CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sunday will be the final day for golfers to play at Coonskin Park before a much-anticipated new golf course is built.
Officials with the Kanawha County Commission, Kanawha County Parks and Recreation and golfers gathered at Coonskin Park on Friday to commemorate the groundbreaking of the start of construction of the new nine-hole course.
“It’ll feature greens from the golden era of golf architecture. Holes will be styled after things at St. Andres and Europe. Some of those people built courses all over the United States,” Jeff Hutchinson, Executive Director of Parks and Rec for Kanawha County told 580-WCHS at the ceremony.
The Kanawha County Commission provided more than $1.2 million in American Rescue Plans funds for the project. Once construction is complete, Coonskin will feature a completely redesigned nine-hole par three course with a distinct design that lends itself to fast, fun play, officials said.
Hutchinson said work will begin the second week of August and will start with the moving of trees, including ‘problem trees’ in sections where trees have fallen and damaged the current course. Construction crews will then work to fill those holes so there’s no deterioration of stubs that create sinkholes.
“We’re taking out some problem trees. We’re taking them down so we don’t have the damage and cleanup. They’ll go in and re-sculpture, all the green complexes will be changed and the tees will change,” Hutchinson said.
He added that the course should be back open next spring. The other nine holes of this course were destroyed in the June 2016 floods.
Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler stated, “Today we start work on a major project to totally redo the Coonskin golf course. When we are finished, we will have an exciting course that is fun and challenging for players of all ages and skill levels.”