Owensboro (Ky.) CC Breaks Ground for New Short Course
Through a $975,000 project, the 101-year-old club is creating “The Drop Zone,” a five-hole, par-3 layout, and will also begin construction on a new pool bar in about a month. “We’re doing this to get some new families in here and make them feel like there’s something here for everyone,” said Dane McLaird, who became the club’s COO/GM at the end of 2019. “The good-old-boys model can’t sustain itself.”
Enthusiasm was running as high as a well-struck wedge shot at 101-year-old Owensboro (Ky.) Country Club on the morning of June 1, during a groundbreaking celebration for a new five-hole, par-3 short course, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reported.
It’s the first phase of what club officials referred to as “the new Owensboro Country Club,” the Messenger-Inquirer reported.
“We’re trying to be more family-centric out here,” said Dane McLaird, who took over as the club’s General Manager and COO in December 2019. “The short course [named The Drop Zone] should be open by the end of September, and we believe it will be a good amenity for us.”
In about a month, the club will begin construction on a new pool bar as well, the Messenger-Inquirer reported.
“Country clubs all over are having to reinvent the wheel,” said McLaird, who had previous club experience in St. Louis. “It’s been a good-old-boys model forever, but that model couldn’t sustain itself. It’s been changing over the last five to 10 years.
“We’re doing this to get some new families in here,” he added. “We want them to be excited about being here as a family—make them feel like there’s something here for everyone.”
The entire project will cost about $975,000, according to McLaird. “That’s a commitment for our membership,” he said, “in a partnership with Independence Bank.”
Owensboro Country Club President Bob McDole believes the additions will greatly enhance the club’s overall appeal, the Messenger-Inquirer reported.
“The short course will be popular with families and kids,” McDole said, “and the pool bar will greatly improve the pool experience.