Chapter 8: It Had to Happen Sometime

By Wednesday afternoon we had registered the business and I officially hired Catherine Walston and Walter Ferguson as my first two employees. I filed the appropriate papers with the state, showing Catherine what was required. I would pay both Catherine and Scotty the same salary for the time being, since there wouldn't be a lot going on in the very beginning. Scotty would be the busiest as I looked for various suppliers and contractors. We both wanted to interview the candidates to make sure they were suitable for our plans.

Catherine tracked down the young graduate student architect and brought him out to the club. We took him around in a cart to survey the course and give him my thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses. He was very attentive and a good listener, which always counted for a lot with me. He also came prepared. It turned out that Google Earth had a high resolution satellite photo of the district and he had enlarged and printed out the area of the golf course as a reference. It made our discussions so much easier.

I liked Brett Milbank almost immediately. He didn't have preconceived notions of what was needed and he asked pertinent questions. Did we want to look at an "environmentally friendly" option? What kind of a budget did we have to work with? Was the layout fixed in our minds the way it was? Was there an adequate water supply for the course? How difficult did we want to make it?

We spent several hours with the young man and when we were finished I told him he was hired and we would work out the details of the new design as a group. I agreed to his fee, recognizing that it was considerably less than if we had hired an established firm. Nonetheless, I was confident we wouldn't be shortchanged.

We were lucky that water wasn't a problem. There was an underground spring on the property and with some irrigation work, we could supply the course with all the water it needed. That was a real break. The spring had been there all along but no one had thought to use it as the source of water for both the hazards and the course maintenance. Perhaps they didn't have the money to install the irrigation and drainage systems to take advantage of it.

Brett brought in a proposed layout featuring the changes we had discussed and presented it to us in Power Point format. He had separated each hole and listed the changes beside the image of the hole. He had downloaded the Google Earth image and isolated each hole, then enhanced it to reflect the proposed changes in a different color. It was an excellent way to compare the 'now' with the future. Scotty, Catherine and I agreed that it was a great presentation and congratulated him. His name would be prominent as the development's architect when we reopened.

Oh, yes. We closed the course, notifying everyone we could think of that it was under construction and not scheduled to open until mid 2011. Scotty thought that was optimistic but I would do whatever was necessary to try and stick to that time frame.

Once the course layout was confirmed, we hired a contractor to begin the physical changes with Brett and Scotty on the site, making sure they did things the way we wanted. Scotty was in his element. Catherine was right. He was enthused and grew younger by the day as we began the tedious work of rebuilding the course.

I think Catherine and I must have walked the course at least three or four times a week just to see what was going on. Ponds had been drained, cleaned and in some cases expanded, left ready for the irrigation pipe and the aeration system that would prevent algae and other problems, including mosquitoes. The traps had been either edged or expanded, waiting for sand when the time was right. Greens were aerated, sprayed with a fungicide to eliminate the blight that had attacked several of them. Three of the greens would be completely replaced.

Catherine had entered a tournament in Seattle in mid July. She and I had discussed it and decided it was a good choice and would get us away from Bending Willows for a while. She had been keeping herself sharp with occasional games at Ghost Creek and other courses, but there was no substitute for competition. I had forced myself to find the time to play several games with her, again promising myself that I wouldn't let this new job consume me.

We would be playing in Kent, at the Meridian Valley Club. It was a private, long-established club right in the heart of the residential area of Kent on the south edge of Seattle. It was a three hour drive from Portland so it fit our criteria. Catherine sent in her entry form and fee and waited for a confirmation. She would have almost a month to prepare.

In some respects we were ahead of schedule at the course. But I had yet to decide on the buildings that would replace the missing clubhouse, the pro shop, and the other buildings for maintenance and equipment. There were several options, including modular buildings, original design or renovate existing buildings to our needs. I pretty much knew what I wanted but it would require some negotiations.

I invited Delores Sandoval out to view our progress. I had a hunch she was going to be a major player in the Multnomah County Council for some time and I wanted her to be onside with what we were doing. In the back of my mind was the longer term possibility of acquiring more land and building another eighteen holes of a completely different kind. I would need to buy farm land and have it zoned for a course. I was sure that would not be easy. But that was well into the future, if at all.

"I see a lot of progress, Terry. You must be excited about seeing this course becoming a real showcase."

"I am, Delores. I've got some things to resolve yet but, as everyone says, make the course playable first and then look after the amenities. That's where I'm having some difficulty deciding."

"I guessed there was a reason for inviting me out here today," she smiled.

"Guilty. I'm trying to decide what to do about the clubhouse and pro shop. I haven't found the ideal solution yet and I need something for next spring to at least allow us to open. How upset would you be if I suggested portables for those facilities until something more permanent was built?"

"I'll be honest, Terry. I hate them. They end up looking shabby and cheap. I understand your problem but I'd be reluctant to approve portables unless I had some guarantees that they would be temporary ... with a time limit."

"Well, we're thinking along the same lines. What about a maximum of two years. That would allow me to get a design approved and built to replace them."

"How about eighteen months," she said seriously. "They would be gone by New Years, 2012."

