This week would typically mark the beginning of the season for Forest Hills Golf Course in La Crosse.
The city-owned course may have to delay that start a little, depending on the severity of the winter storm this week.
Then there’s the matter of the gaping hole in the golf course — not a water hazard. It’s whatever you want to call what’s between No. 12 and No. 15. The large bog hole resembles more of an extension of the La Crosse River marsh.
It, however, is going to get fixed quickly, after a decision by the city’s Board of Public works Monday.
The board approved an emergency declaration to get damage fixed that’s still leftover from last summer’s storms — a repair that will cost $38,500.
Money for the repair will come from insurance and FEMA. Course manager Keith Stoll told the board they’ve already spent much of the $122,000 insurance money received after the storms.
And, Stoll added there’s a reason he didn’t want to do a quick fix of the hole immediately after last summer’s rains.
“We didn’t just want to fill a hole because that’s not going to solve a problem,” Stoll said. “So, the goal was, ‘Let’s wait and make sure we have the funding available so that we can, not only, just fill the hole, but we can put the drainage and fix it so it’s not a bog and it’s not a long-term problem.’”
That fix is just a portion of the mountains of repairs undertaken since storms last July. And, Stoll says, there’s still more to go.