The Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course has been the site of many golfing firsts in Cape Girardeau County.

The first swings for many. A place where the first bogey, par and possibly eagle occurred. The first time to drive a cart, and maybe the first round with Dad. And quite likely the resting place of the first lost ball -- possibly in a pond.

The only public course in Cape Girardeau -- constructed as a nine-hole layout by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees in 1955, expanded to 18 holes in 1974 and since donated to the city of Cape Girardeau -- has been the common man's course for more than five decades.

And now in 2009, the 54-year-old course is experiencing a first of its own -- its first major face lift.

The 130-acre layout will undergo a transformation that will enlarge and change its greens to bentgrass and add a high-tech irrigation system. While those are the two major objectives of the renovation, other changes are in the plans, which include rerouting five holes on the back and adding sand bunkers.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comJim Crites puts down his chain saw before moving logs along the 17th fairway Wednesday morning at the Cape Girardeau Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. Crites and other city workers are beginning renovations to the course, which are made possible by the parks tax.

The $1.5 million project, which will shut the course down for about 10 months, is being funded by a three-eighth-cent sales tax approved by voters last April. The renovation, one of several projects funded by the tax, officially will begin June 10, with a target completion in May 2010.

"This stuff has been on the burner so long," said Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation director Dan Muser. "It's something we've always hoped to do. The circumstances just came about that we can do it now. Without the sales tax, none of this would be possible."

Passage of the tax in April 2008 quickly put plans in motion. With objectives of the redesign in place, Arthur Schaupeter Golf Course Architects in St. Louis was hired in October to create a master plan.

"I like his philosophy," Muser said of Schaupeter. "He wants it to be a challenge for the good players but not too much of a challenge for the novice players so that they can have fun. I think the whole point of this whole thing is for people to go out and play a round of golf and have a lot of fun."

Schaupeter has been in the course-architect business since 1992, with experience in more than 30 redesigns and 24 new constructions.

Aaron Collier braves the cold and chips onto the sixth hole winter green at the Cape Girardeau Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. The lake behind Collier will be expanded as part of renovations to the course.

When Schaupeter got his first look at Jaycee, he found a course desperately in need of change, but he also saw an interesting course on rolling terrain.

"It's a nice piece of ground," Schaupeter said. "There's a lot of nice individual character through the holes."

His master plan excites people involved with the project, but some, like Muser, are cautious within the realm of financial reality.

The city has yet to receive bids on the project, but Muser hopes the rerouting will be among the dramatic improvements. In general, tee boxes and fairways are not among the redesign plans. Greens and irrigation are foremost.

Muser said Schaupeter, as was his duty, came up with many novel recommendations in his master plan, but many of those recommendations may not get done immediately.

Muser added that Schaupeter believes the rerouting and other recommendations will be feasible within the money budgeted for the project.

"There is a little bit of wiggle room in how much the contractor does," Muser said. "If he comes pretty close, there may be some things we end up doing later with our staff, but that obviously is not ideal. We want this to be as much as a finished product as possible."

Muser said construction will start on the back nine, and golfers might be able to play the front nine through July 1.

Evidence of change is already apparent as course superintendent Randy Lueder and his crew have begun the removal of trees to accommodate the renovation. Forty-two new golf carts have been purchased for a fleet of 67, and new mowing equipment will be arriving soon.

Kenny Bramlett has been on the nine-member advisory board at Jaycee for about five years, and he knows the difference greens can make. He has been the course superintendent at Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston, Mo., for the past 10 years.

"A lot of people are, 'Well, it's going to be closed for almost a whole year' and all this stuff, but once it's done, they're going to be like, 'Wow,'" Bramlett said. "They'll be able to realize how much better it is. At that point they'll be able to say, 'Hey, it was really worth it.' But now the average golfer that plays now is just looking at it that they will be missing golf for eight or nine months, or however long it is."

What has always made Jaycee a common-man's course is its affordability. In a sport commonly associated with the wealthy, a nine-hole greens fee of a $1.25 was charged on weekdays in 1955 ($2 weekends). In 2008, the 18-hole weekday fee was $12 ($14 weekends).

The course's and golfers' costs will rise with the renovation, but Muser wants to keep greens fees as low as possible.

"We want to retain affordability," Muser said. "I'll just say that probably there will be some fee increases associated with basically a new course. But I still think we'll be able to maintain very affordable fun. Our goal isn't to make a profit. Our goal is to break even."

Jim Hastings, chairman of the Jaycee advisory board, said he anticipates a lot more rounds played in the winter months, which will generate income. And he's just as excited about the summer.

"I really think it's going to be good," Hastings said. "The plans have been laid out and I think it's going be a big, big improvement for the golf course. And I really think the golfers are going to be pleased, and I think we'll have people coming in just to play the course."

jbreer@semissourian.com

388-3629