Area courses upgrade golfing experience

There are few better ways to spend a lazy spring/summer day than on the golf course — and the the Rio Grande Valley has plenty of options for someone looking to put their sticks to use.

In the Upper Valley, Palm View Golf Course in McAllen and Tierra Del Sol Golf Course in Pharr have upgraded their facilities to keep up with the competition and, more importantly, provide a better golf experience for anyone looking to play a round or two of golf.

Palm View Director of Golf Carlos Espinosa said his facility invested approximately $100,000 in improvements in the last two years that includes a variety of new fertilizers for the grounds and a night driving range.

“Our course is probably in the best shape it’s ever been,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa added that Palm View, host of the Jalapeño FUTURES Golf Classic last three years, also boasts an indoor driving range. Equipped with the V1 digital professional golf coaching system, a golfer can have his or her swing analyzed and compared with the strokes of PGA Tour stars Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, among others.

At Tierra Del Sol, the upgrades are easy on the eye. In other words, the powers that be at Tierra Del Sol went for aesthetics to im-prove the look and feel of their course. For anyone who says there aren’t any trees in the Valley he or she should play a round at Tierra Del Sol, where between 60 and 65 trees have been added throughout the course, as have other shrubbery.

“It better defines the course,” said Tierra Del Sol Golf Course Manager Zach Padgett. “We’re just upgrading. If you’re not upgrad-ing, you’re standing still. Most of the golf courses around here are doing what they can to attract more businesses and make it a better experience for Winter Texans and add to the existing beauty we already have.

“We’re just trying to upgrade the golf course and make it more aesthetically pleasing without making it more difficult.”

Palm Valley is doing its best to keep forward momentum as well.

The McAllen public course is proving it is willing to continue to do whatever it takes to make a day of golf in paradise the all-around pleasing experience for which many relocate to this tropical paradise for the winter months.

“I don’t want to say we are the best, but I think that when a customer comes out and you look at the golfing experience, you’re not going to be able to tell much of a difference between Palm View and any other facility in the Valley, and that includes country clubs,” Espinosa said of the public facility where he works. “We’re very proud. We’re our own toughest critics. What we’ve done to improve our course makes us proud and scared at the same time. Now we’ve got to upkeep what we’ve got.”

Golf supplies are available at any number of Upper Valley locations. Golf USA on 1001 S. 10th Street in McAllen, Mulligan’s Golf Superstore at 911 E. Expressway 83 in Pharr and Academy Sports and Outdoors at 716 E. Expressway 83 in McAllen can take care of any equipment or apparel needs.

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Todd Mavreles is a sports reporter for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451.