Michael S. Williams

Pomona, California 91767
(818) 425-6142

Chester Washington Golf Course - Driving Range Project

Overview

The old driving range at Chester Washington consisted of a partly grassed range with very small targets to aim at and 25 mats to hit from. There was no grass tees to use or practice area for lessons. Due to an old irrigation system with older sprinkler heads and valves the range itself had many bare areas. Many attempts were made to seed areas, replace worn heads and remove a large gopher population that caused untraceable wiring issues underground. Small target greens that were mostly bare due to ball picker traffic were only noticeable thanks to large painted telephone poles to represent different yardage. During the rainy months the back of the range would become saturated with water as it sloped away from the clubhouse and left unusable until the ground firmed up. Nevertheless the entire range complex needed to be renovated.

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Near the back of the range stood an dead eucalyptus tree that needed to be.removed for safety and aesthetic reasons. Another concern was the height of the .fence which was 260 yards from the mats. Longer hitters could easily hit over.the top of the fence which was dangerous for the golfers who were playing on the.par-3 #2 hole which paralleled the back of the range.

Renovation

With a limited capital fund in place, renovation began on the driving range in January 2002. The plans were to construct new target greens, improve on irrigation components, fill in low areas, add drainage, eradicate gophers and add amenities all in a 10 day schedule. With all of the irrigation lines staked the first step was to have dirt hauled in from various construction sites via tandem trucks. Once all of the soil was in their respective locations shaping of the targets began.

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Quickly the seven target greens began to take shape. During this time new irrigation heads/valves were installed/raised while broken wires were replaced. Any extra soil was moved into low areas and compacted for future sodding and a large capacity drainage system was installed at the back of the range.

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Once the target greens were ready, a gypsum and starter fertilizer were applied to the soil. 6,000 square feet of bluegrass/ryegrass sod was installed on all targets and a low area in the center of the range. The appearance of a grassed driving range was near completion.

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New flag poles & signage were the last items needed to complete the driving range.

In conclusion

It was an rewarding experience to hear the comments of our regular guests on the transformation of their new driving range after only 10 days. After only 2 weeks the golf course turned a profit from the expense for the project both on range balls bought and rounds played. What was once an eyesore and a maintenance nightmare was now one of the highlights of the golf course.