Greg Hansen's Notebook: This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook.Β
Subscribers can read this week's "Hansen's Notebook" in its entirety in the Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, edition of the Arizona Daily Star (Page C2) β either in print or atΒ Tucson.com/EEdition.Β Or, dig into the Hansen archives atΒ Tucson.com/Hansen.
Greg HansenΒ is the longtime sports columnist for theΒ Arizona Daily StarΒ andΒ Tucson.com.
The long-dreadedΒ (by me and hundreds of Tucson golfers) βRandolph Reimagined" project takes a step forward on Tuesday when a Q&A session with the public will be held at the Therapeutic Rec Center building, 1000 S. Randolph Way, at 5:30 p.m.
The city has already spent $399,000 with a Minnesota firm for design services, although there is no completion date and no schedule. A public-relations firm has also been hired for $40,000. No surprise there.
Project leaders have been careful not to discuss the potential remake of the Dell Urich and Randolph golf courses, and attendant closures. Rather, they say they will βexplore green space opportunities around the golf coursesβ" and βimprove the walking experience along 22nd Street."
A golfer braves the rain and cold from a morning winter storm rolling over Tucson get in a round on Randolph Dell Urich Golf Course, in February.
Is that even necessary?
Yet it seems to be inevitable that Dell Urich holes No. 2 and No. 3 will be impacted and rebuilt by the potential changes. The only positive piece of that news is that the Minnesota firm has been sharp enough to hire Tucson golf architect Ken Kavanaugh as a sub-contractor.
Kavanaugh is theΒ architect who rebuilt Dell Urich in 1996, an A-plus job that turned Dell Urich into the most heavily played course in Southern Arizona behind The Views in Oro Valley. Kavanaugh also redesigned Silverbell Golf Course in 2006, and made significant changes to El Rio Golf Course a few years later.
If anyone can be counted on to protect the integrity of the two golf courses, it is Kavanaugh.
This project wonβt be a quick fix. After a design is completed and approved, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Pima County Flood Control division will have to review and approve everything. The city will then have to decide if it can afford to redesign the two popular golf courses.
If all goes well, a project like this will probably take at least five years, start to finish.
