Stoneridge Golf Course, just north of Spirit Lake, Idaho, closed last weekend for a yearlong, $2.5 million renovation.


The project includes rebuilding all of the greens on the 18-hole golf course, adding new tee boxes and rebuilding older tee boxes, installing a new irrigation system, adding water features, and reconfiguring some holes, says Dave Estes, Stoneridges head golf professional and general manager. After the work is completed, Stoneridges 11th and 17th holes will share a common green.


Stoneridge, which is located on state Route 41 in Blanchard, Idaho, also will add a 19th hole at the end of the course, Estes says. The extra hole will be available for practice and golf lessons, or for play by golfers for whom 18 holes just isnt enough, he says.


Individual holes on the course will be lengthened, and the entire golf course will be reseeded, he adds.


Overall, the renovations very extensive, he says.


The project was sparked by a change in ownership at Stoneridge, Estes says.


A group of Salt Lake City investors bought the club earlier this month from its previous owner, another Salt Lake City resident, for an undisclosed price, he says.


Stoneridge, which opened in 1968, has been in decline, Estes says. Some years ago, the irrigation system went downhill, and with the decreased effectiveness of the irrigation system weve lost a lot of the quality of golf, he says.


The upgrade also will include clubhouse renovations, but that work wont start until late this year or early next year, so we have fresh paint, so to speak, for our grand reopening in May 2002, Estes says. The details of the clubhouse renovations havent been decided, so a cost estimate for that project is not yet available, he says.


An out-of-town contractor that specializes in golf-course construction likely will head up the course renovation, but subcontractors will be hired locally, he says. Estes says he prefers not to disclose the name of the general contractor until a contract for the work is signed.