Pharr golf course manager reports recovery work after flooding; staff expect gradual reopening

Will Brovsky, the golf course manager, told the Pharr Golf Course Advisory Board on Tuesday that heavy rain and flooding in March forced four consecutive closure days and produced a net loss for February, but staff have begun recovery work and expect gradual reopening of affected holes.

Brovsky said the course recorded $86,451.71 in revenues for February and $104,384.58 in expenditures, producing a monthly loss of $37,932.87. He attributed higher expenditures in part to a card-fleet charge that cleared in February ($25,006.72 listed under “other equipment rentals”) and to one-time operating purchases. Brovsky said that after adjusting for timing of payments and one-time items, the course would have been about $90,000 in expenditures for the month and remains about $43,627.95 ahead of last year’s total P&L for the same point in the season.

The board heard details about the course recovery from flooding and the grounds crew’s work. Brovsky said staff fertilized fairways beginning March 10 and performed aerification before heavy rain arrived, and that some fairways are “greening up.” He described roping off recovering fairways, creating walk-through “doorways” so players can reach balls, and manual hand-watering plans if weather permits.

Arturo Lopez, superintendent, described turf repairs and cultural practices under way. Lopez said staff have performed aerification on multiple holes and applied fertilizer and that cleanup work includes removing debris, mud and dead grass left by the floods. Lopez said Public Works assisted with concrete to help control erosion around ponds and canals adjacent to the course.

Brovsky and Lopez showed photographs taken the prior Saturday illustrating high water levels that covered parts of fairways and approached greens. Brovsky credited grounds staff and outside help for pumping and cleanup; he said some holes will remain cart-path-only while others are playable and that the second fairway — heavily impacted by canal and pond flooding — will likely take about a month to return to normal play depending on weather.

Board members asked about mosquitoes and pumping equipment. Brovsky said Public Works had previously sprayed the golf course in October and that the department could be contacted again for spraying; he cautioned that Public Works is busy but indicated the city has done fogging at sundown in the past. On the pump replacement, Brovsky and Lopez summarized the vendor schedule: approval drawings are estimated at four to six weeks from the deposit, with construction estimated at 16 to 18 weeks after drawings — a total timeline the manager said could be close to six months from approval to installation.

Brovsky told the board that several tournaments were postponed and rescheduled because of the closures, including a scholarship tournament pushed back to the Saturday of Easter week and a 60-player junior event moved a few weeks later. He also addressed membership trends when a board member asked whether Canadian golfers were returning; Brovsky said some long-time visitors have chosen not to return for personal and insurance-cost reasons.

The advisory board approved the written status reports and financial report during the meeting. Brovsky said his goal is to operate the course near break-even and that he expects to report on recovery progress at future meetings.

Less critical details: Brovsky noted the course has new programmable golf carts that can be set to cart-path-only mode, and that the crew acquired about 1.5 miles of rope to protect recovering turf. He also thanked the grounds crew and ARP associates who assisted with pumping and cleanup.