Five years ago, a major flood devastated the Harbor Oaks Golf Course in Pine Bluff.
After a long rebuilding process, the course’s pro shop finally reopened Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Rhonda Taylor-Hall, the chief of staff for Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington, spoke on the mayor’s behalf.
“This is the result of hard work and dedication,” she said. “The reopening of the facility’s doors was birthed through the vision of the community, improving the quality of life. It’s a tourist attraction, and it’s also a great way to have health benefits. So, on behalf of the mayor, Shirley Washington, and the City of Pine Bluff, I want to extend gratitude to all that helped contribute to this facility opening.”
The 2019 flood rendered the course unplayable and ruined the pro shop. Air conditioning units were destroyed, and the mold lasted well after the flood waters receded.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The city, which has operated Harbor Oaks since 2022, reopened the course last year without the pro shop. City officials, including Parks and Recreation Director Trudy Redus, managed the course from a temporary shed, jokingly referred to as Redus’ “she-shed,” while the pro shop was being rebuilt.
“It covered the entire building,” Redus said of the flood. “It destroyed the golf course. It destroyed the building, and we had to just totally regroup. So, when they tell you it was a journey, it was a journey. … Here we are now, a year later from opening the golf course, we are opening the pro shop, so we’re excited about that. So now, we’re going to move forward and continue to work on our golf course to bring it back to where it was once before.”
For now, the pro shop maintains a modest stock of merchandise such as balls, hats and gloves. It also offers snacks and drinks, but Redus said this initial reopening is simply the first step.
The next phase is building a café and bar area, which Redus said the golfers are eager to have. She wants the pro shop to offer all the amenities golfers would expect to give them a place to eat and cool off before, during and after a round of golf.
The pro shop will seek feedback from the golfers to determine what else they want from the shop in the future.
Both Taylor-Hall and Redus spoke of the importance of Harbor Oaks to Pine Bluff. Redus said having a public golf course is an important service to the community while also serving as a tourist attraction to bring visitors to town.
“We have a casino in our community now, so we have a lot of people coming to our community,” Redus said. “You can go to the casino, you can go down to the culture district, you come play golf. We want it to be a weekend, not just a come for the day. We want you to come spend money in our community, stay in our hotels, go to our restaurants and just have a good time.”