Joe Perdue, the co-owner and the golf pro at Hidden Meadows Golf Course in Old Town, said he has always wanted to provide his golfers the opportunity to have an 18-hole experience on his nine-hole layout.
He has the land to build another nine holes, but he doesn’t feel it would be a wise investment.
“There are already enough courses in this area,” said Perdue. “I don’t have deep enough pockets, and I wouldn’t get any return on my investment.
“By the time I got through the permits and everything else to do it the right way, you’re looking at half a million dollars,” he added.
So he has done the next best thing.
Over the past three years, he has added tee boxes on all nine holes so even though golfers will be playing the same nine holes, the holes will take on a different look the second time around because golfers can play from the new tee boxes.
There are a total of four tee boxes on every hole because there also are tee boxes for seniors and for women.
“On the first hole, there is an 80-yard difference between the tee boxes; there is a 100-yard difference on the third hole and, on the second hole, it’s only 20 yards, but the angle is different which makes the hole play different,” Perdue said.
Golfers playing the 18 holes from the new setup will play the front nine from the green tees and the back nine from the white tees. The course measures 6,068 yards.
The seniors layout is 5,458 yards, and golfers will play from the white and gold tees. The women’s setup measures 4,915 yards. It is par 71 for all three of the tee combinations.
Perdue also has retained what he called the legacy course, which is the original course since he and co-owner Rob Olsen bought the course in 2010.
He said that he didn’t want to alienate longtime members by altering the course.
“That’s the last thing I want to do. I don’t want them thinking we took their course away. So they can play from the original setup,” Perdue said.
They conducted an informal survey among 10-15 golfers pertaining to the integration of the new tees.
“We got a lot of great ideas,” said Perdue.
In addition, they intend to add two more complete set of tees for children, and those tee areas will be marked by a round-colored disc in each fairway. They have followed the guidelines from U.S. Kids Golf. The silver tee layout will be 4,064 yards, and the orange tee layout will be 3,000 yards.
“We encourage families to play,” said Perdue. “I’ve always been a huge supporter of junior golf.
“It is such a wonderful sport for kids. It is a great alternative to a contact sport,” he added. “There has been a lot of talk about concussions in football and soccer. You don’t have to worry about head injuries in golf.”
Perdue and Olsen are hoping to open the golf course on Saturday.