Querbes Park golf pro Nathan Barrow didn’t know what to expect when he showed up for work on the morning of June 16, but he knew it wasn’t going to be good.
He had no idea.
It was a day that may turn out to be the most significant one of his professional life, but that wasn’t what he was thinking that morning.
“I’m not afraid to admit it,” Barrow says. “I shed some tears.”
The golf course had been ravaged by overnight storms that were as fierce and widespread as any the area has seen in decades. But it was just the latest chapter in what was already a tough summer, since Querbes had already started a project to completely re-do all of its greens, due to the multiple winter freezes a few months earlier.
The problem with the greens was something he had prepared for and had a plan in place. But the damage that day from the storms was a different issue entirely.
Nobody could have prepared for what had happened. No instruction manual existed. So Barrow gathered a group of volunteers together and took on the monumental task – not even knowing where it might lead – with a simple mission. “One stick at a time,” he says now. “That’s all we knew to do.”
There have been a lot of sticks picked up in the 16 weeks since then, and a whole lot of sweat to go with it.
“When you lose greens because of a freeze, you know what to do to overcome that,” Barrow says. “But to lose over 40 big trees? June 16 was much more difficult because of the scope of it all.”
Here’s the definition of venerable: accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character. They should scratch that and just replace the definition with these two words: Querbes Park.
Last week, a remarkable re-birth took place as Querbes Park re-opened to the public. Not only did it take two gut punches this year, there was also a third — the relentless heat and drought conditions (not exactly primo grass-growing conditions.)
Even if you don’t know a 3-iron from a bag of tees, you should do yourself a favor and just stand at the entrance to the golf course. No matter if you grew up playing golf there or only show up for the company four-man scramble, it’s beyond remarkable.
Golf courses tend to die slow, torturous deaths. It is never pretty to see. But knowing that Querbes will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year makes this story even more remarkable. It’s as if the golf gods threw everything they had at the course in the heart of Broadmoor, just to see if it truly could make a comeback.
Not only did it come back, it came back as a masterpiece. It has every bit of the charm it has always had, but now it has improved to a level it has never seen before.
It doesn’t take much for Barrow to express his pride in the course.
“It’s really hard to put into words how proud I am,” Barrow says. “It’s overwhelming. I mean, for three months, we were essentially closed.”
Barrow says there were almost 200 hours logged by volunteers just in the first week after the storm. There was a lot of do, but you don’t just give up on a 99-year-old golf course and walk away.
“Yeah, you knew it would be tough, but you also know what the place could be,” Barrow says.
“What’s been really cool is to see the faces of the golfers when they come in off the golf course. Their jaw is on the floor. We still have some things that need to be done, so we’re not finished. I had a guy drop by to see me and said he is all over town, but Querbes Park is the bright spot in our city. It’s a great story to tell.”
One stick at a time.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com