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Area golfers head down the first fairway to their
assigned tee boxes as the grand reopening of
Hole No. 10 at Warrior Hills Golf Course with its Fort Polk’s Warrior Hills Golf Course gets ready
downhill view and pristine green. to kick off.

with the areas around the installation, ing sure everything is taken care of.”
MWR will allow the local populace The general thanked IMCOM and
to play the course. DFMWR for their efforts in seeing
the renovations to fruition. “Without
“A BIG DEAL” your tireless efforts, this would not
“It’s a big deal for us to re-open have been possible,” he said.
the golf course,” said Brig. Gen.
Patrick D. Frank, commander, Joint COMMITTED TO SUCCESS
Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Garrison leadership is commit-
Fort Polk, during the course’s ribbon- ted to the success of the golf course,
cutting ceremony on Sept. 8, which Helminiak said. Until Oct. 31, a mem-
was followed by a grand reopening bership drive was conducted offering
tournament. “This place is connected Michael O’Brien, Warrior Hills Golf golfers significant savings on either
to quality of life for not only our sol- Course pro, sets the cup on the six-month or annual memberships. “If
diers and families, but also to those refurbished green of hole No. 10 you purchase an annual membership,
outside of the gates. We always invite it’s like getting two months free,” he
our local neighbors to come out and golf with us, along with said. “The six-month membership gets you one month free.”
our retirees and our veterans.” And for local non-military residents, “The garrison is offering
Frank said Warrior Hills is the centerpiece of the JRTC an annual pass to members of the general public who want to
and Fort Polk. “When you enter post, Warrior Hills sits right come on post to play golf.”
in the middle of everything and is the first thing you see,” he In addition to creating a golf advisory council, course
said. “It’s something we can be proud of. I want to stress, we management is talking with other military golf courses to de-
invite the entire community to come to Fort Polk velop best practices, and is working with a chemical company
and play this golf course. This isn’t just for Fort representative to ensure most effective methods are used for
Polk; it’s for everyone in the community to enjoy.” growing grass and controlling weeds.
Garrison Commander Col. Jarrett Thomas II But Helminiak said it would take more than just the gar-
echoed Frank’s sentiments. “This means a great rison providing a challenging and pleasant golf experience.
deal for our community,” Thomas said prior to “It’s incumbent on the golf course users to make it viable
hitting his tee shot on the first hole. “It’s all about to keep the course open,” he said. “We spent a lot of money
quality of life, not only for our soldiers, but also and made some hires to keep the course in condition, and we
our DA [Department of the Army] civilians who need golfers — both on and off post — to use the course.”
work here, their family members and our local Helminiak said there are plans to hold more tournaments
community.” throughout 2019 and offer other opportunities for golfers to
Loretta Nale, who heads the Fort Polk DFMWR, enjoy the course.
also called Warrior Hills the “center point” of the “The bottom line is we now have a good product, and we
installation and said her staff was up to the chal- want to keep it here for our soldiers, so we’re going to do
lenge of making the course a success story. what we can to make this work,” he said.
“We want to make sure that it is a quality golf “With everyone’s help, this should be a great place to play
course for our soldiers and families,” she said. “The golf for years to come.”
greens, tee boxes, sand traps … we refurbished Story and photos by Chuck Cannon, Fort Polk, La., Public
everything. We have a team that is devoted to mak- Affairs Office.

DECEMBER 2018 | MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY 19