Hancock taking hands on approach to improvements at LaFortune Park GC
By Ken MacLeod
Reporting to work at 4:30 a.m. and spending his days on a mower or wielding a weed eater may not have been in the job description when Matt Hancock took over as Tulsa County Parks Director in 2024.
Hancock, however, has a “whatever it takes” attitude when it comes to reversing the recent slide in conditions at LaFortune Park Golf Course, the county’s flagship course that was recently named to the Oklahoma Golf Trail.
Replacing bunkers that were constructed in 2002 as part of a huge renovation at LaFortune Park and now are at least five years past their sell date, with liners and drains that no longer function, is the first priority.
The existing bunkers are too numerous, dramatic and steep for co-existing with a normal public course maintenance budget and were conceived and built during a time when the goal was to make LaFortune Park a “country club for a day.” It was a worthy goal popular throughout the country but didn’t account for long-term variations in maintenance commitments all too common at municipal facilities subject to the buffets of political windstorms.
New, smaller, less steep, more natural and more maintenance friendly bunkers will go a long way to restoring the course’s reputation as one of Oklahoma’s best municipal courses.
That issue is going to be resolved, Hancock said. Proposals from golf course architects will be solicited over the next few months and the process for a full renovation will extend into late 2026 or even 2027.
Meanwhile, Hancock said every effort will be made to improve conditions in the existing bunkers, meaning keeping fresh sand in them as they are washed out by the heavy rains the Tulsa area has experienced in 2025.
The bunkers are just one item that has plagued LaFortune Park. Drainage issues with runoff water cascading into the park from multiple directions has overwhelmed the ponds on the back nine, with flooding issues on holes 12, 16 and 18 causing the back nine to be closed multiple times this spring and summer, more than at any point in the course’s history. That is an issue on which it is hoped city and county engineers will collaborate and come up with a solution to move water off the course in a more efficient manner.
Though the flooding has been a drain on time and manpower, it was just one issue among many that caused Hancock to make changes to his staff recently including beginning the search for a new superintendent. As golfers who play there frequently know, the course has also struggled to make timely repairs on green surrounds affected by winter kill and to control weed invasions particularly around greens and between tees and fairways. An area to the right of the par-3 11th green is all mud and has been for most of the past few years.
Since June 9, Hancock has spent the majority of his days reporting before dawn to LaFortune Park to work with the maintenance crew, determining what the issues are and making plans for immediate and long-term improvements.
“I jumped into the middle of it to see the process and to get a better understanding of what it takes,” said Hancock, who has a background more in baseball than golf but knows what good turf conditions are. “I think the issues are about managing your people and having people that know what they’re supposed to do. This has been a self-inflicted issue and I wanted to see it and experience it.”
The issues at LaFortune Park have been exacerbated by the fact that nearly all of its competitors are in excellent condition this summer, including the other Tulsa County owned and operated course South Lakes in Jenks. Word of mouth among golfers is also strong about all the recent improvements at the City of Tulsa courses Page Belcher and Mohawk Park, about Bailey Ranch in Owasso, Battle Creek in Broken Arrow and The Canyons at Blackjack Ridge in Sand Springs.
Play has remained strong at LaFortune Park on both its 18-hole championship course and the lighted par-3 course, but Hancock is not taking anything for granted. Josh Stewart, who operates the two county courses since the passing of previous operator Pat McCrate, said between the two courses they are averaging over 500 rounds on a weekend day.
Hancock welcomes the improved conditions of all of the surrounding courses and wants to see area golfers presented with a raft of great choices.
“My goal here is to get better every day and put out the best product that we can,” he said. “The Board of County Commissioners supports me on this and you’re going to see it happen.”