Mostly cloudy skies and wet grounds greeted the nearly 200 people who came to Saturday’s grand opening of the new, handicap-accessible Ken Lanning Golf Center.
It’s the first of its kind in the nation, and it opened Saturday at Jefferson City’s Turkey Creek Golf Course with a celebration that included about a half-hour of speeches, a ribbon-cutting, tours and lunch.
Although the grounds were too wet Saturday for a lot of play, the 9-hole, par 3 public golf course is welcoming to golfers of all ages and abilities.
Construction started last June. Since then, fundraising efforts have brought in $1.2 million to help build the golf center owned by the Missouri Golf Association (MGA), a nonprofit organization.
Scott Hovis, executive director of the Missouri Golf Association (MGA), spearheaded the effort in collaboration with the MGA Junior Golf Foundation, resulting in the one-of-a-kind golf course.
“I’ve been invested in golf since age 3,†Hovis told the News Tribune. “Every opportunity in my life has been around golf, so I owe a lot to this game.â€
As the MGA executive director for 11 years, Hovis said he’s always sought ways to get more people interested in the game he loves.
His father — former Jefferson City High School golf coach Gary Hovis — has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Hovis said his eyes were opened to the impact physical impairments have on activities that were once a part of life.
He envisioned a place where children, individuals with disabilities, wounded veterans, the elderly and all others could gather for golf. Thus came the Ken Lanning Golf Center (KLGC).
Pathways — 8 feet wide — are spacious enough for motorized and non-motorized wheelchairs or carts. Cross slopes are less than 2 percent, and all greens use turf material instead of grass.
Hovis said the golf center is named after a man who dedicated his entire life to the sport, until his death in 2014.
Ken Lanning, a Rolla native and World War II veteran, was devoted to teaching golf to children. Describing him as the “godfather of junior golf in Missouri,†Hovis said it made total sense to name the facility after Lanning, who also is a Missouri Golf Hall of Fame inductee.
“If it wasn’t for him, a lot of people wouldn’t have gotten involved with the game,†Hovis said.
Architect Todd Clark, of the Kansas City-based firm CE Golf Design, provided designs. The Chicago-based Wadsworth Golf Construction Co. constructed the course, which includes 17 acres and a 2-acre lake filled with fish from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Patrons can fish at the lake, and plans are in place for an all-access stationary dock.
The Missouri National Guard 220th Engineering Company worked on the course, specifically with precision excavation, during a four-week training detail.
Debbie Hamler, executive director of the Special Learning Center, said the organization is excited about the Ken Lanning Golf Center and its accessibility for all golfers.
“It will be wonderful for our students, alumni of the Special Learning Center, Wounded Warriors and others with physical disabilities,†she told the News Tribune. “It will open up a new world of recreation and socialization that we haven’t had available.â€
Fundraising efforts will continue to support golf center maintenance and programming, Hovis said.
The Professional Golfers Association’s Helping Our Patriots Everywhere (PGA HOPE) already has started and is in week three of its six-week session providing free golf lessons to veterans. Another session will be available later this summer.
In addition, Hovis said KLGC plans to start a PGA Junior League for children ages 7-13.
Veterans, children under 15 and those with disabilities can walk the KLGC for free, and if those patrons want a cart, there is a fee. Costs for those not meeting the aforementioned categories are $10 to walk and $18 to ride a cart.
For more information on the KLGC, access golfforeall.org.
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