Golf Course Adds $1.7 Million, 3.4 Mile-Long Wall To Protect From Elements

It’s not one of the Eight Wonders of the World, but it’s a pretty sizable and expensive wall going up in the desert near El Paso International Airport. It’s actually for the nearby Butterfield Trail Golf Course.

At 3.4 miles long, it’s not quite the Great Wall of China, but the wall is going up as a form of defense.

“When we get those massive dust storms that blow through El Paso, that blow sand that comes out of the desert … comes onto the golf course, onto the fairways and the greens,” said Val D’Souza, Butterfield’s general manager.

D’Souza said that sand can sometimes clog up the grass, denying it oxygen.

Since the course is on the airport’s property, the airport is footing the bill for the wall at a cost of $1.7 million

An assistant director at El Paso International Airport said the money is coming out of the Airport Enterprise Fund, which is money generated at the airport and not taxpaper money.

Some El Pasoans wonder whether the money could be better spent.

“I don’t know, but I would hope they would save the money for expansion in the future,” one woman said. Another woman said, “They could use it for the airport itself.”

The airport said it’s protecting its investment. Butterfield Trail, designed by pro golfer Tom Fazio, cost about $9.5 million to build. The golf course opened to the public in May 2007.

D’Souza said the wall wasn’t exactly a planned expense.

“When you open a golf course and Mother Nature starts to do what she’ll do … the course will evolve, all courses evolve over time,” D’Souza said.