Course shoots for Aug. 2 start
Bartram Trail Golf Club, the first public golf course to be built in Columbia County in several years, is now on course for an opening in less than a month.
Robby Watson, the head golf professional for Bartram Trail Golf Club near Patriots Park, sits in his golf cart on the No. 6 tee as sprinklers work on the grass behind him. The course is scheduled to open to the public Aug. 2.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
"As of right now, we're shooting for Aug. 2,'' said Robby Watson, the club's head golf professional, adding that a pre-grand opening for VIPs also will occur July 30.
Now, he said, only a few touch-ups are left to finish.
"You've got that last-minute rush,'' he said. "You're just trying to get everything done that you can and have it in as good of shape as you possibly can when we do open up.''
The 18-hole course is off Columbia Road near Patriots Park.
Watson said the course is unique for the county, adding that it is the only course in the county to have bent-grass greens. He said it also strays from a typical golf course setup, with five par-5s, five par-3s and eight par-4s.
"Also, there's just two or three holes out here that you're adjacent to another hole,'' he said. "So it's kind of you're out here by yourself on each hole.''
Watson said work on the course began about two years ago. Lately, he said, there has been a lot of interest in the course from the public.
Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross said the course is a welcome addition to the county. He said the county had a plan to reserve space at Wildwood Park for a golf course, but officials don't want to proceed with that plan anytime soon. He said Bartram Trail will help fill the void.
"It's good to have those facilities where the public can go play without having to have a country-club membership,'' Cross said.
FOLLOWING THE BARTRAM TRAIL BY THE NUMBERS
- Total yardage from back tees: 6,706
- Total acreage: 150
- Number of members allowed: 300
- Hole numbers: Will have five par-5s, five par-3s and eight par-4s.
- Cost: To ride a cart for 18 holes Monday through Friday, $35; for seniors 60 or older Monday through Friday, $29; Saturday, Sundays and holidays, $44; for seniors on weekends, $33; junior rate to walk, $15.