As construction begins on the Quail Valley golf property with the renovation of the El Dorado course, the City of Missouri City is working to ensure the impact to the environment is minimized while the course is being renovated to the safest standards.

About 100 to 150 of approximately 4,000 trees on the overall project will be removed to make the golf course greens safer for play. The City will be replanting new trees on the El Dorado course by late 2009, after construction is complete.

While the greens cannot become wider, the removal of several trees will allow the creation of more centered fairways, which will protect residents’ valuable property from errant shots, said golf course architect Jeffrey Blume.

Other trees must be cleared away because as they have matured, their shade has impeded the growth of the Bermuda grass along the course, Blume added. Some trees will be removed because they are adjacent to the golf cart path, which must be demolished and replaced to facilitate safe and efficient drainage on the property.

“We are not going to take out any trees that we do not have to,” Blume said. “But while the corridors around the holes were adequate when the course was first designed nearly 40 years ago, those corridors are too narrow by today’s standards. We would be remiss if we did not try to make this course as safe as possible for the community.”

Most of the trees being removed were planted in the 1970s. Of these, about half of the trees are in fair or poor condition, according to City estimates.

The City is employing several other initiatives in the El Dorado construction project to minimize any impact on the environment:

• The five miles of demolished golf cart path will be recycled by the City and Fort Bend County as material for erosion prevention projects.
• The City is ensuring the amount of dirt being excavated during construction equals the amount being deposited on the course, which will save diesel and emissions and lead to less damage to the property’s soil.
• To prepare the greens for play, grass is being cut so that it can be treated with chemicals just once, instead of enduring multiple applications.

“Any time we have a major construction project, there are some initial disruptions, but every effort is made to follow up with a beautification solution to enhance the final appearance of the property,” said Scott Elmer, the City’s Director of Public Works. “As we work swiftly these next six months, it will become clear that the renovated El Dorado is a world-class golf property of which every resident can be proud.”

El Dorado is one of two 18-hole golf courses that comprise the Quail Valley Golf Course, which the City acquired in June 2008. The property’s other golf course, the La Quinta, reopened on July 4, 2008.

On Nov. 4, 2008, 72 percent of Missouri City voters approved a $17.5 million bond referendum for the Quail Valley Parks Project. The City envisions creating a new community center, green space improvements and other fitness opportunities on the property, in addition to improvements on the two18-hole golf courses on the land.