FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anthony Puglisi
July 29, 2008 973-621-2542
Lauren Shears
973-621-1590
ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO OUTLINES COMPREHENSIVE
RENOVATIONS FOR THREE COUNTY PUBLIC GOLF COURSES
Modernization Project will Improve Playing Conditions, Enhance Aesthetics
and Address Safety Issues
Field House at Francis Byrne Golf Course is Reopened after Facelift
Essex County, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on Tuesday, July 29th that the first phase of a comprehensive $7 million project to modernize the County’s three public golf courses has been completed. With the expansion and renovation of the Essex County Francis Byrne Golf Course Field House finished, the County will now move forward with making substantial upgrades to the drainage and irrigation systems, cart paths, tees and bunkers, and tree maintenance at Byrne Golf Course in West Orange, Hendricks Field Golf Course in Belleville and Weequahic Golf Course in Newark.
“The improvements we are making at Francis Byrne, Hendricks Field and Weequahic will provide our residents with modern facilities, help us maintain our courses as premiere places to play and attract new golfers,” DiVincenzo said. “Our affordable green fees and easily accessible locations have made Francis Byrne, Hendricks Field and Weequahic popular public golf courses. Just as we have been upgrading our County parks and playgrounds, it is important to modernize our golf facilities. The improvements we are making will improve conditions and make our courses more challenging,” he added.
“Our courses will be receiving extensive work and our plans are to minimize any disruption in play. We apologize in advance to our golfers for any inconvenience and appreciate their cooperation,” the Executive said.
The two-year, comprehensive program includes making significant improvements at all three public golf courses. Among the work to be completed are upgrading the irrigation and drainage systems, pruning trees and removing dead trees, repairing and rebuilding cart paths, rebuilding and expanding tees, and restoring selected bunkers. The upgrades will enhance the aesthetics of the golf courses, but also address safety issues and improve playing conditions.
“What we are accomplishing here is providing recreation services at an excellent level, which is what our residents deserve,” Senator Teresa Ruiz said. “The DiVincenzo Administration understands it is our responsibility to bring quality services and recreation opportunities,” she added.
“As someone who enjoys playing the game, the best bargain in the State is Essex County’s public golf courses,” Sheriff Armando Fontoura said, referring to the low greens fees. “When these improvements are complete, our course will be among the best in the State,” he added.
“Through this plan, each of these unique public golf facilities will be significantly enhanced to provide challenging courses and recreational enjoyment to Essex County golfers,” said Ed Brockner, Essex County Golf Consultant.
An overview of the work being conducted at the three courses is as follows:
Essex County Francis Byrne Golf Course, West Orange: At Francis Byrne Golf Course, consultants reviewed the original plans and aerial photos taken in the 1920s to determine what areas of the golf course were most in need of being repaired or rebuilt. The work being done will help restore the original design created by noted golf course architect Charles Banks.
Many of the tees and bunkers will be rebuilt and additional forward tees will be developed. A modern, automated irrigation system will replace the current manual system and enable the fairways and greens to be expanded. At the 10th Hole, for example, an optional fairway that is currently overgrown will be reintroduced. This feature was created by Banks and is modeled after similar alternative fairway designs found on classic golf courses in Great Britain.
Francis Byrne Golf Course Field House, West Orange: Renovations to the Francis Byrne Field House included the construction of an addition to house modern restroom facilities. The roof was repaired, new windows were installed and the facility was brought up to date with new carpeting, painting and fixtures. Work started in March and was completed in just four months.
The upgrades were designed in-house by the Essex County Department of Public Works. The Department also monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. Zenith Construction Service, Inc. of East Newark was awarded a competitively bid contract for $527,000 to perform the construction work.
Essex County Hendricks Field Golf Course, Belleville: The improvements to Hendricks Field, which was also designed by Charles Banks, are similar to the historic restoration being conducted at Byrne Golf Course. Drainage upgrades will address flooding in specific areas, such as the 18th Hole, and a modern, automated irrigation system will provide better coverage on the fairways and greens. In addition, the tees on all the par three holes will be upgraded.
