Back in July, the Great Bend Recreation Commission announced its intention to move forward with plans for a new public golf course at the site of the former Stone Ridge Country Club at 1438 24th St. Dozens of interested individuals came to a presentation Thursday at Dry Lake Brewing, to view an artist’s rendering of what it might look like and ask questions.
“It’s not locked in stone,” GBRC Enrichment & Activity Director Garet Fitzpatrick said. The concept design is by architect Quitno Golf.
Executive Director Chris Umphres agreed While there was a lot of interest shown Thursday, the Rec has to secure private funding before it can proceed, he said. He’s hoping people will consider making a Giving Tuesday donation, because those gifts are eligible for some matching funds.
The GBRC Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit capable of accepting donations on behalf of the golf course and pickleball project.
One of the first questions people ask is, who’s paying for this? The course will be donated to the Rec Commission, Umphres said. Private donors and sponsorships will fund the reopening and capital needs in the construction phase. GBRC will manage and have an operating budget similar to other public courses. Profits from the course will go back into course improvements.
If funding is available, there are plans are for a construction phase during 2026 and becoming fully operational in 2027.
“I’m optimistic,” he said, about securing funding to do some work this year and in the spring, starting with tree removal. “You really can’t do any course work until the trees are gone.”
Future course highlights
Some of the highlights shared Thursday are plans for a new clubhouse (3,500-4,500 square feet) overlooking the 18th green, with a view of the 1st and 10th tees, sitting in close proximity to the existing cart barn structure. The new parking area will accommodate up to 175 cars. A 120-by-70-foot pickleball building will house four courts or a 180-by-70 building will house six courts.
The 18-hole layout uses the primary corridors of the existing course, with a few alterations. The front nine and back nine yardage will be more evenly distributed. There will be a good variety of par 3 lengths, none of which are exceedingly long.
Hole 1 has been moved west to accommodate a larger range, extending 300+ yards with up to 20 stations. Additional practice elements include a 12,000 square foot putting green and separate short game area situated near the clubhouse.
Questions answered Thursday included:
• Will it be open to the public? Yes. There will be daily fees and yearly membership rates competitive with surrounding markets.
• What is the plan for water usage? Right now, the plan is to share the water needs between well water and city water.
• Traffic flow? The idea is to create a new entrance off of U.S. 281. This will create the best use of space and safer play for all the golfers.
• What will green fees be? They will be competitive to surrounding courses. There will be rates for juniors, students, adults, seniors, and super seniors. Daily and yearly rates will be set.
• How many tournaments will there be? Will there be open play for the public on weekends? The plan is to make sure there are openings during as many weekends as possible so the public can use the course, but tournaments will be a large part of making a course work.
• What are some of the redesigned features? Larger driving range, new sprinklers, new or updated greens, pickleball courts, new entrance, new clubhouse, new course design, safer play and yardage to meet College through Junior Play requirements.
• What companies are being used? Kemper Sports consulting and management services (kempersports.com) and Quitno Golf Architect, (quitnogolf.com). Todd Quitno is well known for course design.
There were also questions about the timeline. For the winter 2025/spring 2026, site prep and early work will include demolishing the existing clubhouse and preparing the site for a modular facility; tree removal and trimming as needed; cleaning the prepping the maintenance building for future use; and initial turf spraying for weed/undesirable grass control.
Argonomic improvements could take place in the summer and fall of 2026, along with core infrastructure work in the spring, summer and fall. The plan is to reopen the golf course in the spring of 2027.
