Page 18 - mch1218_Magazine

RECREATION

SPIFFED UP

WARRIOR HILLS COURSE REOPENS

Fort Polk’s Warrior Hills Golf Course Retired Staff Sgt. Ron Watkins
offers area linksters refurbished works on his putting on Warrior
greens for smooth putting and a Hills Golf Course’s new practice
six-month or annual membership putting green in preparation for
fter a summer without golf, that saves golfers money. tackling the course. renovations, Dr. Peter Craig,
Athe recently renovated and DFMWR integrator officer at
reopened Warrior Hills Golf Course at Fort Polk, La., is now Installation Management Command (IMCOM) headquarters
“on par” with similar military recreation golf courses, perhaps in San Antonio, Texas, played an integral role in procuring
even a bit better. the funding needed for the work to be done. “I’m all about
But the prevailing opinion seems to be that in order to investment,” Craig said. “If it makes sense, let’s do it.”
survive, most golf courses on military bases — once a prized Craig said when he visited Fort Polk to look at Warrior Hills
perquisite of officers and senior NCOs — must broaden their last year, he observed it had suffered years of neglect. “We
appeal and open their membership rosters, even to include made a conscious decision to invest in replacing the greens
communities outside the gate, and Warrior Hills is no exception. because they were a big part of the problem,” he said. “So we
Featuring numerous fresh features — including new greens, spent $900,000 to get everything to where it is now. What I
tee boxes, the addition of 10 sand traps, a new practice putting told the leadership was that we could pump the money in here
green, revamped driving range and an uptick in general main- and fix the greens, but now that we’ve got good product, it’s
tenance — the revamped course is a golfer’s dream, whether up to the DFMWR staff to sell the golf course. You can have
for experienced long hitters or for duffers. command events, spouse and child lessons, child leagues, and
“A lot of the original look and character of the course was Child and Youth Services can get kids over here after school.
restored,” said Mike O’Brien, golf course manager and club There are opportunities to reinvigorate Fort Polk centered
pro. “We’re excited about our ‘new’ look and the opportunity around the golf course.”
to provide a fantastic golf experience for our soldiers, their Craig said it will take more than Fort Polk residents to
families, the civilian work force and area residents.” make Warrior Hills viable. “I think it’s going to take the entire
The renovations were driven by the condition of the golf community,” he said.
course, which had become virtually unplayable due to deterio- To meet that goal, Helminiak said that in line with Fort
rating greens and tee boxes in poor shape, O’Brien said. That Polk leadership’s desire to foster positive community relations
situation led to fewer golfers who wanted to play the course.
BUSINESS, OR SERVICE?
Jeff Helminiak, business operations officer in Fort Polk’s
Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFM-
WR), said a big question on whether to move forward with
renovations was this: Did the post troop population support
enough rounds played to generate a profit?
“We’re a high-tempo war-fighting installation, and a train-
ing installation, so that takes a large population of our soldiers
away for significant periods of time,” he said. “That hurts the
play. The question becomes, as MWR, are we a business or
are we a service? In our case, with high deployments, and
fewer soldiers on the course as players, the profitability goes
down, and some decisions were made to start cutting expenses.
“When you cut expenses in labor, one of the side effects
was it became more difficult to maintain the course, and it A foursome of golfers launch their tee
slowly deteriorated over time.” shots during the Fort Polk Warrior Hills
Golf Course grand reopening tournament.
Once it was determined to move forward with the course

18 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | DECEMBER 2018