By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–Preparations are under way to start the season at the Longshore Golf Course, although the precise date of the first tee-off is not yet known.

“The only one who knows is Mother Nature,” said Parks and Recreation Director Erik Barbieri. The opening is planned for late March or early April. But crews are cleaning the course from debris left by harsh winter weather, and an especially bad year for Canada geese droppings.

“The practice green is just covered – absolutely covered – and a lot of the course, too,” Barbieri told the Golf Advisory Committee at a recent Zoom meeting. He added that the efforts will include not only cleaning up after the nuisance fowl, but also finding ways to discourage the geese from frequenting Westport parks at all.

“We’re going to redouble our efforts on that and really do our best to get them to go somewhere else and not come back,” he said.

At the same time, changes the department is bringing to improve golfers’ experiences require some planning and other projects. The department is planning  a modern-but-temporary charging area for the new GPS-guided golf carts that golfers will use this year, seeking vendors to provide snacks and refreshments and completing the restoration of seven tee-boxes that had taken a beating over the years, one with a tree root breaking through the grass.

The new golf carts feature safety programming that, for instance, slows them down in the parking area. They also allow golfers to order ahead from the concession stand. The new vendor at the concessions will be permitted to serve beer, wine and other hard beverages in a change the Board of Selectmen approved last month. 

“We (have) a lot of changes coming up for the better for the golf course this year in terms of our customer service and hopefully the ease of doing our jobs,” Barbieri said.

Here are updates on the changes:

New reservation system

The course has switched to a new, streamlined online reservation system, foreUp, from Chelsea. Barbieri said the new system is used by neighboring courses including the H. Smith Richardson Golf Course in Fairfield and Oak Hills Park Golf Course in Norwalk.

Charging stations needed

New charging stations are needed because the golf maintenance building, where previous carts were charged, was not built for a large number of pieces of equipment to be plugged in at once, Barbieri said. The system is strained and could damage the new carts, he said.

Tee box rehab

The tee box reconstruction, which targeted seven tee-boxes when it began last year, will continue into the season after a winter in which harsh weather caused delays.

“There will be temporary tees in some locations,” Barbieri said. The project has to pause when it rains and when the ground is wet after a downpour. Even when the sod is put in place, it must be left alone until the roots grow strong.

“Sometimes you’ve got to pay the price for something better,” Barbieri said in the meeting. “So we’ll give them time to get nice and settled.”

The restoration varies by hole, but has included removing or pruning trees planted when the course was created in the mid-1920s. The project also included planting creeping bent grass, which is hardier and requires less water and chemicals to maintain than the previous grass variety.

Vendor selection

Three potential vendors attended a walkthrough on Wednesday of the three concession stands in the parks to be served, including Cliff’s Place, the “halfway house” near the 10^th tee, Barbieri said. The walkthrough was mandatory for any firm that wants to bid on the project by the March 23 deadline.

“All of the ones that showed up asked the right questions and had the right experience,” Barbieri said.

New pro shop and clubhouse needed

Barbieri said the course needs a new pro-shop and clubhouse. The building is afflicted with mold and water damage, and “who the heck knows what’s living underneath it and dying,” he said.

That project is not planned for this year. 

“We’re at the start of that process,” he said. But he told the committee that the work is necessary.

“I would never in a million years want to throw good money after bad and try to fix that building,” he said. “It’s not anything to the standard of what Westport should be doing. We have a great facility and we should have a welcoming office and clubhouse that’s respectable.”

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}