Essex County Weequahic Golf Course, Newark: During this project, many of the features at Weequahic Golf Course will be redesigned or restored to improve strategy and make the holes more challenging. More than half of the tees will be rebuilt and expanded. In addition, an upgraded drainage system will address flooding issues that affect at least nine holes and the installation of a new pumping and filtration system will improve the quality of water that is used to irrigate the course.
The 17th Hole can be used as an example of the type of work being done throughout Weequahic. The cart path that approaches the hole will be upgraded to make access easier and the green surrounds will be reshaped to create multiple areas for entrance and exit. This will enhance safety and improve conditions at the green. In addition, several trees around the 17th Hole have already been removed to allow better sunlight and to prevent the roots from growing under the greens and altering the surface.
Developing an Improvement Plan
The engineering firm of Hatch Mott MacDonald from Millburn received a $414,775 contract to design the improvements for the three public golf courses. Turco Golf Inc. of Suffern, N.Y. was awarded a competitively bid contract for $6,801,885 to perform the construction at all three golf courses. The Essex County Department of Public Works will oversee the project and work with the contactors to ensure the project remains on time and within budget. Essex County also has hired NobleStrategy of South Orange to monitor the project and ensure small, women and minority-owned vendors have an opportunity to compete for subcontracting work on the project. The modernization of the three golf courses is scheduled to be completed by the winter of 2009.
The $7 million for the improvements is being funded through the County’s Capital Budget, and repaid with revenue created by raising greens fees charged to golfers. The County began collecting the dedicated revenue from the greens fee increase earlier this year and will continue through the year 2020. By not having to bond, the County will save at least $1.6 million in interest and other financing costs.
The increases in greens fees are as follows:
Francis Byrne Golf Course 2007 2008 2009 2010
Weekday fees (Essex residents) $18 $21 $23 $25
Weekday fees (Non-residents) $22 $28 $32 $36
Hendricks Field Golf Course 2007 2008 2009 2010
Weekday fees (Essex residents) $18 $19 $20 $22
Weequahic Golf Course 2007 2008 2009 2010
Weekday fees (Essex residents) $18 $19 $20 $21
Weekend and senior citizen rates also are being increased slightly at Hendricks Field and Weequahic.
The rates for Golf ID cards will remain stable, with the exception of the Senior Seasonal Permit. The current rate of $400 increased to $425 this year and will increase to $450 in 2009 and $475 in 2010.
Essex County’s Public Golf Courses
Over the last four years (2004 to 2007), an average of 110,000 rounds of golf per year was played on all three public courses in Essex County. In 2007, a total of 105,122 rounds of golf was played – 47,550 on Francis Byrne in West Orange, 37,217 on Hendricks Field in Belleville and 20,355 on Weequahic in Newark. Through July 6th, there have been 44,574 rounds of golf played at all three courses in 2008.
Despite their popularity and the fact that almost $4 million a year in revenue is generated from the golf ID cards sold and greens fees charged, the County has not made any significant capital investment in its public golf courses. Since 1995, about $2.8 million worth of improvements have been made in Weequahic Golf Course, $639,174 worth of improvements have been made in Hendricks Field and just $112,653 worth of improvements have been made in Francis Byrne.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 18 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, three off-leash dog facilities and a castle. Weequahic Golf Course, located in Essex County Weequahic Park, was opened in 1915 as a nine-hole course and is the first public golf course in New Jersey. In 1969, it was redesigned to include 18 holes. The land for Hendricks Field Golf Course was deeded to Essex County by Harmon W. Hendricks in 1924 and the golf course opened in 1929. Francis Byrne Golf Course was a private golf club before the County acquired the property in 1978. It is named after Francis Byrne, a West Orange community leader and 15-year Town Commissioner. Other golf facilities located in the Essex County Park System are The First Tee Youth Golf Facility and Learning Center in Weequahic Park and the Essex County Golf Center in Roseland.
# # #