Stambaugh course friends seeking funds for mower

By David Skolnick | June 27, 2012 at 12:03a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

After finishing an improvement project, including work to the exterior of the Henry Stambaugh Golf Course’s clubhouse, next on the list at the city-owned facility is the purchase of a rough-cut lawn mower or two.

The Friends of Stambaugh Golf Course, an organization created by a group of golfers to raise money for improvements to the course, wants to raise about $20,000 this year to pay a portion of the mower expense, said John Russo, the group’s director.

“The course is a great asset for the city,” Russo said. “It’s part of neighborhood development on the North Side of the city.”

It would cost about $20,000 for a used rough-cut mower with the hope that the city would provide $20,000 for a second used mower, Russo said.

But David Boos, Stambaugh’s course manager, who works closely with the organization, said he’d prefer one new rough-cut mower, which he estimates would cost about $47,000.

The course uses two small riding lawn movers for the 80-acre facility, Boos said.

“They work well, but I need a big mower meant for golf courses,” he said.

The organization obtained a $3,000 grant last year from the Youngstown Foundation that, along with $9,500 from the city, paid for improvement work to the course’s clubhouse. The work was finished last month.

It was the first major repair project to the clubhouse since it was built 59 years ago.

The work included replacing gutters and downspouts, repairing window sashes and trim, caulking cracks and painting the building. Also, new tables, chairs and a concession area went inside the clubhouse.

The Friends of Stambaugh also raised about $7,000 with about $2,000 of it used for other work at the course. That included new sand for bunkers, refurbishing the 12-foot-high mesh metal fence on the course’s 7th hole and providing new netting for it, new yard markers for the course, and building new ladies tee boxes on the 7th and 9th holes.

Those wanting to contribute to the Friends of Stambaugh Golf Course can do so at the PNC Bank at Union Square, 2533 Belmont Ave., Youngstown 44505.