SPORT OF GOLF CONTINUES TO GROW IN REGION; AREA COURSES IMPROVE

Though the number of rounds being played is static nationally, the sport of golf is growing in the Southeast Missouri region. Ground is expected to be broken this summer on a new Nicklaus-designed 27-hole complex in Cape Girardeau, while a new lighted nine-hole course intended for families is being contemplated in Jackson.

Some of the region's established golf courses are beginning a new year after completing extensive renovations that coincided with the heavy toll last year's hard freeze and frosty spring mornings took on Bermuda grass, an acknowledgment that golf courses must keep improving to draw their share of the region's increasingly knowledgeable pool of golfers.

The Presswick Group is developing the 27-hole golf course and residential complex on separate 770-acre and 525-acre parcels of land on Bloomfield Road and Route W, respectively. Besides golf, the project also will consist of condominiums, villas, tennis courts, a swimming pool, riding stables and facilities for other outdoor activities.

Partner Cord Dombrowski says the group conducted in-depth studies of the market before deciding to proceed with the project and hiring Nicklaus Design, one of the foremost golf architecture companies in the nation. He estimates that 130,000-140,000 rounds of golf currently are being played in the county each year.

Plans for the golf course should be completed within 45 days, Dombrowski says, with grading and construction of dams for water retention to begin in June or July followed by construction of streets by the end of the year. The course will begin taking shape next spring and is expected to be ready to play by 2002.

Ronald and Bobby Clark want to build a nine-hole lighted course on a parcel on Highway 61 North in Jackson. Their plan is to build a course where families and children can learn to play without the pressure of playing in front of seasoned golfers and where working people can play at night.

They hope to keep the course open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on weekends.

The Clarks were unsuccessful in having the residentially-zoned land rezoned for commercial use still have the option to proceed with the project under a special use permit the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended be approved. The Jackson Board of Aldermen would have to give final approval.

Bent Creek Golf Course will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. The course is coming off a year when it replaced its Bermuda fairways and tee boxes with zoysia, considered the best grass to hit a golf ball off of in the Midwest. Mike Litzelfelner, one of the owners, says the expensive turf was acquired as an investment in the course's long-term future.

"We like to think of ourselves as one of the top public facilities in the state. It is necessary to keep that station."

This year, the course's practice area is undergoing a complete renovation. The range will have new tees and an on-site ball dispenser. It is expected to be ready for use by the beginning of summer.

More people may not be playing golf nationally, but people are paying more to play than they once did, Litzelfelner says. "The economy in general has given people extra cash, and they feel they can afford to spend their free time playing golf."

But he is disappointed that the youth movement led by Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia on the PGA tour hasn't inspired more young people to learn the game. "I would think a lot of moms and dads would be pushing their kids out the door to get golf clubs in their hands," he said.

The course does sponsor an annual junior tournament. "There may not be more junior golfers, but they are taking the time to get lessons and training," he said.

"Golf has become more competitive."

The St. Louis golfers who once claimed a substantial number of Bent Creek's tee times are less in evidence now because of an explosion of high-end public courses in St. Louis. But local golfers now expect more from a golf course, Litzelfelner said.

"The local golfer now appreciates the quality of golf course we have here. ... As long as we can keep it affordable I think we will always be successful."

The Cape Girardeau Country Club introduced a hardier strain of Bermuda into six of its struggling fairways last year, an experiment that was successful, pro Jack Connell says.

"We're really in good shape," he said.

The club has just contracted with St. Louis golf course architect Stan Gentry to produce a master plan for the course. The plan will provide the club with a long-term approach toward continually modernizing and upgrading the facility.

Connell said the club has seen the same growth spurt most other clubs are experiencing.

"Our play has increased and membership has increased even though we have had work on the golf course."

At the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course in Cape Girardeau, golf coordinator Sabrina Tate says she's sure another fairway will need to be replaced this year as number 10 was last year.

Plans this year are to reconstruct and enlarge the practice putting green and to install a practice net to allow golfers to warm up before beginning their round.

The course will sponsor two tournaments this year, a men's individual and a mixed scramble, with proceeds going to fix up the clubhouse.

Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson may be experiencing an effect of the boom in golf facilities. Through most of the '90s, the club kept a list of people waiting to become members. Now the club is conducting a membership drive.

Jim Walker, secretary of the corporation that owns Kimbeland, said the popularity of Bent Creek and the arrival of the Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston and Eagle Lake Golf Course in Farmington all have had an effect on Kimbeland. "It gives people another place to play," he said.

The rising cost of playing golf may be another factor, Walker said. "The dues structure was really reasonable but dues have gone up over the past few years."

Walker said the membership drive is going well. "We're having good feedback."

Kimbeland resodded some Bermuda fairways with zoysia last year and plans to do some more this year, Walker said.

The Cape LaCroix Golf Center on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau opened a new nine-hole par 3 course last August. Plans are to reopen the course April 1 with leagues every night of the week, including leagues for men, women, couples and juniors. The course also will sponsor a monthly shootout, in which the 10 people with the lowest scores will vie for $5,000-$10,000 in prize money.

Partner John Schmoll said another water hazard and another bunker or two will be added to the course this year.

The Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston is four years old this year and claims "the best greens in Missouri," according to pro Jeff Ketterman. "Lambert's isn't the only place in Southeast Missouri you can get a good roll."

The club previously hosted a tournament sponsored by the Hooters Tour but that contract has expired. Ketterman said he plans to replace the Hooters tournament with the first annual Heartland Classic, a 36-hole invitational that will bring together all the club champions from the region. That tournament is scheduled for June 9-11.

The club also runs a junior program and a beginners ladies league in the summer and last year raised more than $4,000 for needy families through its Christmas Charity Scramble.