank failure," he said. "So we're trying to balance the amount of fill by removing an equivalent volume from other areas on the course."
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If the Park Board does OK the plan, it's doubtful construction would begin this fall as previously hoped. Gress said the permitting process will take between three and six months putting any work off until next year.
"Anytime you're talking about moving earth and deviating a little bit the natural flow of water, there will be issues," Vettel said.
Jeff Kolpack can be heard on the WDAY Golf Show, 10 a.m. to noon on WDAY-AM (970). He can be reached at (701) 241-5546.
Kolpack's NDSU media blog can be found
