Jaycee golf

For regular golfers at the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course in Cape Girardeau, having the course closed for months meant a disruption in routine and having to find tee times on other courses in the area. But after being closed a year for a $1 million makeover, the Jaycee course reopened recently, and most everyone says the improvements are great.

Among the changes: bentgrass greens replaced Bermuda grass, the irrigation system was revamped, five holes were rerouted, greens were reshaped and enlarged and some trees were removed.

The renovations were funded by proceeds from a parks and recreation/storm water sales tax approved by voters in 2009, the same tax that also funded the newly opened Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center on North Kingshighway next to the Osage Community Centre.

This area's golf courses have long been recognized for their outstanding designs and amenities. The Jaycee course, which was a project of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees, opened as nine-hole course in 1955. The course was expanded to 18 regulation holes in 1974 and was later donated to the city.

The improvements to the Jaycee course were worth the wait, local golfers say, and Cape Girardeau has yet another fine parks and recreation facility.