By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Work continues at the former Stone Ridge Golf Course on the northeast edge of Great Bend. Many in the public have been curious about the progress being made at the course, but Great Bend Rec Enrichment and Activity Center Director Garet Fitzpatrick asks the public to stay on the roads when taking a peek.
“It is a work zone,” he said. “There are ditches being dug for drainage. There are holes being built for the sprinkler system, for irrigation, or whatever. Please stay off the golf course. You don’t know where a hole is going to be. You don’t what you may be damaging that we’re working on right now.”
The first employee at the golf course started on Monday. Ethan Swartzman has been the head golf course superintendent at the Salina Municipal Golf Course for approximately five years. He has also spent time at the Smoky Hill Country Club in Hays, as well as at courses in Dodge City and in other states.
Fitzpatrick said while work continues to clean up greens and fairways, and bunkers are currently being built, the push for donations also continues.
“The more money we can raise, the more we can do with the money on the golf course and make some improvements we’d really like to do,” he said. “It comes to a point where the budget is what we have to watch out for. The more money we can raise, the more features we can put in to do things.”
Sprinkler-system installation at the course is expected to begin at the end of September and into October. If all goes well, the full system will be completed by February 2027. New turf will be installed after the irrigation system is installed.
Anyone interested in donating to the renovation is encouraged to contact the Great Bend Rec.