Photo By Chuck Cannon | A foursome of golfers launch their tee shots during Warrior Hills Golf Course’s...... read more read more
FORT POLK, La. — More than 100 golfers from as far away as Florida gathered at Fort Polk’s Warrior Hills Golf Course to participate in a grand re-opening ribbon-cutting ceremony and tournament Sept. 8.
The course had been closed for renovations that included new greens, tee boxes, the addition of 10 sand traps, a new practice putting green, revamped driving range and general maintenance. The course held a soft opening Sept. 1 before the ribbon-cutting.
“It’s a big deal for us to re-open the golf course,” Big. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commander, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, told the crowd gathered around the ninth green for the ribbon-cutting. “This place is connected to quality of life for not only our Soldiers and Families, but also to those outside of the gates. We always invite our local neighbors to come out and golf with us, along with our retirees and our veterans.”
Frank said Warrior Hills is the centerpiece of the JRTC and Fort Polk.
“When you enter post, Warrior Hills sits right in the middle of everything and is the first thing you see,” he said. “It’s something we can be proud of. I want to stress, we invite the entire community to come to Fort Polk and play this golf course. This isn’t just for Fort Polk, it’s for everyone in the community to enjoy.”
Frank thanked the Installation Management Command and Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation for their efforts in seeing the renovations to fruition.
“Without your tireless efforts, this would not have been possible,” he said.
Afterward, Frank spoke to the importance of Warrior Hills Golf Course to not only Fort Polk, but also the surrounding community.
Col. Jarrett Thomas II, Fort Polk garrison commander, echoed Frank’s sentiments.
“This means a great deal for our community,” Thomas said prior to hitting his tee shot on the first hole. “It’s all about quality of life, not only for our Soldiers, but also our DA (Department of the Army) civilians who work here, their family members and our local community. We’re looking forward to seeing our residents from Leesville, DeRidder, Rosepine and the surrounding areas to come out and play golf with us.”
Leesville Mayor Rick Allen said the refurbished course is “absolutely beautiful. I think this is really going to attract a lot of players from everywhere in Louisiana, and will offer support for the city of Leesville and Fort Polk. It’s important for us to support the military base when they undertake a project like this.”
Dr. Peter Craig, DFMWR integrator officer at IMCOM headquarters in San Antonio, played an integral role in procuring the funding needed for the renovations.
“I’m all about investment,” Craig said. “If it makes sense, let’s do it.” Craig said when he visited Fort Polk to look at Warrior Hills last year, he observed it had suffered years of neglect.
“We made a conscious decision to invest in replacing the greens because they were a big part of the problem,” he said. “So we spent $900,000 to get everything to where it is now. What I told the leadership was that we could pump the money in here and fix the greens, but now that we’ve got good product, it’s up to the DFMWR staff to sell the golf course. You can have command events, spouse and child lessons, child leagues, and Child and Youth Services can get kids over here after school. There are opportunities to reinvigorate Fort Polk centered around the golf course.”
Craig said it will take more than Fort Polk residents to make Warrior Hills viable.
“I think it’s going to take the entire community,” he said.
Loretta Nale, Fort Polk Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, called Warrior Hills the “center point” of the installation and said her staff was up to the challenge of making the course a success story.
“We want to make sure that it is a quality golf course for our Soldiers and Families,” she said. “The greens, tee boxes, sand traps, we refurbished everything. We have a team that is devoted to making sure everything is taken care of.”
Eddie Joslin, an employee of the Beauregard Parish School System and an avid golfer, is a lifelong resident of DeRidder who said he’s played Warrior Hills since his teenage years.
“Warrior Hills has always been a fun and challenging golf course,” he said. “I really appreciate the time, money and effort that has gone into restoring this layout to its former playability and status.
“The new greens will be a welcome improvement and will only get better in the months to come.”
Joslin said he appreciates that military Families have a recreational option in Warrior Hills that adds to the Fort Polk quality of life. He also thanked Warrior Hills head pro Mike O’Brien, a friend and former classmate, for the invitation to play in the tournament.
“It was a grand opening worthy of this place and its important history,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.14.2018 09:23 |
| Story ID: | 292777 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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