Officials at Moila Country Club are working towards opening the golf course on Thursday, April 1, for members.
The country club’s goal was to have 200 golfers signed up as members before March 1, with 100 of those prepaid. The Moila Country Club golf course had been closed since September of 2020 after GreatLIFE KC, the former managers of the course, transitioned out of the club.
Moila Country Club Recorder Dave Ingersoll said of the 161 members who have been signed up as golfers, including Shriners and non-Shriners, 150 of those already have prepaid for the entire 12-month membership period so plans to reopen are moving forward.
He said a focus on the greens of the course will be a main priority as the opening day for play nears.
“We had one Saturday where we had 45 people out there,” Ingersoll said. “There are some of those greens that are ready to play right now, but Steve (Craig) declared on April 1 our plan is to be open for play.”
Craig Realty Group, owned by CEO Steven Craig, is now overseeing operations of the golf course, the pool and food and beverage service. The Shriners will continue their organization’s work out of the facility. Work has been underway to restore the course to its original form.
Craig’s group also took over ownership of the St. Joseph Country Club from GreatLIFE in the last year.
Moila will have a manager who is of professional golfing status like many courses have across the country. John Rawdon will fulfill the position of golf manager starting March 29.
Of the 161 golfers signed up, many are Shriners. Ingersoll said he believes there can be a misconception that members who sign up to play golf at the club have to be Shriners, but that it is not the case. Members who sign up to play golf who are not Shriners can expect to pay either $125 per month plus tax with a junior member rate for those 35 and younger or $250 per month plus tax if older than 35.
“You can join and not be a Shriner, and number two, the condition of this course is going to be better,” Ingersoll said.