GOLFERS, particularly in the east end, breathed a sigh of relief this week at the opening of all 18 holes of St. George’s Golf Course.And no one was more happy than assistant manager Greg Maybury.

“There are a lot of golfers in St. George’s who are very happy that the course is now open again — I know they have missed it,” said Maybury yesterday — a day after 30 players headed by Premier Ewart Brown teed off in the St. George’s Legacy Tournament which official re-opened the course.

“The course is really looking beautiful now although there is still some work to be done. But as with all courses upkeep is an on-going business. But I think that the players who come up here will be very happy with what they see.”

The course opened this week almost a year later than originally planned as the renovation ran into a number of difficulties.

One thing that will come before the trustees will be the question of starting up full membership again.

“I know that will be in front of them soon,” said Maybury.

Manager of St. George’s and Port Royal, Bill Pitt, said this week: “The membership (issue) is being discussed. The membership came to a close before the renovations. The board is talking about all possibilities right now and no decisions have been made. People have inquired about it (membership) and it is something on the table to be discussed among the trustees.”

The east end course also has put in salt-resistant paspalum grass on the greens which was desperately needed as many of the holes are fully exposed to the ocean spray.

Pitt said: “It is far more tolerant.”

And the reverse osmosis plant located just below the putting green will also help a great deal. “We can now water the greens and tees as needed,” he said adding, “we have done a lot of work on the traps and have cleaned up the surroundings. The course is now more player-friendly. There is also a new pro shop and new merchandise. The course is looking good although there still is a bit more growing to be done and clean up.”

The past two summers have seen golfers from the east end forced to travel all over the island for a round of golf and the tourists from the cruise ships were also hampered.

The renovation work went through a number of problems. First there was delays with the delivery of grass sprigs and sands from the US. Then the company which supplied the grass sprigs, Rapid Turf of America based in Georgia, did not comply with the growing regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Environment which caused even more delays and threw the timetable out of whack.