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Covering Monmouth, Dallas, Independence and Falls City since 1868 |
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| Growth continues at Cross Creek Golf Course |
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| Owner Tim Tarpley is a human version of the Energizer Bunny. |
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 | | Photo by Sam Scott | | Golfers are faced with a daunting challenge on the No. 10 tee at Cross Creek, with out of bounds to the left and water to the right. |
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By Sam Scott
POLK COUNTY -- Cross Creek Golf Course owner Tim Tarpley always is working on something.
The layout he and wife Kathee established alongside Highway 22 in 1998 has grown and developed bit by bit, part by part.
It started with nine holes and evolved into a full, 18-hole course in 2005 with the addition of the new back nine. Trees, water and sand traps have been added to the landscape, and the clubhouse was moved from near the highway to the other side of the property, on a hill overlooking the No. 9 green.
But it is one of the latest developments that golfers are perhaps most happy about. Some newly purchased equipment has helped make the greens faster and truer. And, for most golfers, the greens can't be too fast or too true.
"We bought a bunch of new equipment last year that's really helping our greens," Tim Tarpley said. "We have this special type of roller you hardly ever see at public courses. It smooths out the green and speeds them up without compacting the soil.
"We're rolling them three times a week and top-dressing them weekly. They're really shaping up well this year. The golfers say they're putting faster and a lot, lot truer. I'm surprised they noticed the change as quickly as they did." | | Photo by Sam Scott | | Here's the view from the No. 8 tee at Cross Creek, looking back to the north toward the clubhouse. |
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Cross Creek's sand traps are next on Tarpley's to-do list.
"Starting next week, we're re-doing all the sand traps," he said. "Every couple of three years you have to go through and take out all the old sand, put in new sand and fix up the drainage. We'll probably add a sand trap or two somewhere along the way."
Other upcoming projects include a new 50-foot-by-130-foot maintenance facility and some remodeling on the clubhouse.
The new back nine has developed nicely but still has not caught up to the older front nine.
"The back nine still is maturing," Tarpley said. "It just takes a while for the fairways to sod up and get established. They're coming, but you still can see a difference when you look."
While not yet fully matured, the nine additional holes has helped to strengthen and broaden Cross Creek's appeal to area golfers. | | | The layout at Cross Creek Golf Course features four par-3s, four par-5s and 10 par-4s. |
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"I'd say our play definitely is up, which is partly from us being a little more flexible," Tarpley said. "If you have just nine holes and hold a tournament, it might close you down otherwise. That doesn't happen so much with 18 holes. It does seem like people will come from a little farther away for an 18-hole course."
Cross Creek plays to a par of 72. It measures from 5,111 yards from the red tees to 6,884 yards to the blue tees.
The toughest hole at Cross Creek likely is the 438-yard par-4 No. 10 hole. Golfers are faced with a narrow landing area off the tee with out of bounds to the left and water to the right.
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