Mesa Verde Country Club is on course for $7.3 million in renovations

The Mesa Verde Country Club is teeing up $7.3 million worth of renovations to its golf course, clubhouse and maintenance facility.

All the projects on tap for the Costa Mesa property at 3000 Clubhouse Road were approved by the private club’s equity members — those who have proprietary rights and full access to club amenities.

Those members will, in turn, pay for the work through a monthly fee, according to Jeremy Samson, the club’s general manager.

“We’ve gotten a lot younger in our membership base, and our clientele has changed and they are looking for a more modern and updated club,” he said. “With the change in the neighborhood in Mesa Verde and Costa Mesa, we felt like this was the perfect opportunity for us.”

Of the member-approved spending, about $2.8 million is budgeted for renovations to the 135-acre golf course, such as adding fairway bunkers, redesigning tee complexes and rebuilding some greens.

“The course generally will play the same, and that’s the whole idea,” Samson said. “We don’t want to do anything dramatic.”

An additional $900,000 will be used to rebuild and upgrade the club’s maintenance facility.

About $3 million more will go toward projects at Mesa Verde’s clubhouse, such as expanding the kitchen and relocating the upstairs bar from a side room into the main dining area.

During a tour of the club Wednesday, Samson and member-relations manager Kate Ball said that renovation will provide a larger, more energetic space in the dining area while allowing the other room to be quieter and more intimate.

An additional $600,000 is earmarked to expand the upper- and lower-level decks at the clubhouse, both of which overlook the golf course.

The course’s 18th hole is in line for some work as well. Plans are to renovate the lake next to the green by replacing its railroad-tie siding with stone.

Samson said the club held committee meetings, focus groups and town hall-style gatherings to see what improvements members wanted and would support.

Along with its 417 equity members, Mesa Verde has about 170 social members who do not have an ownership stake in the club.

Work on the golf course began last week, and the goal is to wrap that up in September 2018, according to Samson. The course will remain open throughout the renovation.

Samson said Mesa Verde hopes to start the clubhouse work in January. “We think it will be about a five-month project,“ he said.

Though sections of the club will be closed during that work, Samson said the goal is to minimize disruptions.

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