Members of the Bella Vista Golf Committee got their first look at plans to help make the Country Club Golf Course more resistant to floods at their Wednesday meeting. But it may be two years before any construction takes place.
In August, the POA Board of Directors hired George Golf Design to develop a master plan for the course which has been damaged by flooding from Sugar Creek several times. But when the board approved the budget for 2019, there were no funds set aside for work on the course.
In 2020, the board may be able to begin getting permits, General Manager Tom Judson told the committee, which would mean construction might begin in 2021. Meanwhile, the course has no protection against flooding.
The recent flooding was not severe enough to be considered a 25-year flood, golf maintenance director Keith Ihms explained. The goal of the plan is to help the course survive a 25-year flood. There's little anyone can do if there's a 100-year flood, he said. Ten of the 18 holes on the course are in the flood plain of a 100-year flood.
Federal agencies will not approve any work in the creek, Ihms said. Also, prohibited are changes that will affect the volume of water in a 25-year flood, because those changes could flood Highway 71. They will be able to stabilize some creek banks, but they can't change the flow of the creek.
Some greens will be raised to be out of the flood plain. The pump house that replaced one which was washed away in 2014 will be moved to higher ground. One fairway that is often covered with gravel after flooding will also be raised. Dirt to raise the fairway may come from a new pond.
The course will be closed for 14 months once construction begins, Ihms said. It may coincide with the timing of work planned on Highway 340.
While it's closed, some of the tee boxes will be extended and leveled. Other work on the course may be done as well. The project will improve "play-ability," he said.
It's too early to know how much the project will cost, Judson said. He described the master plan as a conceptual drawing. The next step will include more specific drawings and costs may be estimated then.
Sports on 03/20/2019