Kutsher's At Veria Opens Next July
The
Catskills are back and one of Sullivan County's outstanding golf
courses is slated to re-open the weekend July 4, 2016 barring any
setbacks.
The course layout at Kutsher's
County Club At Veria will see no major redesign and basically will
remain the same but significant improvements will greet golfers,
according to golf course Superintendent James Bowers.
In an interview with Bowers last week that included a tour of some of
the expected improvements Bowers noted that a new modern clubhouse with
restaurant facilities will be built next spring and indications are that
a local golf professional will head up the pro shop.
Kutsher's At Veria will remain a semi-private golf club open to the
general public and close to $500,000 is being spent on re-grassing and
reseeding the fairways, tees and installation of new irrigation heads
connected to a new computerized system.
Course design changes includes relocating the 18th hole back to its original location on the current driving range. The original was relocated to its current location to make room for the driving range.
Bowers pointed out that moving the driving range will allow his construction crew to return the course as close as possible to its original design.
The 18th will then be a slight dog leg left instead of the present dog leg right and a new fairway bunker will be added to this hole.
Also on the course work schedule is moving 10 tees back to their original location and the practice green behind the 18th green will be converted to the blue and white tee with the driving range tee becoming the senior and ladies tees.
There will still be a practice green behind the 9th green.
Phase two of the work schedule includes relocating the driving range and practice areas on the other side of the road in the area of the tennis courts and where the softball field was originally located.
Superintendent Bowers outlined Phase one renovations which include complete irrigation upgrade, re-grassing greens, tees and fairways to T-1 bent grass, will be performing a deep tine aeration with 10" long by 1" wide coring aeration lines to relieve compaction and improve drainage on the greens.
Bowers pointed out that the greens will be aggressively aerated before re-seeding and will have over 100 tons of sand incorporated into them.
Complete bunker renovation will include removal of the old sand and re-shaping the bunker floors, adding new drainage to all the bunkers, over seeding bunker surrounds, edging bunkers and adding new sod where needed. The bunkers will also receive 4 inches of new bunker sand.
Course design changes includes relocating the 18th hole back to its original location on the current driving range. The original was relocated to its current location to make room for the driving range.
Bowers pointed out that moving the driving range will allow his construction crew to return the course as close as possible to its original design.
The 18th will then be a slight dog leg left instead of the present dog leg right and a new fairway bunker will be added to this hole.
Also on the course work schedule is moving 10 tees back to their original location and the practice green behind the 18th green will be converted to the blue and white tee with the driving range tee becoming the senior and ladies tees.
There will still be a practice green behind the 9th green.
Phase two of the work schedule includes relocating the driving range and practice areas on the other side of the road in the area of the tennis courts and where the softball field was originally located.
Superintendent Bowers outlined Phase one renovations which include complete irrigation upgrade, re-grassing greens, tees and fairways to T-1 bent grass, will be performing a deep tine aeration with 10" long by 1" wide coring aeration lines to relieve compaction and improve drainage on the greens.
Bowers pointed out that the greens will be aggressively aerated before re-seeding and will have over 100 tons of sand incorporated into them.
Complete bunker renovation will include removal of the old sand and re-shaping the bunker floors, adding new drainage to all the bunkers, over seeding bunker surrounds, edging bunkers and adding new sod where needed. The bunkers will also receive 4 inches of new bunker sand.
New larger bunkers will almost surround the 14th par 3 green making it an exciting 188-yard shot from the blue tees.
Bowers, who is noted for his great knowledge on greens maintenance,
said that special attention will be given to all the greens.
Actual re-seeding will take place starting on August 8 and final bunker
maintenance which includes the addition of new sand will take place
next spring.
Originally construction of the Veria Health facility at the site of the
former Kutsher's hotel would have resulted in a redesign of several
holes at the golf course but when the location of the Veria Center was
moved this eliminated the need to redesign the golf course.
Several anticipated changes on the golf course will be the addition
of 100 yards to hole No. 10 increasing the total yardage to 475 yards
from the blue and white tees and changing par to 5. Relocation of the
tees on this hole creates the additional yardage.
Bowers is presently studying plans that may relocate the tees on hole
No. 12 to the far side of Kutsher's pond which from the blue tees would
result in a tee shot of about 190 yards over the pond to the fairway
making this hole an attractive "signature hole." He emphasized that
this is only a design study plan at this point and more than likely will
be part of phase two but could be added to phase one if they are ahead
of schedule with the other projects.
Repairs will also take place on the cart paths, drainage added where needed and the course will be dressed up with new tee signs, tee markers, benches, garbage cans, water coolers, yardage markers , bunker rakes, pins, cups and flags.
Repairs will also take place on the cart paths, drainage added where needed and the course will be dressed up with new tee signs, tee markers, benches, garbage cans, water coolers, yardage markers , bunker rakes, pins, cups and flags.
Par on this course with the changes being made will go from 71 to 72
with a total yardage of 7,101 from the blue tees. Par on the front nine
will be 36 and on the back nine 36
Bowers is completing his third year as superintendent at Kutsher's
Country Club where he and his staff have been maintaining the course
preparing it for reopening next summer.
With the nearby opening of the Montreign Casino Bowers anticipates Kutsher's being busy.
New larger bunkers will almost surround the 14th par 3 green making it an exciting 188-yard shot from the blue tees.
Kutsher's at Veria Golf Course Superintendent James Bowers is pointing to the far side of Kutsher's Pond where he hopes that plans become a reality for relocating the tees on hole No. 12 with the blue tees resulting in a tee shot of about 190 yards over the pond to the fairway making this hole an attractive "signature hole." Bowers emphasized that these plans are presently being discussed but are not yet in the work schedule.
New larger bunkers will almost surround the 14th par 3 green making it an exciting 188-yard shot from the blue tees.
Kutsher's at Veria Golf Course Superintendent James Bowers is pointing to the far side of Kutsher's Pond where he hopes that plans become a reality for relocating the tees on hole No. 12 with the blue tees resulting in a tee shot of about 190 yards over the pond to the fairway making this hole an attractive "signature hole." Bowers emphasized that these plans are presently being discussed but are not yet in the work schedule.
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