Altering the course

Mollie Thola is one of those rare people hard-wired for enthusiasm, so it comes as no surprise that the golf pro is excited about the changes under construction at the city of Liberty Lake’s nine-hole course.

About the only thing that hasn’t been capitalized on is the name in the course’s logo, which reads: trailhead at Liberty Lake.

Since 2002, when the city bought Valley View Golf Course, improvements have come annually.

“We’re doing everything we can do to take advantage of what we have here,” Thola said. “We have a limited amount of space and we want to take advantage of what we have – a diamond in the rough. What we really want is for this to be the premier practice facility in the area.”

Thola and course superintendent Ron Knudsen Jr., have made a strong case for that distinction. The changes, which include the addition of a 10th hole by the time the season opens next year, up the ante.

“Ron and I have a great relationship,” Thola said. “He and his crew do a wonderful job and we’re always talking about ways we can improve the course and take better advantage of what we have here.

“When Ron came back from spring break, he came in and said, ‘What do you think about adding three new bunkers to No. 8’ Those are the things we can do to make the course play better.”

The driving range has turned into a popular magnet for golfers nearly year-round.

“Since we put in the covered mats on the range, we’ve been able to stay open much longer,” Thola said. “We were able to open up the driving range Feb. 27 this year. We picked up golf balls in the snow – no problem. The course itself opened on March 3. We’re able to open up much earlier than anyone else.”

That’s made Trailhead invaluable to the four Spokane Valley high schools, helping to salvage this year’s spring season when inclement weather delayed the opening of most area courses.

“We had them all out here,” Thola said. “Especially West Valley – they usually play at Hangman and they couldn’t get on there until late in the year.”

This year’s slate of improvements has Thola more excited than usual.

For starters, the first tee is moving to the west.

The new tee box is a few feet lower in elevation, but more importantly, it tweaks the angle so that errant tee-shots are less likely to find traffic.

“You’ll be set up right there on the right-hand side and can aim left,” Thola said. “Because you’re a little lower, the trees will be more of a break for a bad slice.”

The new No. 1 tee box will likely be unveiled in midsummer. High winds and nasty weather wreaked havoc on the first round of hydroseeding.

“It just didn’t take,” Thola said. “We did another area at the same time and it took hold just fine.”

Speeding around the property in a utility cart Thola points out other recent improvements and highlights more in the offing.

New tee boxes already are open for the fourth, eighth and ninth holes.

A new second hole already has been mapped out and construction there will begin later this summer.

The planned 10th hole will be an optional hole to help relieve the course’s biggest logjam – a backup that typically bottlenecks at No. 5 and No. 6.

“Those are both par 3s and play really slows down there,” Thola said. “If we put an optional hole in there players can play there, and tie back in with the rest of the course. The price will be the same for 10 holes as it is for nine.”

That’s all part of the course’s niche.

Players can usually get onto the course quickly and, on most days, play nine holes in under two hours.

“This is a great place to go and work on your game,” Thola said. “You need all the clubs in your bag. We have water that comes into play on two holes. We had a couple pretty boring holes, so we added sand and made them a much better challenge.

“If play is slow in front of you, go ahead and hit a second ball. Or a third. Or a fourth. We want golfers to work on their game here.”

Thola said the course will continue to offer family rates on Sunday evenings.

“We get a lot of families out on Sundays,” she said. “Everyone can play for $5 after 5 p.m.”

And summer golf lessons are underway – an especially popular summer series for youngsters.

“We have a lot of young kids come out and get their start here,” Thola said. “I have a lot of young kids who started out with summer lessons with me and are now part of our really strong junior novice group. They’re playing junior golf and you’re starting to see them show up in their high school golf teams.”