Short Game Facility & Range Tee

The driving range tee, an area of 25,000 square feet, does not meet the demands of the golfing membership here at MCC.  Expansion is needed but land is at a premium as it is at most old courses where towns and cities have grown up around them.  In these scenarios proper land management is essential so MCC has employed the services of Natural Course Design.  The architects there proposed the following designs (displayed below) which not only increases the size of the range tee to enable golfers to hit from natural grass all season, but also provides an additional practice putting green, short game facility (an excellent area to practice) and the removal and relocation of the maintenance facility that has limited land usage since its establishment.  As with any construction project, it begins with site preparation.

Site Preparation:

To enlarge the range tee and build the short game facility the area behind the current range has to be prepped.  Two residential houses, the storage barn of the maintenance staff and a large amount of trees, brush and compost has to be cleared and removed.  Power and telephone lines will have to be rerouted as well.  After these projects have been completed, construction can begin on the short game and new maintenance facility.  Expanding the range tee and remodeling the range floor has to be a later phase of the project or the danger posed to the grounds crew and golfers on 15 fairway is too great. 

Short Game Facility and Maintenance Buildings:

The current maintenance buildings are insufficient in terms of space needed to hold the 1.4 million dollars worth of equipment that is required to maintain the golf course.  Almost 11,000 square feet is needed while the current buildings can only house 7,000 square feet of equipment.  The current buildings are also old, decrepit and do not meet today’s standards.  As you can see from the proposed plan, the new maintenance facility is out of the way, has over 11,000 square feet and will provide easy access for delivery trucks.  New tree plantings will screen the buildings and surrounds from members and guests.  The current facility lies well within range of golf shots from the practice tee while the proposed facility will house crew and equipment safely.  The proposed short game facility will feature two practice chipping greens surrounded by practice bunkers, a rough chipping area and a large area of fairway and approach that will have undulations so golfers can practice above and below the feet shots.  Another poa annua putting green is planned for the southwest corner of the facility, allowing every short yardage shot to be practiced from one area.  Due to demands of short mowed turf, drainage and irrigation will have to be installed in this area as well.  To protect the short game facility from big hitters on the new range tee, 40 trees will be planted around the perimeter making the area safe for golfers.  So members can access the facility, a proposed 1700-foot cart path will be installed with mound work and 70 large tree plantings lining the path to protect against errant shots from 15 tee and the range tee. 

Range Tee & Range Floor:

Once these phases of the project are completed, and after the MCC Invitational, the current range tee will be closed and construction can begin on the new tee and range floor.  The proposed range tee is 2.5x larger than the current one, increasing the total area to 64,000 square feet.  Members could potentially hit from natural grass the entire golfing season, as opposed to hitting off of artificial mats 2 days out of the week.  More golfers could use the tee at the same time also.  Currently there are only 23 hitting stalls while the proposed tee would have 34. 

The proposed range floor will be designed with target greens at spaced intervals and fairway cuts of turf to better allow golfers to judge their club distance and ball roll.  Because of these additions, the range floor will have to be re-graded and irrigation installed.  These practice greens and fairway will draw shots towards the center of the range, alleviating some of the potential dangers to 8 mile and 15 fairway.  Besides the practice greens and fairways, the surrounding 6 acres will be sodded so the range can open quickly in the spring (if construction on it begins the previous fall). 

It is important to keep in mind that all of the above are proposed ideas and the entire concept is dependent on a membership vote.  Meadowbrook, in the author's not-so-humble opinion, is a premier club in the area and all aspects of it should reflect that, including areas outside of the course itself.  A full view of the proposed plan is available at the following link;   Proposed Range Tee and Short Game Facility PDF.