The new driving range at West Hartford’s Rockledge Golf Club is on track to open in mid-May.

By Ronni Newton

The wait is nearly over for golfers looking to hit a bucket of balls at West Hartford’s Rockledge Golf Club.

The Rockledge driving range, which was under construction throughout last fall and winter, and into the spring, is nearly complete.

“We expect to get our temporary certificate of occupancy on May 14,” West Hartford Director of Leisure Services & Social Services Helen Rubino-Turco told We-Ha.com. The opening to the public is planned for “mid-May,” she said – either the weekend of the 15th and 16th, or Monday, May 18 at the latest.

The utilities – and the restrooms – are all hooked up now, she said, and the remaining work to be done on the driving range is minor.

The driving range includes Trackman technology, and once it opens will be available for use seven days a week (weather permitting) during regular course hours.

The driving range has been closed for about two years, and the project has taken much longer than initially expected. Construction of the covered driving range, which includes two teaching bays was scheduled to have been completed by the fall of 2024. However, when preliminary work on the project began in 2024, it was discovered that the soil underneath the intended structure was not suitable for construction. The town hired a contractor for excavation and installation of 12 rammed aggregate piers and the foundation for the driving range structure, and needed to complete that part of the project before the other construction could take place.

Eisenhower Park pool

Rubino-Turco also provided an update on the long-planned replacement of the Eisenhower Park pool, which got underway after the pool closed for the 2025 season.

The town hoped to have the Eisenhower Park pool complete so that it could open along with the other three outdoor pools on June 20. “Eisenhower is about three weeks behind schedule,” Rubino-Turco said this past week. As of now the opening is anticipated for mid-July, but the town will open it sooner if at all possible, she said.

The original pool at Eisenhower Park, which was built in 1964, had been closed for two years (2021 and 2022) following the discovery of a significant leak and other structural issues but after temporary repairs – including caulking and masonry work – were made prior to the summer of 2023, several swimming seasons were added to the pool’s useful life.

The town had initially planned to replace the pool and bath house facilities at Eisenhower Park prior to the 2023 season, but an initial response to an RFP issued in 2022 resulted in bids that were $2 million more – nearly double – what had been projected and budgeted.

The first phase of the two-part updating of Eisenhower Park’s pool facility was the renovation of the bath house, and that was completed prior to last summer.

The contractor ran into a delay in the pool construction due to “unsuitable soil,” Rubino-Turco said, which necessitated the relocation of a wall of the mechanical room.

While it doesn’t appear anywhere near complete just by looking at the site, she said the project is now much further along than it appears.

“We’re doing our best to get it done as quickly as possible,” Rubino-Turco said.

When the town’s outdoor pools close for the season in late August – when lifeguards return to college or begin high school sports practices – if they can find enough staff they usually try to keep one pool open for a bit longer. Rubino-Turco said perhaps Eisenhower will be the pool that stays open later into the season this year, to give people more time to enjoy the new facility.

More information about the outdoor pools can be found on the Town of West Hartford website.

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