Ken Lanning Golf Center
9 hole Golf Course
Aerial view taken December 2015
Visit official Ken Lanning Site for more information.
Fundraising Portal – Click here to make a donation today.
|
602,330 raised as of December 30, 2015!!
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Call this a great venture for an even better cause.
This is, indeed, something special.
There will soon be a new nine holes at Turkey Creek Golf Center designed specifically for the disabled and veterans — including the Wounded Warriors — as well as senior citizens and children.
“This golf course is going to touch a lot of lives,” said Scott Hovis, executive director of the Missouri Golf Association (MGA). “It’s going to give people the opportunity to play golf who’ve never had the opportunity before.
“It’s a chance for them to learn a life sport and it’s something families can go out and enjoy, as well.”
The nine-hole, par 3 course will be handicapped-accessible with ramps, where needed, for easy entrance to tees and greens. There will be cart paths around the entire course for use by both carts and wheelchairs, and will be free of charge to those who qualify.
Groundbreaking will be on June 7 and the course should be open for play this fall. If that’s sounds very early to open a golf course, you’re right. But this course will have Field Turf greens, the same turf used on most football fields these days.
Instead of long grass and a rubber base, like you see at Adkins Stadium and Faurot Field, this will be short grass with a sand base.
“They play just like greens, they’re amazing,” Hovis said. “It will take a shot coming in and stop, they’re very receptive.”
If this concept sounds unique, you’re right again. It’s not only the first of its kind in Missouri (Springfield has a three-hole course like this); it’s the first one in the United States — if not the world.
“I have not seen or heard about one like this, nine holes completely built with Field Turf greens and made handicapped-accessible,” Hovis said.
The original nine at Turkey Creek has lights, but there are no lights planned for this nine, at least for now. The course wasn’t just haphazardly thrown together and sketched on a napkin during Happy Hour; it was designed by golf course architect Todd Clark out of Kansas City.
“We wanted to do it right,” Hovis said.
They’re doing it right and they’re getting some help. The Missouri National Guard will bulldoze and move the dirt to design Clark’s layout — at no cost, other than gas and some other minor expenses.
This is part of the Guard’s Innovate Readiness Training program and will save roughly one-third of the expense from the original $1.5 million cost.
“It gives them the training they need,” Hovis said, “and it certainly will save us a lot of money, as opposed to having a contractor come in and do it for us.”
When not being used for tournaments or other special events, the new nine — which will be located on the northeast portion of the property — will be open to the public and have a “minimal” fee to play.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, five or six years,” Hovis said. “I think it’s a perfect fit to what Turkey Creek already has.”
The course will be owned by the Missouri Junior Golf Foundation, which is part of the MGA. They’ve agreed on a 99-year lease with Turkey Creek owner, Dan Baumgartner.
“We’re very excited about it,” Baumgartner said. “There are a lot of businesses who are starting to find out about it and they’re getting very excited about it, too.”
To be sure, this should be an economic boon for Jefferson City and the area. Because of the unique nature of this handicapped-accessible layout, state events — like the Missouri Special Olympics and Wounded Warrior tournaments — have already signed up.
It could very well draw national interest, as well.
“There’s no loser in this deal,” Baumgartner said. “The City of Jefferson wins, because it’s going to bring a traffic flow we haven’t had this way before. People will be staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, it’s great for the kids … it’s going to build golf.
“Then when you look at those people who are disabled, it’s going to give them another chance in life to go out and play a sport and be competitive and have a lot of fun. I mean, how can you go wrong?”
You can’t. This is a win-win-win for everyone, especially those folks who need — and deserve — it most.
But they could certainly use your help, as the price tag is a hefty one. To make your tax-deductible donation, please go to mogolf.org and see how.
“We have not seen a negative with this project, only positives,” Hovis said. “It’s going to open a lot of doors and have a great economic impact for the city.
“We’d love to have people make donations to help us; it’s such a great cause. We just want the community to learn about what we’re doing … we want to get the word out about how good this is.”
Media Day June 16 Thank you to all the media that came out to cover the story.
Jefferson City News Tribune
Connect Mid Missouri
ABC 17 News