Guymon opens bids for Sunset Hills Golf Course pathway project

Bids are open for a new pathway at Sunset Hills Golf Course, another piece of public spending at one of Guymon’s most visible recreation sites. The move comes after the city completed a major irrigation system upgrade there toward the end of 2023, showing that the 160-acre course around Sunset Lake remains an active capital project.

Sunset Hills is open year-round, seven days a week, and city materials describe it as a premier 18-hole course with fully irrigated tee boxes, bent-grass greens, a dedicated putting green, a full-service snack bar, a pro shop and golf carts. A pathway project in a setting like that reaches beyond aesthetics, because it can shape how golfers, carts, walkers and maintenance crews move across the property and how accessible the course feels for older patrons and other visitors.

The timing matters because Sunset Hills is heading into a busy summer stretch. The city posted the June 17 newsletter for the course with information on hole closures and tournaments, and the city’s tournament page says schedules can change based on course conditions and operational needs. Any construction at the site will have to fit around that kind of day-to-day traffic if it is going to avoid disrupting play more than necessary.

Sunset Hills is also more than a casual weekend stop. The 2026 Jim Hitch Memorial Golf Championship was scheduled for May 29-30, with a practice round on May 28, a field size of 100 players and an entry deadline of May 26 at 11:59 a.m. CDT. The Guymon Community Enrichment Foundation and the South Central PGA have tied the event to a tradition that began more than 50 years ago, and organizers describe it as one of the nation’s longest-running junior golf tournaments.

Residents who want to track the project have a formal venue through the Sunset Hills Golf Board, which meets the third Tuesday of every other month at City Hall, 424 N. Main St., and the public is invited to participate. The city also notes that the West Side Pavilion sits right up against hole No. 12, a reminder that the golf course is woven into broader public recreation space in Guymon.

Golf Oklahoma lists Sunset Hills as a par-71 course with yardages of 6,012 from the whites and 6,397 from the blues, and says it opened in 1962. The pathway bid is part of a longer effort to keep the course functional, accessible and ready for the locals, fundraisers and visitors who use it beyond the scorecard.