FLOOD FORCES CAPE COUNTRY CLUB TO CONSIDER CHANGES

From the 1993 flood sprang a need for the Cape Girardeau Country Club to make plans to give the No. 17 green a facelift and take a hard look at the future.

What has transpired since then is a lengthy process to acquire land and consider rerouting the front nine holes. "It's been a long haul since the fall of 1993, but we are evaluating all of our options and should know what the plan will be pretty soon," said J. Fred Waltz, former country club president and current board member.

The country club purchased six-plus acres of land from Union Electric in February and smaller parcels of land from individual owners. The club purchased a total of 10 acres. Waltz said the club's board of governors is looking at other land adjacent to the club.

"The adjustment of the boundary lines is one of the options, but it's not the only one," Waltz said. "We've got enough room to reroute the course on the existing land owned by the country club, but we want to look at every possible option before we move on."

The board of governors approved the complete renovation of hole No. 17 to lift it out of the flood plain.

Waltz secured the services of golf course architect Dick Nugent of Chicago. He said Nugent will be involved in the rerouting of the front nine if that becomes an option the board pursues on behalf of course members.

"Nugent is a highly respected golf course architect," Waltz said. He has designed the Kemper Lakes Golf Course in Long Grove, Ill. It was listed in Golf Digest's top 100 courses and was the site of the 1989 PGA Championship and the 1992 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.

He has also designed the Arrowhead Golf Course in Nekoosa, Wis., and Forest Preserve National in Oak Forest, Ill. Both 18-hole courses are listed in Golf Digest's top 50 best public golf courses.

If the rerouting of the front nine is done, the green on the No. 6 hole would likely be replaced.

Don Staples, the current president of the Cape Country Club board of directors, wrote a letter to members of the course explaining the various options.

"Competition from other courses continues to emerge and our club must offer a modern, up-to-date course if we are to attract and keep new members," Staples wrote.