Liberty golf course expected to open in mid-January

November 29, 2021

1121golf course 10 — Crews lay turf at the Liberty Municipal Golf Course. The turf is temporary and will protect the greens, tees and fairways through the winter. In the spring, a warm-weather Bermuda grass will be installed.

After some weather delays, the Liberty Municipal Golf Course is now slated for a mid-January reopening, according to City Manager Tom Warner. Crews now are installing winter grass that will remain until the spring when the turf will be replaced with a permanent, warm-season Bermuda grass.

The change in turf means that the golf course will close a second while the warm-season turf is installed and then reopen in early summer.

Jeff Blume, who designed the golf course renovations and oversaw construction, explained to City Council earlier this month that three weeks of rain in May and other rain events were to blame.

“We’ve had about a month’s worth of rain delays and rain days, which was in the construction contract,” Blume said.

The City will not bear the financial burden for the turf change, he said, adding that these costs were absorbed by making adjustments to the project.

Council briefly debated the merits of keeping the golf course closed until a grand opening can be held in the summer; however, with the golf course’s new restaurant, The Oaks at Magnolia Ridge, expected to open on Dec. 1, it was decided to open in mid-January and let golfers enjoy the course until the closing in the spring.

The $2.88 million golf course renovations were funded entirely by the City’s Cambridge Fund, which comes from profits from the Sam Rayburn Municipal Power Agency. The Liberty Community Development Corporation helped purchase the golf course in 2018 and assists with the operating expenses.

Among the recent renovations are improved greens and sand traps, additional cart paths, the installation of a water well for a new irrigation system, improved drainage and a new bathroom facility.

Liberty Municipal Golf Course, formerly known as Magnolia Ridge Golf Course is a nine-hole, 120-acre public course that is noted for its beautiful, tree-lined fairways and challenging design for golfers of all skill levels.

For more information on Liberty Municipal Golf Course, go online to http://www.libertygolfcourse.com/ or follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LibertyMunicipalGolfCourse.

Here are photos of the course provided by the City of Liberty: