Two three-quarter croquet courts that can be combined to form one full tournament court are being built in front of the clubhouse. A Grand Opening is planned for the courts in advance of the arrival of the Sanderson Farms Championship, to be held at the club from November 3-9.
Dirt began to move on July 7 as The Country Club of Jackson (Miss.) broke ground for its new croquet courts, the club reported. After exploring the possibility of adding croquet for the past year, the club’s Croquet Exploratory Committee, chaired by House and Grounds Chairman Richard McNeel, AIA, sought and gained approval for the project, with private funding provided by CCJ members.
“Many members of the Country Club of Jackson are also members of private clubs throughout the Carolinas and Florida, and croquet has a big presence at a lot of those clubs,” McNeel noted.
The club is constructing two thee-quarter courts that can be combined to form one full USCA Tournament court. Located directly in front of the main 65,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, the project is under the direction of Golf Course Superintendent Stanley Reedy, GCSAA, who is constructing them like a putting green.
The courts will be grassed with TifEagle UltraDwarf Bermuda and maintained at a height of 0.125”, which should provide a fast and firm surface, the club reports
Committee members Mark Fields, Ed Becker and Dr. Mike Campbell hope to hold the Grand Opening event for the new croquet courts in early September, prior to the arrival of the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship, which will be held at the club from November 3-9.
“There is a lot of excitement about the project, and we think we’ll see a broad cross-section of members participating once they realize that this is not your ‘backyard croquet’ of childhood,” says Campbell.
General Manager Patrick Joyce, CCM, agrees. “The Country Club of Jackson is the quintessential full-service private club, with championship golf, tennis, aquatics, state-of-the-art fitness and a full-service, resort-style day spa, not to mention great foodservice,” says Joyce. “The addition of croquet will provide our members yet another amenity and reason to keep the CCJ a part of their lifestyle.”
For the $4 million Sanderson Farms Championship, the fifth stop of the PGA Tour’s 2014-15 wraparound season, two of The Country Club of Jackson’s three nine-hole layouts, Azalea and Dogwood, will be used by the 138 Tour pros. The courses, along with the club’s third nine-hold course, Cypress, were dramatically remodeled in 2008 by former PGA Tour pro John Fought.
“Over the years, modifications had been made to the courses [originally designed by Dick Wilson in 1962], but to the club’s credit they knew they were just stomping out fires and hop-scotching around without a clear vision and plan for a complete renovation,” Fought says. “We were able to give them a blueprint for the future, and six years later they are being rewarded by the PGA Tour with the Sanderson Farms Championship.”
Patrick Joyce says the Country Club of Jackson’s membership of 1,100 families has not only been thrilled with the job Fought did from a playability and aesthetic viewpoint, but also his “open-arm approach” that encouraged member feedback throughout the process.
“John still returns every other year, and our members love coming down to meet with him,” says Joyce. “John checks on the maturity of the course and will work with our golf committee to recommend ongoing changes to improve it. [That’s] not surprising, however, [because] he’s not one of those golf course designers who says, ‘give me the checkbook and get out of the way.’ ”
When the PGA Tour conducted its two-day course evaluation earlier this year, it essentially gave the Azalea and Dogwood layouts a green light, Joyce adds. “They pretty much thought we were ready to go,” he says. “They want us to change some rough heights and fairway lines, but that’s it. It’s a huge testament to the job John did here.”
The course will play at 7,304 yards for the tournament, which will be televised by the Golf Channel. Joyce predicts the move to Jackson will be a big hit with spectators and Tour pros alike.
“For the fans, there are a lot of locations where they can see at least two greens and one tee,” Joyce said. “For the players, they will love the layout, because it’s very compact without a lot of walking from green to tee.”
The tournament’s primary beneficiary will be the Friends of Children’s Hospital.
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