Cedar Ridge GC swings in the spring

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Play a round of golf and you might get a birdie or two.

Play a round of golf at Cedar Ridge and you might get an eagle … or see an eagle … or two.

“It’s right over there,” Cedar Ridge manager Heidi Pavlovich said while pointing across the Cedar River. “There are two of them in there, and from what I heard, there are also two eggs.”

Looking across from the course’s seventh tee, you can easily see it perched high in the trees overlooking the river’s bank like a strategically placed fortress built of branches, leaves and perhaps mortar.

“Sometimes you could see them,” Pavlovich said of the nest’s resident bald eagles, “but it looks like they built the walls of their nest a little higher.

“You’ll still them flying above the course every once in awhile.”

Pavlovich not only was hoping to see the bald eagles, but golfers as well during Cedar Ridge’s official opening day on Friday.

“It’s still a little early,” Pavlovich said a little more than an hour after CRGC’s 2016 season started at 10 a.m. “It’s a beautiful day, so we might get some at noon.”

Pavlovich has been manager at the 18-hole public course since Leif Erickson purchased Cedar Ridge in 2004.

“This place has a lot of history, and I’m still learning it from some of the old timers who still come here,” Pavlovich said of Cedar Ridge, which was built in 1964 and served as a posh private club.

“But when the Oliver factory closed down,” Pavlovich said of the farm machinery company, “a lot of people around here lost their jobs and this place took a major hit in memberships.”

The course was in danger of being abandoned before Erickson purchased it.

“He helped turn it back around,” said Pavlovich, who was one of Erickson’s first hires.

“More like she hired herself,” said Erickson, who remains optimistic about golf in Charles City as well as the city itself.

“Last year was one of our best years,” Erickson said. “The economy around here has been rejuvenated, so there’s reason for optimism this spring.”

Like Pavlovich, Erickson loves golf. He just doesn’t play it that often anymore.

“It’s hard to recreate where you work,” he said. “If I was out here playing, I might see something that needs some attention, so I’d likely be thinking about that for the rest of the round.

“I take a lot of pride in this place, so I’m always looking to make things better.”

Course superintendent Chris Bruns had been working to get the course ready for its opener.

“The snow cover we had was not a bad thing,” Bruns said. “It keeps the ground insulated … we didn’t have much frost damage.

“As you can see here, we have a nice color. Some springs everything is brown. The color usually comes later, but it’s nice to see it out now.”

The only 18-hole course in Charles City is still taking memberships.

“We refer to them as season passes,” Pavlovich said. “It’s not like a country club membership. We even have family passes.”

In addition to Tuesday Night 2-Man Matchplay and Tuesday Morning-Afternoon 2-Man Senior Matchplay leagues, Cedar Ridge holds six fundraiser tournaments during the year, and is the home course for the Charles City High School boys and girls golf teams.

“They’ll be out here for their first practice (on March 21),” Pavlovich said. “They’ll usually bring their rakes and help us clear the course of any debris still remaining.”

Cedar Ridge Golf Course

2147 Underwood Ave.

Charles City

641-228-6465

cedarridgecharlescity@gmail.com.