Renovations Continuing At City-Owned Golf Course

Progress continues on re-opening the city-owned Pines golf course in Toccoa.

The nine-hole course on Black Mountain Road has been closed since last summer.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said that the renovations are proceeding right on schedule.

“The existing equipment up there has been all refurbished,” said Morse. “We are in the process of getting some additional equipment needed. The pro shop renovation of the historic building up there is well underway. The golf course is being maintained already. The fairways are starting to grow in.”

Morse said that the city will soon start on perhaps the most major part of the project, the re-building of the course’s greens.

“We use what is called Tiff Eagle Bermuda grass,” said Morse. “We will sprig the greens in early June. About 60 days later, with a lot of love and tenderness and care, they should be ready to play golf.”

Morse said that puts the course on track to open around mid-August as the city intended when it began the renovation process.

Also, the city of Toccoa has hired a Director of Golf to oversee the course.

Morse said Todd Voyles brings a wide range of experience and knowledge to the position.

“He has 14 years experience with the Highland Walk Golf Course,” said Morse. “That is part of Victoria Bryant State Park in Royston. He was assistant superintendent, superintendent, as well as general manager, so he has quite a bit of experience. He was also the Assistant Superintendent for the University of Georgia Golf Course for a couple of years and while he was in college, he worked off and on at our golf course, so he is very familiar with our operation. We are very excited to have him and are looking forward to great things at the golf course.”

One other issue that the city is wrestling with is the state of the course’s cart paths.

The Toccoa City Commission discussed those cart paths at a work session last week.

Morse said that the cart paths are in need of repairs.

“We are going to do this course up so nice and the pro shop is going to be so nice and the cart path is just ‘bumpity-bumpity-bump’ the whole way,” said Morse. “It is an expensive proposition to re-surface it. We got a quote to give us something to go by and its $124,000 to re-surface the entire length.”

Morse and Voyles both said that while it is not absolutely necessary to re-pave the cart paths, not doing so could affect the life of the golf carts and also cause people to drive carts more on the course, which could cause problems.

According to Morse, one of the problems is that it is a unique project that requires a specialized spreader that most paving companies do not have.

City commissioners instructed staff to reach out to more companies and get other bids on the cart path work, as well as look into funding.