Black Mountain running at full speed after sabotage

Black Mountain Golf and Country Club in Henderson is back and stronger than ever after a disgruntled employee allegedly put herbicide in the fertilizer, damaging 27 holes, the putting and chipping greens, and the nursery on the course in late January before being discovered in early March.

Club General Manager and Director of Golf L. Keith Josey discovered discoloration in the greens only to find, through extensive testing, that the course had been sabotaged just as the club was preparing for its peak season.

"Upon initially discovering the discoloration of the grass, my first thought that it was a misapplication of iron," explained Josey, a 20-year veteran golf pro. "Soil samples were sent to a laboratory in New York and the pathology report came back positive for herbicide.

"The only explanation was that we had been sabotaged. I have a mutual friend who is a student at Colorado State University. He came out and took pictures when we found the damage. He took pictures and soil samples back to CSU for further study."

Some six months later, Black Mountain is better than ever after new grass was planted into the greens. However, the damages resulted in more than $400,000 in lost revenue.

"Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing that can happen to any golf course," Josey said. "Proper precautions should be met by all superintendents to make certain that it does not happen to them, too. This has been a nightmare for us, but our staff pulled together so that we could recover."

Josey said he was particularly thankful for the many club members who stood by the course during some very difficult times. Black Mountain is considered a huge part of the Southern Nevada golf scene considering that it was opened in 1957.

"We have many members who have been with Black Mountain for decades," Josey said. "They stood by us and in many cases, continued to play the course even when it was in very bad shape.

"In addition, we could not have recovered without the help of Black Mountain Superintendent John Davis. I brought him here from the Gulf Coast in March and we had no idea what was transpiring with the course at the time. John stuck with us and we're very thankful for his dedication"

Black Mountain President Chuck England praised the staff for its quick response to what had been a terrible situation.

"I'm grateful to our staff and the members who stuck with us through this horrible period of time," said England, who has been a member of Black Mountain for 31 years.

Black Mountain Golf and Country Club is situated at 500 Greenway Road. Further information can be found by calling 702-565-7933 or by visiting www.golfblackmountain.com.