GALVESTON — For a while, Buddy Herz never thought this day would come.
“I’ve been watching the grass grow for a year,” said the chairman of the Moody Foundation golf committee. “I’ve waited and waited and waited. It was like a baby being born.”
Herz’s wait finally came to an end Monday with the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new redesigned Moody Gardens Golf Course. The course, formerly known as Galveston Municipal, hosted a VIP tournament to kick off the completion of the 16-month, $17 million renovation project.
If the early reviews are any indications, Galveston golfers are in for a treat when playing the course.
“It’s hard to believe this is a public course,” said country music star Clay Walker. “It looks so natural, like it just rose out of the bay. It’s not a Disney World course. It’s like a Torrey Pines of Texas.”
Walker wasn’t the only fan of the course. Galveston Country Club Superintendent Jeff Smelser, who set the Moody Course record with a 72 on Monday, said he was especially impressed with the new grass on the course.
Part of the redesign was to reseed the entire course with paspalum, a grass that could survive the effluent water, which contain some salt, used for irrigation. The Moody course is the first in the continental United States to be seeded with paspalum.
“They did a super job on this,” Smelser said. “It’s hard to find grass that looks this good so soon after it was planted. It looks great, and I’ll definitely be back often to play.”
Steve Yarotsky, the Moody course superintendent, had to keep the course green even in the middle of the recent drought affecting Galveston. Many were commending him on his work in the past year.
“It’s been a long year,” Yarotsky said. “I’m a little tired today, but it’s been great. We’ve gotten all positive feedback so far.”
As for Herz, he held the course record (as promised) after playing the course’s first round on Sunday. He shot a 94, which he said was broken about 20 seconds later.
“This is the most fun experience I’ve ever had,” Herz said. “It’s wonderful playing the course and it’s a wonderful resort.”
