The first three weeks of the new year were bad for Triad players and many area golf courses due to especially cold temperatures and snow.
But it was a good time for cutting down trees, a $720,000 project underway at Winston Lake Golf Course, where tree growth caused poor conditions on the greens and fairways. The 18-hole course winds through dense trees at Winston Lake Park, which is located a few hundred yards east of New Walkertown Road in east Winston-Salem.
“They were killing the greens,” Winston-Salem recreation and parks director William Royston told Triad Golf. “We couldn’t get air circulation. You can’t have greens in the middle of the forest.”
Royston said work proceeded during the January cold snap, making it possible for the removal of 46 acres of trees to be completed by mid-March and the start of the traditional spring season.
Currently, the front nine is closed at the course as crews clear the combination of hardwood and softwood trees. Royston said the crews would soon turn their attention to the back nine, closing it and opening the front side.
“They’ll be looking to switch soon,” Royston said. “It’ll probably take another month and a few weeks.”
During the tree removal, improvements also have been made on the 6-acre driving range, where grading and spriggs were planned with a new irrigation system.
Winston Lake, where the original nine holes date to 1956, began as the city’s first public golf course open to blacks. Architect Ellis Maples was hired to design another nine that opened in 1964.
Royston said installation of fans near the Zoysia greens were not enough to eliminate the problem. The director said tree growth also infringed on shots and views on several holes. He said there were “a ton” of bare spots.
“We couldn’t grow grass on fairways and greens,” he said. “It affected the overall health of the course.”
Royston said he expected a slight increase in prices, likely beginning near the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