"You drive a hard bargain, Delores. Let me talk to my people and see if it's possible to meet that deadline. If not, then we'll have to go in a different direction."

"How different?" she asked.

"Probably modular buildings. They wouldn't fit the surroundings as well, but they wouldn't be portables."

"I'm not thrilled about that either. I understand your problem, Terry. But I want this place to be something I can show to the other council members as an example of high quality land use. It can be a cornerstone for further development as well."

"Okay, I understand and I agree in principle. It's really a question of getting the building done that quickly. I'll get back to you when I've talked to my architect and a couple of builders. Thank you for coming out today."

"Thank you for inviting me, Terry. I like what I see and I'm confident we can work something out that will suit both our needs."

We shook hands and I walked back to the old pro shop that Catherine and I were now sharing with Scotty.

"Well, what did she say?" Catherine asked as I walked in.

"Pretty much what I expected. She hates portables as much as I do. She'll go along with us, but only for eighteen months. She wants them gone by the end of next year. That makes our time lines more compressed. I've told her I'd talk to you and the appropriate people and get back to her. She wants to support us but we need to get our act together on this clubhouse and pro shop pronto. Did Brett get ahold of the guy he thought could help us?"

"Aye, Lad. He'll be here tomorrow. Full of piss and vinegar he is," Scotty chuckled.

"Okay, let's see what we get from that. I've got a couple of contractors willing to look at the plans when they are ready. With the construction market so soft right now, I don't expect any trouble getting competitive bids for what would be a decent sized job."

After hours of discussion, we decided we wanted a large clubhouse of about five thousand square feet on the main floor, with full kitchen, a large dining area, offices for ourselves, a lounge with a bar, and a storage area. Changing rooms, lockers, showers and storage would be downstairs with both an inside and outside entrance. The pro shop would be fifteen hundred square feet, with space for member club storage, excess inventory and a good display area for products to sell. Any excess storage requirements could use the lower floor of the clubhouse.

Additional sheds would be required for carts, maintenance and supplies. We had laid out the areas available on a map of the property. We would have to take out four poplar trees, two on each side of the road into the property to allow a new access road and entry to new parking areas. The passage between the trees was too narrow, so we needed to build a road on each side of the trees for cars to safely pass each other.

At this point, only a month and a half after my arrival in Portland, I was very surprised at just how much had happened. I'd purchased a derelict golf course, arranged financing, hired a landscape architect and contractor and I was in the middle of designing several buildings, at least conceptually. I know I was used to operating a break-neck speed in my previous life, but this was crazy considering I'd promised myself I wouldn't take up my old life again.

As a team, Catherine, Scotty, Brett and I worked well together. We didn't always agree but we always found consensus at some point, each understanding the viewpoint of the others.

We were moving along well and ahead of my mental time line at this stage and I was happy to let the crews have the weekend off. We weren't behind schedule and no overtime helped keep the budget in line. The budget, of course, was a moving target. There were a lot of variables to consider and we hadn't got very far in the process yet. The buildings would be a major consideration and I had no idea what they would cost because they weren't yet designed.

Catherine and I had surprised Scotty with the rental of an apartment in Gresham, convincing him that an executive of a golf course couldn't be found living in a trailer. It just wasn't up to standard. He reluctantly agreed and we helped him move his things into the furnished two bedroom unit, only minutes from the course. By then he was driving the new pickup in green with our new logo and lettering in gold on each door. It was the first visible sign that Bending Willows was on its way back. Secretly, I think he was pleased as punch. His old truck was left on the site as a maintenance service vehicle when required. The trailer would be moved, cleaned and used later for a security person.

I had rented a townhouse in Gresham from July 1^st, and my furniture arrived from Chicago a week later. I anticipated staying in the fairly new unit for a while until I could decide what and where I wanted as a permanent residence. In the meantime, the three bedroom, two storey unit would be more than adequate for me.

Some things happen in a kind of sneaky way. As close as Catherine and I had been working, I hadn't been thinking about her in any other way than as a partner and friend. I'm not sure if I was suppressing any sexual feelings for her or just not paying attention. For her part, she had become very comfortable around me and not the least bit shy. I guess I just wasn't getting the message.

I'd been working on a construction time line for the clubhouse and pro shop. I had a design in mind but it was the cosmetic exterior that I wasn't sure of. I guess after a while I had leaned back to take a few minutes to relax and close my eyes. The next thing I knew, there was a pair of arms around my shoulders and a warm breath in my ear.

"Oh ... I must have dozed off," I yawned.

"Sorry to wake you but it's almost eleven o'clock. Don't you think you should go home now?" Catherine said softly, almost whispering.

"What's the rush? I kind of like this feeling I'm getting."

"Oh, what kind of feeling is that," she teased gently.

"A very nice, feminine feeling from a very lovely woman."

"Why, Mr. Monahan. You've just said something quite nice regarding me about something other than my golf game."

"I apologize, Ms. Walston, if I have failed to mention just how beautiful you are and how much I am attracted to you."

"Apology accepted. But you have a lot of catching up to do."