Michelle Seeber
Woodward News
Woodward, Okla. —
With the first day of spring just around the corner, preparations are under way for a benefit tournament to raise money for the Woodward Municipal Golf Course.
Robert Wood, superintendent/manager for the course, said approximately 25 volunteers helped to get the course ready for the upcoming golf season with a cleanup day on March 13.
“We trimmed trees, raked leaves away from the fence and cleaned up a little bit,” Wood said, noting “a lot of our board members did this along with golfers who come to the course regularly.”
“They worked from around 8 in the morning until 2 o’clock that afternoon,” Wood said.
The cleanup day was also held to prepare for something new, he said.
A tournament will be held April 11 to raise money for the facility because “we’ve been struggling a little bit financially,” he said. “The winter’s not been a good one -- just not good weather for golf.”
The 2-man scramble tournament will involve an entry fee with all the proceeds to go to the golf course, he said.
Winning teams will get trophies and there will be door prizes given away that have been donated, he said.
Registration will begin at noon and the golf course will serve lunch, he said, noting tee offs will start at 1 p.m.
“We’ll probably be done around six, depending on how many show up to play,” he said. “We hope to have a good turnout. This is the first benefit we’ve ever had.”
Wood noted the proceeds will go toward new equipment, such as mowers for the greens and “we’re working on a deal for new golf carts.”
“We’d really appreciate it if all the golfers around town would come out,” he said.
He noted that in the next two weeks the city is expected to start putting in a new sprinkler system at the course as part of ongoing improvements at Crystal Beach Park.
“What we’ve got out there now is so old we’re due for a change,” Wood said, noting the city will be replacing a system that has been in place for approximately 35 years.
The cost is expected to reach as much as $400,000, he said.
“I’m ready to get it going,” Wood said. “We’re ready to get the golf course in the shape it needs to be in.”
The Woodward Municipal Golf Course is open every day, year-round, from 8 a.m. until dark. For more information about the golf course and/or the upcoming benefit tournament, call 256-9028.
