Making a pond bigger at the Tarpon Springs Golf Course could ease flooding on nearby Alt. U.S. 19.
By TERRI D. REEVES
Published July 31, 2003
TARPON SPRINGS - At the Tarpon Springs Golf Course, a round of golf should become a little more challenging this fall.
And the surrounding topography, a bit more beautiful.
And a nearby roadway, maybe a little less treacherous in heavy rain.
Maybe.
That's because the city is resculpting a pond on the course, adding a fountain and smoothing out a bumpy fairway.
"Our primary purpose is to beautify the entryway and make it (the course) play a lot better," course manager Chuck Winship said.
If the work ends up alleviating chronic flooding on Alt. U.S. 19, so much the better. But officials say that's not the main goal of the work.
Since the city took ownership of golf course seven years ago, it has been making improvements.
The rolling, 112-acre course is dotted with oaks, palms and cypress. There are roughly 15 acres of water hazards. It is home to otters, a family of foxes, and sandhill cranes.
But the near-century-old course suffers from old age.
The 10th fairway is bumpy and does not drain well. The pond, a few yards from Alt. U.S. 19, fills up easily and contributes to road flooding.
Workers will increase the surface area of the pond by 60 to 70 percent. It will be dug to a depth of 4 to 5 feet.
"This will double the size of the water retention," Winship said.
The enlarged pond likely will offer some relief from flooding for motorists, said city public services administrator Paul Smith.
"It will improve it, but that is not our primary mission," Smith said. "Any major drainage improvement would have to be initiated" by the Florida Department of Transportation.
A fountain will be placed in the center of the pond and an island will be created around two palms.
Winship said plans call for new greens. The first nine holes of the course were built in 1907. In 1927, the second nine were added.
"Normally greens are replaced every 25 to 30 years," he said. "These may have never been replaced."
