By creating bigger and better all-purpose space, clubs are turning their golf instruction and practice centers into top-notch facilities that attract more members and make important community connections.
Like most renovation projects, designing and implementing plans for golf instructional space has its share of headaches and setbacks. Here’s how some clubs overcame adversity to get the job done.
A partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno helped Somersett Golf & Country Club overcome cost hurdles for its training center; installing turf without a concrete slab created a true short-game space at Highland Golf & Country Club.
Cost initially became a prohibiting factor for Somersett Golf & Country Club when management wanted to construct a training center for members and student golfers. By tapping into local resources, the club opted to partner with the men’s and women’s golf teams from the University of Nevada, Reno, which were in need of an indoor facility for winter practices.
Thanks to financial assistance from the university’s golf team alumni and athletic boosters, the project was able to be completed. “It is truly a shared amenity for our members and the university golf teams,” says Director of Golf Stuart Smith, PGA. “On winter days and evenings, you can find both the men’s and women’s university teams utilizing the arena, staying sharp and improving their skill.”
Creating a short-game space that is ideal for not only putting, but also chipping and pitch shots, might have been a tall order, but the design team at Highland Golf & Country Club in Indianapolis, Ind. was determined to get it done—and done right. Seeking out a turf installer that used unconventional methods was the trick to putting this dream into motion.
“Instead of putting the product over the concrete slab of the building like most indoor surfaces, they left the ground ‘as is’ and then built up the sub-layer from there,” explains Head Golf Professional Bill Pollert, PGA.
The approach involved starting with dirt from the ground under the building and then adding a mixture of different sizes of rocks, more dirt, and sand by hand. Finally, the turf was installed directly on top of the sub floor, allowing for different chip shots.
“When the ball lands on the green, it reacts almost identically as it would on an actual green on the golf course,” Pollert says.
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