BEATRICE - A southeast Nebraska golf course is making some major upgrades in an effort to gain new members and players for the 2023 season.

Hidden Acres Golf Course in west Beatrice has hired new staff and made some sizable purchases with hopes of bettering the course and bringing in new players. Tim Fralin is in his second year as president at the course.

“So we hired a new clubhouse manager this year, Chris Sheppard,” Fralin said. “He comes to us with several years of experience, he’s been an avid golfer for many years of his life, so we made a face change inside to bring some new eyes and ears to do what we can to make it better at Hidden Acres.”

Some additional improvements made by the course include a purchase of a $60,000 water pump and a revamp of the clubhouse.

“We did a complete change to the bar area,” Fralin said. “We removed a lot of stuff that was not needed in the clubhouse, so now, you walk in, and it feels about three times bigger than it used to be.”

Like several courses in the area, Hidden Acres remained open by donation throughout the mild winter. Fralin said the reason for this was to give people the opportunity to do what they love and may even bring them back for the summer.

“People want to golf year round when they can, obviously we’re not in an Arizona climate,” Fralin said. “Whenever it’s nice, we want people to come out. We may put some special rules in place, like stay off the greens so they can recover from last year, but we want people to come out whenever they can.”

The major challenge Hidden Acres is facing ahead of the summer is dry conditions. Even with the investment of the new water pump, this is still a challenge. Fralin says the course could use some rain, as the last significant round of precipitation came in mid-March.

“The last couple weeks have been pretty dry for us here in Southeast Nebraska, but we need some rain to help us out,” Fralin said. “A sprinkler isn’t going to solve everything, but some rain from Mother Nature would really help.”

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday leagues are back for the summer at Hidden Acres, as well as a Fourth of July celebration.