Price Coffee land may become golf course
Posted on Wednesday, September 3, 2008
BENTONVILLE - More than 100 acres off Price Coffee Road may become home to the city's first golf course.
Mike Shea, executive director of The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas, went before the Bentonville City Council at its meeting as a Committee of the Whole on Monday night.
Shea presented a proposal to build a course for The First Tee, which provides educational programs and character-development programs through golf.
The First Tee, an international organization founded in 1997 by the World Golf Foundation, has 254 chapters in the United States and five chapters internationally. Five chapters are in Arkansas, and The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas was founded in 2005.
"There are many youth sports that teach valuable lessons," Shea said, and through The First Tee," a child cannot participate in our program and not (learn these ) life skills," he said.
Although The First Tee has programs throughout Benton and Washington counties, it does not have a course to call home. "In our experience, being without access to golfcourse facilities is very problematic to our organization," Shea said.
The First Tee wants to build a 9-hole short course, which can be set up to play as a threehole, six-hole or nine-hole facility.
The property would also include a 300-yard-plus practice range, a 50-station main practice tee, separate teaching and practice areas, a practice putting green and a putting course.
But in addition to being used as a place for youth programs, the course would also be accessible to residents of Bentonville and surrounding communities.
By combining current funding and additional funds from a capital campaign, The First Tee would pay to develop and operate the course.
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