SAN ANTONIO – The Alamo City Golf Trail is working on upgrading the Olmos Basin Golf Course, its clubhouse, and the rest of its facilities for golfers to enjoy later this year. Officials say they could never have predicted the unprecedented heavy weather, leading to extra expenses and setbacks in the renovation process.
The initially planned end date was around Labor Day. Now, officials say they’re hoping for sometime in October.
“We’re always at the mercy of Mother Nature, and Mother Nature is undefeated,” said Andrew Peterson, president and CEO of Alamo City Golf Trail.
The project started in January. A month in, the area saw an unprecedented winter storm in February.
No new grass had been laid yet, but crews still couldn’t work for some time. Then came the floods in May, and now a rare wet July.
“When we plant the sprigs, if we get heavy rain the next day or so afterward, it’ll have a tendency to wash those sprigs away. So that’s kind of the downside of what we’ve experienced with the flooding,” Peterson explained.
He added that the replanting of the sprigs isn’t too expensive, but the time wasted having to redo it costs money. But Peterson says the project -- with a price tag of more than $3 million, plus expenses due to delays -- will not cost taxpayers additional money and is entirely self-funded.
“We’re a part of the Alamo City Golf Trail group, which, for lack of a better term, has a management agreement to operate the city of San Antonio’s golf courses. All the operating proceeds that we’ve been able to develop over the last number of years are paying for this project,’ Peterson said.
