Golfers Return to Riverwood | Video

Alexander Gorney | 7/2/2012

The privilege of just taking the clubs out to the golf course for a round is a joy for many, but for Tony Zimmerman and his friend Seth Kalberer, this golf outing was a little more special than ones before.

"it`s very special that we get to golf here after it being flooded last year," Kalberer said.

The two snagged the 12:00 tee time at Riverwood, which happened to be the first tee time at the course in more than a year.

"It`s a really good experience. Just really impressed with that a good job they done recovering the course after all the damage that had happened to it," Zimmerman said.

Thanks in large part to the mild winter, groundskeepers were able to start the course recovery effort a lot earlier in the year.

"It was pretty massive and they`ve done an excellent job getting the course in shape. They had to remove 300 trees they`ve got a number they still have to remove. They`ve had to replace all the sand bunkers. They had to redo some of the cart paths," said Riverwood Starter Roger Peet.

Golfers flock to Riverwood because the trees block the wind. The course is considered one of the best to play in North Dakota. And golfers like Zimmerman are happy to play here, even if its only half of the course.

"Its beautiful. I didn`t expect it to look this good. Very well taken care of. Grew up playing here and its just nice to bring someone out and enjoy it like when I was younger."

Parts of the course, particularly holes four, five, and six remain a work in progress. But groundskeepers plan to have the full 18 ready for next golf season.

Management is requiring that carts stay on the cart path.

To book a tee time at Riverwood golf course just go to bisparks.org.

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