CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Big Bend Golf Course will open this Saturday, more than a month after storms damaged the facility.
A microburst on May 2 brought winds up to 75 mph, damaging more than 200 pines trees at the golf course in Tornado. Most of the damage was on the course’s back nine holes. Jeff Hutchinson, the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation executive director, said the course is $150,000 off-budget as expenses continued despite no play happening.
He also said crews have been busy over the last month getting the course ready.
“They’ve worked around the clock. The Pro Shop staff has weedeated and painted. We still had to mow the golf course because if you just let it sit, there’s no way to get it back,” he said. “We’ve been taking care of what we can get to.”
Hutchinson thanked the Kanawha County Commission and the course’s contractor, K&N Contracting of Elkview, for their efforts. K&N Contracting won the job with a $207,000 bid.
Hutchinson noted there have been some notable changes, with the main difference being how wide the course will appear.
“Where you stand at the clubhouse now, you can see places on the golf course that you have never been able to see standing up there,” he said. “Standing on the 13th tee, you can almost see the whole golf course.”
Hutchinson added they will seek outside experience in the winter to determine how to improve the course in areas where trees were previously located.
Anyone interested in playing Saturday can call the Pro Shop on Friday to schedule a tee time.