Taylors' Par 3 Golf Course

We call ourselves grass farmers. We plant it, feed it, cut it, water it, try to understand it and treat it with a lot of love. All this happens in cycles or seasons and requires some skill but mostly it thrives because we love grass and it wouldn't be a golf course without it.

Our first mower was this Ford 8N/9N tractor with a bushhog. The mowing process was slow enough to enjoy watching the dragonflies overhead catching bugs. Eventually it was replaced by a Dixie Chopper, the fastest mower in the USA. Now the swallows join the dragonflies.

The greens mower and finishing mowers were pretty easy to learn to use. But hydraulic hoses would burst from time to time. If you listen to the mower and you're losing power? It means you have a problem. Who knew that you can take that hose off a mower, take it to someone in town and have them make a new one while you wait?!

The Toro Parkmaster 7 was here when we took possession. She was nicknamed the Master Blaster. That old gal had no brakes, no power steering and no effective hydraulic system to lay down all the reel mowers. She got stuck often in wet grass and was a beast to drive. Eventually she went to rehab. (Someone bought her.) It almost brought a tear to our eyes. Almost.

Gaining knowledge and skills over these years have been beneficial and a lot of fun. However, remembering these stories and our encounters with experts, suppliers, and customers over the years have brought the most enjoyment. Gosh we could write a book!

This has been another 25th year tribute. Thank you for each moment shared.

When we bought the course Vince said our first priority was to improve the tees and greens. Weeds and moles had to go away. This first tee box picture is an example of the early days w**d invasion. As for moles, Vince and I have different approaches for eradication, but this information is only available on a need-to-know basis.

In order to have electric cart rental and storage for mowers we had to clean out the barn and trailer. It was packed to the ceiling with junk. Then we hired an Amish construction firm to grow our barn and pour a concrete floor. Yep, the barn had a dirt floor.

There was a manual irrigation system in place. The copper "key sprinklers" had to be inserted and turned before the water would come on. Then you had to run or get soaking wet.

Our "Yoda", a/k/a Mark oversaw the trench digging, irrigation hosing, electrical connection, and automated irrigation box installation. We bought all the parts used from a golf course that was installing a new system. Mark still keeps all the boxes in working order and Vince slowly installed new sprinkler heads, a few at a time.

Finally, the bridge was seriously failing. An engineer and architect proposal was outrageously expensive. Through family and friend resources Denny K. came up with the idea (one night in his dreams) to build a suspension bridge over the existing bridge so it was considered a rehab rather than a new build. And his ingenuity paid off. It's still suspending...

In 2001 Vince and I were golfing at Stonecrest. He asked if I wanted to buy a golf course. That night after golf we drove to Bloomington Par 3 just a few miles from our home and checked it out.

It was a goat course, without the goats. It was also a ghost course that needed to be revived. The course was originally built in 1974.

Of course we bought it. August 17, 2001, was our date of incorporation for Taylors' Par 3. This is our 25th year as owners.

I'm going to throw on here some pictures beginning today to share some of the excitement over the years. Starting with...

JJ and Les, our first customers. I called them our advisors and friends. JJ always had a suggestion about what we needed to be doing. He also gave me two hand painted Armenian eggs his wife collected. They still adorn our golf ball collection. Les always told me that JJ was his working friend from Otis Elevator. But he usually turned off his hearing aids while golfing so he could enjoy his golf round, if you know what I mean.

Kind, loving men with hearts of gold who have come and passed on but will always be our first golf customers!

July 4th we will be open 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. On Sunday July 5th we will be open 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Have a safe holiday celebrating our 250th year of independence!

In case you were curious, 250th year is also our Semiquincentennial, Sestercentennial and/or Quartermillenial. But 250th is easier.

Thank you, The Taylors and Crew

July 4th we will be open 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Sunday July 5th we will be open 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Have a safe holiday celebrating our 250th year of independence!

In case you were curious, 250th year is also our Semiquincentennial, Sestercentennial and Quartermillenial. But 250 is easier.

Thank you, The Taylors and Crew

Happy Friday! If you have a day off today, come out and play some golf! The course is beautiful and the skies are clear.

Good morning! It’s Thursday June 18th. There were storms last night but there are no limitations to playing golf at Taylors today. We are open and we are NOT flooded. See you soon!

The course is in great shape! Yes, we had a lot of rain recently and had some “bad hair days”, as they say, but this course rebounds from her travails and perks up like a blossom in the sunshine.

A week may not sound quick, but if you look back on time as it flies, a week is not long at all.

Come to Taylor’s and golf this weekend.