Winter Park’s beloved nine-hole golf course is back to full strength after a chemical mix-up in April killed most of its putting surfaces and sent the city into an unexpectedly expensive repair job. The city-owned WP9 has now reopened with new greens, giving local golfers something better than another temporary target to aim at.
The course’s full reopening was reported Tuesday by Orlando Sentinel, which said all of the greens were replaced so players would get a consistent experience. The replacement work cost about $100,000, while already-budgeted capital improvements also added fresh white sand to nearly every bunker except two.
The saga started in April, when an employee was supposed to apply fertilizer but used equipment that had previously carried weed killer at another city property. According to ClickOrlando, the spray rig was not cleaned properly, five greens were severely damaged, and the city ultimately fired the employee after officials said the mistake was not promptly reported or properly handled.
From A Maintenance Error To A Fresh Course Reset
Winter Park hired course designers Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns, who had completed the course’s major 2016 renovation, to oversee the replacement work. Parks & Recreation Director Jason Seeley told Orlando Sentinel that the new greens are playing faster and better than probably any time since that renovation, while Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the course is “better and stronger than before.”
The recovery was timed around the end of the peak golf season in April. After a roughly weeklong closure to remove the damaged surfaces and create a temporary putting setup, the course stayed open while the new grass matured, according to Spectrum News 13, which reported that temporary greens would keep golfers playing during the rebuild.
That matters at a course that dates to 1914 and packs 2,480 yards into an urban layout bordered by homes, churches and a cemetery. The City of Winter Park lists summer hours from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with resident rates of $20 on weekdays and $26 from Friday through Sunday.
With the temporary surfaces gone, Winter Park’s unusual little golf landmark is back to its full nine-hole routine. The fairways are still tight, the neighborhood is still very much in play, and the greens have finally caught up with the course’s reputation.
