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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Arlington helps come up with welcome addition to Steidel Trail I've known golf course architect John Steidel for the better part of two decades, first meeting him when he invited a couple of sportswriters to hit tee shots off what is now the No. 8 tee at Canyon Lakes. At the time, in the early 1980s, the finishing touches were being put on the construction of the course and our tee shots were used to help determine where the bunker on the left side of the fairway should be placed. Since then, Steidel has designed several extraordinary golf courses, including Apple Tree in Yakima, Wildhorse near Pendleton and The Highlander at Raven Ridge in East Wenatchee, which opened last August. So when Steidel talked about how excited he was about his latest project, I knew it wouldn't be long before I found myself headed toward Portland to see it. China Creek is a nine-hole course in Arlington, Ore., about 75 miles from the Tri-Cities, and it is just as spectacular as advertised. It was seeded two weeks ago and already the color green is stunning in contrast to the brown bunch grass on the hills surrounding it. It will be ready to play in July 2003 and will be worth the drive. Arlington, population 450, is perhaps best known for being where Johnny Carson's pal Doc Severinsen learned to play the horn. It is also the home of a massive landfill where tons of garbage from Portland, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver arrive daily in sealed trucks or by train. The entire golf project is a testament to cooperation from nearly everyone in the community. Land was donated by Tom and Nancy Proctor. A county grant paid for the initial feasibility studies and design. The grading was largely donated by L&H Grading, a subcontractor to Columbia Ridge Waste Management. Ron Cecil coordinates the volunteer efforts and he and Ruben Wetherell, the mayor, even spent several hours in a water truck. Construction superintendent Casey Creighton and president Darryl Bernhardt of Bernhardt Golf of Beaverton, Ore., have overcome some unique problems. Work on the upper half of the course, where you can catch glimpses of the town's trademark grain elevator and the Columbia River, were easy. The three lowest holes, where they had to battle knee-deep dust, needed millions of gallons of water before they were ready for seed. Voters passed a revenue bond that will be paid off by profits from the course, meaning not a single penny of taxpayer money will be spent to build the course. Ground was broken in November 2000. Steidel calls the uphill, contoured, into-the-wind, 500-yard par-5 sixth hole among his best. "Although we kept the costs down, we didn't cut corners," he said. "What they've done here is remarkable. I have a really special feeling about it." Steidel estimates that from the design stage to construction, it usually costs about $200,000 to complete a new hole. Because of all the community involvement and volunteer work in Arlington, the cost will be less than half of that. There's already talk of building another nine holes and the owner of the land adjacent to the course has said he would be happy to donate it. Steidel has several other projects he's working on, including a proposal to build courses in Connell and Caldwell, Idaho. He's also been hired to expand and deepen the ponds around No. 10 at Sun Willows. Steidel now has designed 18 courses, and his work is so respected there's been talk of forming a Steidel Trail that would include rounds in Kennewick, East Wenatchee, Yakima, Pendleton and Arlington. The trail may also someday include a stop in Richland. He has designed a course called Badger Mountain near Dallas Road, but the project has been stalled for nearly a decade because of financing. The project isn't dead, though. At least two companies have talked about stepping in to help. When it comes to the Steidel Trail, the more stops the better. | ||||||||||
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