Source: Bernie Haney, 785-532-5162, bhaney@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Rosie Hoefling, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu

Monday, May 3, 2010

DEDICATION OF NEW CLUBHOUSE AT COLBERT HILLS GOLF COURSE MAY 8 WITH K-STATE ALUM JIM COLBERT TO ATTEND

MANHATTAN -- Colbert Hills Golf Course will have a dedication ceremony for its new clubhouse at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 8. The ceremony is free and open to the public. The golf course is owned by the Kansas State University Golf Course Management and Research Foundation.

The dedication will include presentations by three guest speakers and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Guest speakers will include professional golfer Jim Colbert, a member of the PGA's Champions Tour, the golf course's namesake and a K-State alum; K-State's John Currie, director of athletics; and Howard Sherwood, board president of the K-State Golf Course Management and Research Foundation.

The new clubhouse is 13,400 square feet with 2,000 square feet of outdoor patio space, according to Bernie Haney, executive director of the K-State Golf Course Management and Research Foundation. The clubhouse includes amenities such as administrative office space for the Colbert Hills staff and K-State golf coaches, locker rooms for the K-State golf teams, a pro shop, a bar and grill, a multipurpose area and a conference area named the Founders Room.

The clubhouse has been under construction since August 2008 and was funded entirely by private donors, resulting in a $5.5 million public facility. Haney said that the clubhouse actually has been open since March 19, but will be fully functional after the dedication ceremony, when the bar and grill area begins serving dinners.

In addition to the dedication, Haney said that Colbert Hills also is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. The course opened May 1, 2000. Haney said that the course has accommodated more than 250,000 rounds of golf on its 18-hole Championship Course, more than 50,000 rounds on the Par 3 Course, and has hosted more than 800 golf outings since it opened 10 years ago.

The golf course also has developed special golf privilege programs for K-State faculty, staff and students.

Colbert Hills has been the home to both the K-State men's and women's golf programs since it opened. It also has assisted in providing many educational opportunities to K-State students through the golf course management program offered by the College of Agriculture.

Haney said the new clubhouse highlights Colbert Hills' 10 years of success and will provide another venue for Manhattan residents to host special events such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas parties.

"We would like to thank Grand Mere Development Inc. for providing the clubhouse lead gift and all of our other 85 generous donors to the project who helped us build a beautiful facility that will benefit the local community, university and state of Kansas," Haney said.