Winter Park, Fla. — Golfers in Winter Park are facing an unexpected closure at a popular city-owned course after a maintenance mistake left several greens unplayable.
The Winter Park 9 Golf Course — known as WP9 — has been shut down following an inadvertent chemical application that severely damaged the grass.
Director of Communications Clarissa Howard explained what happened.
“So, there was an accidental application of a chemical on the greens, and then the soil was aerated so that caused significant stress to the greens and their root system,” Howard said. “So, we’ve been closed since April 27 and we’ll be closed through Sunday, May 17.”
On the course, the damage is very visible.
Crews are now tilling and re-sprigging the greens, a process used to establish new Bermuda grass, but it will take time.
In the meantime, the city plans to reopen using temporary greens.
“Now, we do hope to reopen with temporary greens on Monday, May 18,” Howard said.
The mistake is expected to cost the city about $70,000 to fix, with a full reopening projected sometime in July.
For long-time visitors like Dori Andersen, the closure has been surprising.
“I’ve come up every day now. Second one’s been closed for a week like that. And I’m like, ‘this is really cool’. I’m watching them change holes. Didn’t know that there was a reason why they were doing it,” she said.
The course, established in 1914 and purchased by the city in 1936, has earned national praise as one of the top short courses in the country.
“It has been highly regarded and received accolades from publications such as Golf Magazine, the PGA, and news stations all throughout the nation,” Howard said.
Accolades the course hopes to reclaim soon, as crews work to bring the greens back to life and get golfers back out there to tee it up once again.