Osage Country Club project is progressing well

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 7/27/22

State Tech President Dr. Strong is pleased with the project at the Osage Country Club, which is on target for completion next spring.

“The clubhouse replacement is a massive project, and …

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Osage Country Club project is progressing well

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State Tech President Dr. Strong is pleased with the project at the Osage Country Club, which is on target for completion next spring.

“The clubhouse replacement is a massive project, and it will be nice to have the project out of the ground,” he told regents at their June meeting.

The Tech Center Complex/Golf Clubhouse is approximately 31,500 square feet. The building is to become the area’s entertainment hub and includes a theater, pro shop, esports lounge, golf simulator area, duckpin bowling area, sports bar including a swim-up bar, full-service kitchen, pool locker room, event center, catering kitchen, bridal suite, and large outdoor entertainment areas. 

Footings and foundation walls are nearly complete. 

During a tour of the course last week, Dr. Strong provided insight into the state of the project.

“Plumbing and electrical are going in now,” said Dr. Strong, pointing to the elevator tower. “That will give you a feel for the size of it will be above that.”

A view of the course from the second-floor deck will show the lake once the dirt work is done and cleared from the fourth green.

“That is the jewel,” said Dr. Strong. “We have a beautiful lake and want to show it off. There will be a nice view of the water, especially when you’re up on that second floor.”

One of the disc golf baskets sits near the lake, and Dr. Strong said the game will be a big draw for students.

Three water hazards are part of the course as well, which makes playing more challenging, but Dr. Strong said players are reporting a good experience on the course.

“They like how we’re maintaining it,” said Dr. Strong.

The lower-level area outside the clubhouse will include fire pits and outdoor games.

A pool with a swim-up bar allows guests to remain in the water while refreshing their drinks, and there is access from the course to the building and bar.

The pool to be constructed by Columbia Pool & Spa will cost about $2 million. There was a change in the project scope, but it kept the project within budgetary constraints.

“The only thing that snuck up on us a little bit is that since we originally put the bid out for the pool almost two years ago, prices have escalated,” said Dr. Strong. “They worked with us on the pool price, and we did some value engineering to get the price of the pool back down.”

Dr. Strong explained that not much was cut out from the scope of the project, but a deck for the clubhouse that was to be part of the pool construction will be handled instead by Professional Contractors and Engineers (PCE). 

“We really had two different people doing some of the same work,” said Dr. Strong, noting that adding the deck to PCE’s project did not impact the cost. “By eliminating the scope from the pool company, we were able to reduce costs.”

A new pump house and pool storage building is included to replace the existing pump house on site. 

On the west side of the course is the Commercial Turf and Grounds Center (CTG), an approximately 10,000 square-foot pre-engineered single-story educational building with two large classrooms, a shop area, offices, breakroom, storage, and mechanical rooms. 

Dr. Strong said that interior doors to classrooms and other areas used by the college would be locked, but the main doors would remain open to access the driving range.

“We’re probably going to run close to what the activity center runs or what most restaurants run,” he said, explaining that on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, depending on demand, the building will be open when the golf course opens, around 7 a.m., and then probably close at 9 p.m.

Dr. Strong said the center will probably run until midnight on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. “It will have brackets for cameras and lights, so it’ll be lit up,” he added. “You’ll be able to play until midnight. The driving range will be unattended at midnight, but if somebody wants to go golf and keep putting money in the machine, they may be able to play.”

Guests will be able to access the machine with a member card pre-loaded with balls, or you download the phone app and show it to the camera, or you can use a token or cash. 

A raised outdoor platform with 12 tee boxes and lounge areas will allow plenty of golfers to utilize the range at once.

Each tee box will have golf clubs. “We’ll have a driver, probably a five iron, and then probably like a five wood and a short iron,” said Dr. Strong. “Most people will be able to find something; of course, if people want to bring in their own club, that’s no problem.”

An app will allow hitters to track their progress with multiple single-player games and even virtual contests against others from anywhere through Top Range Golf.

“The nice thing about it is that you play these games like pinball,” said Dr. Strong. “You hit the ball out there, and you may be a terrible golfer, but if you happen to hit it in the right place, the screen goes nuts, and you get all these points. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re really a good golfer or not once you have that technology. Even if you’re a terrible golfer or can barely hit the ball, you’re still gonna have a great time.”

One benefit of the range is what it offers State Tech students. “A lot of the pressure on the course is coming from Tech kids because they play free,” said Dr. Strong. “They’ll be able to come over here; they’d rather just whack balls anyway.”

A berm at the northern edge of the range is 280 yards from the tee box. Dr. Strong said a marker will be placed every 50 yards, with greens placed along the way.

One would need to hit the ball over 300 yards to clear the berm. “Driving range golf balls are known to be a little bit dead anyway, so I don’t think many people will lose the ball back there,” Dr. Strong noted.

While mini-golf is not an option at this time, Dr. Strong said it might be in the future. “We’ve had a lot of a lot of students ask for mini-golf,” he added. “I’d be shocked five years from now if we don’t have it. You can only do so many things at once.”

State Tech has entered a partnership with the Missouri Soybean Association. “We haven’t really formally announced this, but it’s a good deal,” said Dr. Strong. “They gave us a nice gift to purchase soy-based turf, so we’re going through a company called SYNLawn.”

Rubber tees will be available for use on the turf, and synthetic targets will be placed for golfers to aim at on the range.

Dr. Strong said he believes the synthetic turf will last for a long time, at least 10 years. “I think it’ll hold up pretty well,” he added. “You’ve got to replace that every now and then, so there’s definitely ongoing costs.”

From late August until May, the CTG Center will serve as the temporary clubhouse while the new building is under construction.

“You’ll check in here, the carts will be here, and you can get a drink here,” said Dr. Strong.

The current temporary clubhouse will be removed, and the area will be turned into parking spaces for overflow.

North of the new CTG Building, the driving range is taking shape, with ryegrass planted in one direction because it grows quickly and bluegrass in the other.

“We don’t have a whole lot of time to get grass growing,” said Dr. Strong. “It usually takes a couple of months, but we don’t have a couple of months.”

To the east of the building will be practice greens and short driving ranges with mesh nets separating the range from the course.

A new greenhouse will be constructed south of the new CTG Center. 

Substantial completion of the CTG Center is set for Aug. 12, and the overall project is slated to be completed by May 2023.