HARTFORD - It might be late in the season but the golfing is good at Goodwin Park. The golf course looks like a million bucks, and that only makes sense.
After years of neglect and mismanagement, the 110-year-old golf course is back in the swing of things, thanks to a million-dollar renovation project that is close to completion. Greens that were once brown glow again and missing tee boxes have been replaced.
"The golf course was in very rough shape," said Kevin Cloud, the head pro at Goodwin. "It's very playable now and the greens are spectacular."
The city of Hartford, which owns the South End golf course that straddles the Wethersfield line, has teamed up with the Connecticut Section of the PGA and course superintendents, brothers Chris and Matt Guilmette, to help shape the course and it's future.
An even bigger project is happening a drive away in Hartford's North End at the Keney Park course, which is now closed, and undergoing a $6 million facelift. The Keney course is set to re-open in May.
Getting the Goodwin course back to its former glory has involved using the proper equipment, according to Tom Baptist, the superintendent of Hartford's Public Works Department. New mowers have been brought in and an effective irrigation system has helped with new sand and soil.
"It is getting there. We still have a little ways to go but we will get there," Baptist said. "This is something I know the community is proud of."
Hitting the links with his father Craig, Eric McCurdy, a returning player to Goodwin, split the first fairway and remarked about the renaissance at the course.
"It was atrocious. The course greens were missing and it was like a swamp," McCurdy said. "But it looks amazing today."
The Goodwin Park Course remains open for play, for more information click here.