Spokane County golf courses to open; improvements planned for Liberty Lake, MeadowWood courses

Inland Northwest golfers can start retrieving their clubs from winter storage.

Spokane County Parks, Recreation and Golf intends to open its three county-owned courses in the coming weeks, following a mild winter that beckoned many longtime golfers to the links earlier than usual. There are plans underway for two of the courses that are expected to improve the experience for visitors, said department director Doug Chase.

Liberty Lake and MeadowWood golf courses will open to the public March 11, but golfers can get some practice in at MeadowWood’s driving range starting Monday. The driving range at Liberty Lake Golf Course will remain closed until June, at the earliest.

The driving range and practice green at Latah Creek Golf Course, along U.S. Highway 195, will open March 13, followed by a full course opening March 20.

The online reservation system for all courses will be available in early March, according to a news release from the county. Season passes are already on sale. Last December, Spokane County Commissioners raised prices for all available passes, from nine-hole twilight rounds to all-access season passes, as previously reported by The Spokesman-Review.

In a February briefing meeting with the Commission, Chase said December’s wind storm snapped five of the 30-foot wooden poles that support the netting that lines three sides of the Liberty Lake driving range. Past wind storms have done similar damage, prompting Chase and the county to opt for taller, more resilient metal replacements. The side of the range lining Sprague Avenue will be 70 feet tall, while the interior side will be raised to 50 feet.

The project is expected to cost around $1 million, and should be completed by June, the peak of golf season, Chase said.

“There’s been several events over the last couple of decades, where it’s taken trees down on the course, and so we really want to learn from that,” Chase said. “And we’re optimistic we’re going to be able to accomplish this with budgets that we have and in a way that will last, unlike the prior version.”

The county may also break ground this fall on a new maintenance facility, serving both Liberty Lake and MeadowWood, expected to cost around $4 million. Chase said the facility built in the 1960s is too small, showing its age and is out of compliance when it comes to state and federal disability access standards, fuel storage, stormwater and fire codes.

“We’ve stretched the life of it,” Chase said. “I think the staff is very excited to have more habitable facilities that will certainly be at current standards. A lot of compliance-related changes have happened over the last 40, 50 years.”

Project manager and landscape architect Julia Culp said the county is seeking approval from the state to complete the work through an alternative delivery model, which would allow for construction while some portions of the design are still being worked out. The method can expedite otherwise lengthy government projects and allow for the maintenance crew to use the facility while a new one is being constructed.

“If that all goes according to plan, there’s a possibility we could do some of the site work or utility work this fall to allow us a quick jump in the following spring,” Culp said.

Chase said the new maintenance facility will allow staff to be more efficient and expedite mechanical repairs that the current facility is not equipped for, which means continued “top notch” golfing at the county’s neighboring Liberty Lake and MeadowWood courses.

“Like anything, when you have the right tools for the job, it allows for more efficient and effective outcomes,” Chase said.