Steady Course Meadowwood Has Gone From Open Field To Premier Public Golf Course In 10 Years

Jim Kearney documented it all, filming some 15 hours during the birth of MeadowWood Golf Course.

“It was just a flat bluegrass field,” recalls Kearney, 72, who has since edited the tape down to six hours.

That was 10 years ago.

That was when the course operated out of a trailer that doubled as a soda and hot dog stand.

That was when there weren’t any trees on the course and the fancy houses nearby were few. MeadowWood has come a long way since its opening in the summer of 1988.

There’s a clubhouse now. Lots of trees. And the course has gained local favor and national prestige.

MeadowWood earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest in its July 1998 issue, which also ranked Spokane the 33rd best golfing city in the country out of 309 cities with populations of 50,000 or more.

MeadowWood is the highest-rated public course in the region, a half star ahead of Indian Canyon and Hangman Valley.

MeadowWood’s rolling terrain, with open fairways, mounded bunkers and seven lakes, make it an attraction, says head professional Bob Scott.

The rough is 2-1/2-3 inches tall so the ball sometimes disappears. Many courses keep their rough about an inch long, Scott said. The course is challenging from the back tees, but the greens are friendly and make it playable for golfers of all levels.

“A golf course progresses by the way it’s maintained and how you perceive how it plays, if the greens are smooth and there are nice fairways,” Kearney said. “It got to be a four-star rating because it is a good facility, the people there are pleasant to do business with and are very efficient. I think that’s why people want to go to the place. And it doesn’t take you forever to play.”

The first ground was moved in April 1987 on the Liberty Lake land donated by the late Jeslyn Morris Schultz. The property had been owned by the Schultz family since 1937 and was used to grow wheat and alfalfa, then grass seed. The contribution from Schultz accounted for 125 acres of the 147-acre course. The county bought the remaining land.

Kearney, a retired Valley fire marshal who lives in Greenacres, was on about every committee for the course. He served on the golf advisory committee, greens committee and the committee that chose the course architect, Robert Muir Graves of Walnut Creek, Calif. He golfs almost every day, usually at MeadowWood.

“He’s been there every day for 10 years,” said Marshall Farnell, Spokane County’s director of administrative services, budget and finance. “Nobody knows it better than Jim.”

It cost $3.1 million to build MeadowWood. Revenues such as green fees from the par-72, 6,874-yard course are being used to pay off a 20-year bond. For Spokane County residents it costs $16 to play the course; for non-residents, it’s $22. MeadowWood is still a maturing course, say Kearney, Farnell and Scott.

In 30 or 40 years, it will be a different place, Kearney predicts.

“It isn’t grown up yet,” Kearney said. “It’ll get tougher as it gets older. In 30 or 40 years you won’t even recognize it.”

Yet Kearney hardly recognized his decade-old video of the place.

It had been a while since he had viewed the tape. Five or six years ago he showed it at a greenskeeper association seminar in Coeur d’Alene.

Scott didn’t even know the thing existed. He’s been MeadowWood’s pro for two years, after a five-year stint at Liberty Lake Golf Course.

“I’ll have to give it to you some winter day so you can look at it,” Kearney said to Scott. “Don’t look at it in the summer or it will drive you crazy.

“It’s boring. Like any home movie. You’ll see that hole that was out there by 14, you’ll see how they lined the lake.”

But Scott is interested in the course’s construction and growth.

A pro in Spokane since 1985, Scott played MeadowWood in its first week when there weren’t any houses along the course. More than 1,000 houses are estimated to be in the immediate area now.

“I believe MeadowWood is one of the things that attracted people to the area,” Scott said. “We have two championship courses and one executive course, which is one of the factors that makes it a desirable place to live.”

He said he sent out a bulk mailer in 1991 to 1,243 residents with Liberty Lake postal addresses. A similar mailer two years ago went to more than 2,500 people, he said, a sign of the area’s growth.

Mike Kingsley, who has been with county golf courses for 19 years, including 11 years as superintendent or golf manager at MeadowWood, said he is impressed with the progression of the course.

In addition to MeadowWood’s seven lakes, it has 50 bunkers and about 500 trees.

Cart paths run from tee to green on every hole. That’s unusual for a public course, Kingsley said.

Farnell said the county plans to do more path work in the next year, along with planting an additional 500 trees. Another project will be the replacement of tee markers, which currently are made of wood.

Those improvements will only add to the course’s popularity, Kingsley said.

“Everybody loves MeadowWood,” Kingsley said. “You get a great product and great services. It’s unique because it’s a great test for all skill levels.”