Sports

Westhope clubhouse gets new look

By Tyler Ohmann

05/01/2012

Like so many people the 2011 Mouse River Flood affected the Westhope Golf Club (WGC) swallowing two of their holes, making 2011 a tough year. WGC hopes to have a brighter year in 2012 after recently completing clubhouse renovations after the clubhouse has stood untouched for more than two decades.

“Nothing has really been done to the clubhouse in 20 plus years, so it was kind of time to put a fresh new look on it,” said WGC president Ty Engstrom. “We’ve been kind of talking about it for the past couple of years. After this last year we decided it was going to be a kind of expensive project to take on, but we decided we might as well do it, because this is where we make our money for the course.”

“We only get a shot at it for six months out of the year, so we better make it pay,” Engstrom added.

In January the WGC board decided to go ahead with the renovations and this spring several volunteers took on the first task of removing the decades old flooring.

“We had some old flooring that was glued down and nailed that we had to rip out by hand,” Engstrom said. “We had a lot of blisters amongst a lot of us guys.”

After they were rid of the old flooring new carpet and tile were installed. The tile that overlooks the course also sports a new WGC spelled out on it.

The clubhouse also added 16 feet to a new bar, which was built by local carpenters.

“The bar is really going to stand out,” Engstrom said. “We had some local guys from Westhope put a lot of time into the bar, and we got new carpet, the old carpet had cigarette burns on it, so we’re now a non-smoking establishment.”

Final touches to the renovation included three flat screen TV’s, new tables and chairs as well as a beer-dispensing cooler.

None of the renovation could have been done without local support from businesses and members according to Engstrom.

“The local businesses have really supported this,” Engstrom said. “If it weren’t for local businesses and members, none of this would have been possible.”

The kitchen area was left untouched, but Engstrom hopes that the new look will help bring in a few more customers, and make their existing customers more apt to enjoy the clubhouse.

“We’re hoping to have a sports bar feel to it,” Engstrom said. “Hopefully people walk in and enjoy a couple beers and watch some sports in between rounds of golf or in rain delays.”

“I hope it sparks some more interest and makes people feel more comfortable to come out and enjoy themselves,” Engstrom added.

Engstrom also noted that WGC recently seeded the front half of hole No. 1, which was all but destroyed by the flood. The club also reseeded hole No. 9, but were able to do that last fall. Engstrom said the club is fully playable, and is doing well.

WGC will host their yearly events including the Westhope Classic July 14-15 and the WGC fun night on May 5.