September 30, 2019
One of the worst kept secrets making its way through the grapevine is that something is going on at the Randolph Golf Complex. According to published reports, last week the Tucson City Council heard a behind closed doors report from the Tucson Conquistadores and the City Parks Department about changing things up at Randolph.
What’s close to being made public is that Randolph will become a premier golf center, with significant upgrades to the north course, the practice areas and the facility as a whole. It’s being pushed by the Tucson Conquistadores and the University of Arizona. Both are hoping to turn Randolph into a facility suitable for not only a PGA event, but as a home for the men’s and women’s golf teams at the U of A. Currently they have to make the drive to Sewailo, south of town.
And it looks like the City of Tucson is on board. Over the next few months the Tucson City Council will give it’s blessing to go out for bid for a golf course architect to reconfigure the north course to meet the stringent standards of the PGA Tour. Dell Urich and the driving range are expected to stay as they are. In addition, at least one hole, likely the 9that Randolph will be taken over by the U of A Men’s and Women’s golf team for a practice area.
The U of A is behind the curve when it comes to their facilities. Arizona State University’s golf teams are the beneficiaries of a just-completed, monster upgrade of the practice facilities at the City of Phoenix Papago golf complex…and the U of A has to keep up. Sewailo, the U of A’s current golf facility is 9 miles away and, because of the distance from the school, hurts their recruiting effort.
The redo won’t be cheap. It is expected to cost over $10 million. The Conquistadores and the U of A are hoping some well-healed alumni will come in to foot the bill. There are a handful of former Cat’s who have done very well on either the PGA (think Jim Furyk) or the LPGA (Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa) who may be hit up to help pay for the improvements.
And finally, where does that leave the Tucson golfer who is hoping to keep playing at their currently affordable city golf course? And how long will all this take? According to a spokesman from the Conquistadores, Randolph’s green fees will likely stay affordable for city residents, but look for a big jump for out of towners. And in terms of the timeframe, the whole bid and planning phase could take up to a year, with construction completed in two.
By Mike Boyd
