Feature Photo: Golfer at sunset at the Lozano Golf Center. Source: Lozano Golf Center.
Posted 9-9-2021
by Adolfo Pesquera
Corpus Christi (Nueces County) — The City Council, on Tuesday, approved the funding on a reimbursement basis of the development of the Gabe Lozano Executive Nine Hole Golf Course.
The city-owned nine hole course, which will be part of the Lozano Golf Center, involves land leased to a Boerne-based company that specializes in managing golf course properties. The city has had a plan in place since 2011 to do a complete remodel of the Executive Course and the practice range with the objective of creating a state-of-the-art facility.
“It will transform an underutilized 40 acres of mostly non-irrigated space into a beautiful facility enhancing golf play, programming and instruction,” the briefing document to council states.
“This Executive Course will attract and serve many winter Texan visitors who come to Corpus Christi and presently play our other courses and enable more quality playing time for our junior golf programming and schools. Winter Texans play golf in the mornings and junior golf programming and school practice occurs in the afternoons. As a result, we expect that the renovated and improved golf course will be busy all day long.”
In addition, new lighting at the facility will expand the hours of operation and will create an entertainment venue certain to increase the enjoyment of golf and recreation for all patrons, existing and new.
The 40-acre project site encompasses the northern portion, a little less than a third, of the Lozano Golf Center grounds. An 18-hole regulation course occupies the south and mid sections of the golf center, which is located at 4401 Old Brownsville Road.
The funding, which is an amendment to the lease agreement, is with Foresight Corpus Christi Golf LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresight Golf LLC.
The agreement terms require that Foresight, as the operator, will have an engineer or architect prepare all plans and bid specifications. Foresight will competitively bid all construction contracts. Foresight will be responsible for providing oversight and contract management services.
Arthur Schaupeter Golf Course Architects of St. Louis, Missouri prepared the nine hole master plan that the engineer would be relying upon for guidance.
The project schedule shall require that all work be completed within three years of the effective date of the addendum to the lease.
The specific details of the project include:
- Expanding the practice tees to accommodate 50 hitting stations at one time.
- The practice range area will be excavated and lowered to create better visibility of targets from the practice tee. It will facilitate drainage that will enable the range to tolerate rainfall and remain open for the maximum number of days. It will also facilitate creating a high, wrap-around ridge around the perimeter of the range that will contain golf balls and provide protection for players in the surrounding areas.
- The project will add an additional 10,000 square foot practice green for practice and instructional programming while allowing the existing practice green to be used as a warm-up facility for the 18-hole regulation course.
- It will create a “short game” practice area for practicing chipping and bunker shots and a “pitching area” with targets spaced at 10-yard intervals to facilitate precision practice for longer short game play.
- It will include a complete remodel of the 9-hole executive course, complete with new putting greens, tees, bunkers and a “Scottish Style Burn” to add strategy, variety and interest to the new golf holes while providing storm drainage to remove excess rainwater in storm events.
adolfo@virtualbx.com