Jaycees Golf Advisory Board members Sharon Alexander, Barbra Long and Kenneth Connelly expressed concerns to city officials during a recent Public Works meeting pertaining to the upkeep of Jaycees Golf Course.
Committee Chair Ivan Whitfield said he received a letter from the board with their top priorities and a request to have himself, Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and Parks and Recreation Director Samuel Glover tour the course with them to discuss the issues.
"We want to be able to present in full circle our concerns what we believe can maximize the revenue and the enjoyment we can get out of the golf course at Jaycees," said Alexander.
According to Alexander, there has been a significant decline in the upkeep of the course due to the absence of a greenskeeper.
'We had a part-time greenskeeper there and for a short period of time and a city employee who recently retired," she said.
Alexander states the short-term tenure of the experienced, part-time and dedicated greenskeeper resulted in a significant improvement in the condition of the greens and fairways attracting a number of golfers from across the region.
In April of 2021, Glover told the Administration Committee that he was in need of a recreation golf superintendent and sports field manager to maintain the city's Jaycee Golf Course and Pine Bluff's 14 ground sports facilities. The positions were approved but have not been filled as of yet.
"Since we have not had a greenskeeper, the condition of the course is deteriorating. Almost like we took one giant step forward and two giant steps backward," said Alexander. "We just really want to meet with everyone and come up with a plan and have some continuity that will ensure the ongoing success of the golf course."
With a spring goal in mind, the board would like to see significant improvements listing their top three priorities: a dedicated greenskeeper, an updated sprinkler system and the preservation of the greens by roping off the approaches.
In terms of a greenskeeper, Alexander encouraged the city to look at the candidate's track record for successfully maintaining the golf courses and supervising personnel.
"Unfortunately, a lack of continuity in filling this key position has resulted in all progress being lost and the course reverting back to an even worse condition," said Alexander.
In a follow-up interview, Glover said a search for a greenskeeper is currently underway, but he said the Jaycee course has never been unattended since the vacancy.
"The maintenance men are out there cutting grass literally every day," said Glover, who added that workers cut the grass on specific days in order to keep the course looking the same. "We want and need a golf superintendent out there to join the team, but the notion that there is some type of neglect-- we have invested over $200,000 at Jaycee since 2019."
Currently, the irrigation and the grounds are being worked on and quotes are in place to redo the golf cart path, according to Glover.
"Jaycee golf course is a major construction overhaul," said Glover. "We have to phase these projects out and see things down the road. It's going to take a three-year, five-year and 10-year plan to get this thing back up because you let it go under for 30 years."
Glover said he was challenged with the rehabilitation task when he came on board as director in July 2018. The golf pro shop building was in disarray, and there were overgrown weeds across the golf course, Glover said, noting that the conditions were "beyond awful."
"The building hadn't been touched in over 30 years," said Glover. According to Glover, within three months of his employment, about $50,000 worth of renovations began at the pro shop.
Over time, he said, there have been significant improvements, and he said the process of restoration takes time and money.
"With specialized grass, you just can't get it perfect in two months from being overgrown for years," said Glover. "We also don't have a million dollars to pull from so we have to phase these projects out."
Glover said Jaycee is also not the only location that needs restoration. With over 30 parks and facilities across the city, projects are in motion, as funding will allow.
"As a manager, I am responsible for the vision of the entire area, and I believe we need to do a holistic approach," said Glover. "In our whole scale vision, we are trying to enhance, elevate, restore and renovate. We are coming into a broken situation and saying we need to correct this and rectify this immediately, but it's going to take some time."