Par Three Course Plans To Tee Off This Fall

Thu., June 1, 2000

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com (509) 459-5446

At a glance it may look like the Painted Hills Golf Course is swelling into an 18-hole links.

But Mike Senske, president of Painted Hills, said the nine new holes going in will make up an entirely new course called the Chester Creek Par-Three Golf Course. It is scheduled to open this fall.

“There just isn’t enough room to have a decent 18-hole course on this side of the road,” Senske said. “We want to offer a completely separate experience.”

Senske said most of the construction on the Chester Creek course is finished. It is located on about eight acres directly south of the 9-hole Painted Hills course and north of Thorpe Road.

Grass seed was expected to be planted by mid-June, but things have been behind schedule since a storm dumped about 2 inches of rain on the course several weeks ago. The links will open by mid-September if the course has enough time to mature. Otherwise, golfing at Chester Creek will have to wait until next season.

When it’s finished, Chester Creek will be 840 yards long. The distance from tee box to green will range from 50 to 130 yards.

“Our goal with building a separate course is to give the beginning golfer … the opportunity to become introduced to golf in a totally unintimidating environment,” Senske said.

Senske designed the course after interviewing 10 new golfers at random. Many, especially women, said they were intimidated by regulation courses even after they had taken lessons. Senske also used the results of a survey of 300 homes he commissioned from Robinson Research of Spokane when developing the course.

He said national statistics indicate the golfing industry is losing up to 1.5 million new golfers a year because they decide to give up the game.

The new Chester Creek Course also will offer advanced golfers the opportunity to work on their short game. The course is designed to offer a practice shot every 10 yards from 50 yards to 130 yards.

“It really takes care of a wide variety - from the beginning, novice golfer to the more experienced golfer,” Senske said.

Chester Creek will have its own starter shack during the busier times of the year, mid-April through mid-September. The rest of the season, golfers can check in at the main clubhouse at the Painted Hills Golf Course.

Also, angle parking for the course is planned along Thorpe Road, which is also known as 45th Avenue.

Both golf courses are in the Chester Creek floodplain, which had annually drenched Painted Hills until last year. Spokane County dredged a one-mile section of the creek and that work has prevented any subsequent flooding on the course.

However, Senske said elevated greens and tee boxes will help protect the Chester Creek course from any flooding damage.

The Painted Hills Golf Course is a 3,238-yard course. The longest hole is 528 yards, and the shortest hole is 145 yards.

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