Jeremy Simmons was around the last time Meadow Springs Country Club remodeled its clubhouse. 

That was 25 years ago. 

“We’ve outgrown the club since 2000,” said the club’s general manager. “Our golf base is at 430 members. Our social base is at 335 members. We’re pushing 800 members, and this place was built for 400.” 

The south Richland golf club has needed a refresh since then and only recently did the club’s membership vote to approve one. 

Simmons calls it a Field of Dreams for the members. 

“It’s a $13.5 million clubhouse remodel,” he said. “We are currently at 21,000 square feet in this building, and this will add around 9,000 more square feet.” 

The club’s ambitious remodel comes on the heels of a surge of major regional golf resort investments. Kennewick's Canyon Lakes Golf Course recently launched sweeping upgrades that include a new $1.7 million pro shop, improved parking, an expanded restaurant and high-tech simulator bays. Plans for a 300-acre project adjacent to the Snake River recently were unveiled that include an 18-hole championship course, boutique lodging and marina amenities – a project that could add $200 million to Franklin County’s tax base. 

Project gains speed 

Members gave their approval Sept. 16, “and it was overwhelming,” Simmons said. 

“There was an 80% turnout of the vote, and the approval rate was 76.1%,” he said. “Those are really high numbers for both the turnout and the approval rate. That’s a mandate for us.” 

Plans for a renovation have been gaining speed since 2022, when the club’s board put together a task force to identify its priorities a year after a failed renovation attempt. 

Among the proposed improvements at 700 Country Club Road are the addition of a new family dining area with seating for 60 people and an upgrade to the upscale dining experience. 

Simmons said a country club membership has changed over the years with the addition of more families beyond the couples who play golf and then enjoy dinner afterward. 

One of the most important projects is the kitchen expansion. 

“The kitchen is the heart of the facility,” Simmons said. “It needs updating. In the kitchen, everyone is on top of each other. Membership treats this place like their home. Some members dine here three nights a week.” 

The lounge, where food is also served, is always packed, too, he said, so lounge seating will expand from 60 seats to 100. 

It’s the place where members meet for dinner or drinks, do business or socialize. “The majority of the membership spends much of its time there,” Simmons said. 

The club also will enlarge the outdoor dining areas, as members like to eat outside when the weather is nice. 

“Outdoor dining is much more at a premium,” said Simmons, which is why the plan calls for 75% more deck space plus a fireplace and semi-covered areas. 

Bathrooms and locker rooms also will receive a facelift, while all administrative staff offices, except for the general manager, will be moved downstairs. 

In addition, more parking spaces will be added to the main parking lot to comply with city ordinances. 

The club will continue to use the swimming pool area seasonally, and golf operations will be managed out of the Golf Learning Center, located across the parking lot at the driving range. 

The club’s board selected Deca, a Portland firm, for the architectural and engineering work. The company also worked with the Meadow Springs’ clubhouse renovation and expansion task force to develop cost options for the expansion. 

Working with Deca, the board can now create construction documents, monitor the project’s progress, oversee the bidding process, develop temporary plans and then initiate construction. 

The club also worked with Kennewick’s Chervenell Construction to further develop cost estimates for the project. 

However, a construction company has yet to be selected by the club’s sub-committee. 

Timeline 

The estimated timeline for the project will take place over the next three years. 

Over the next six to eight months, the design and documentation work will take place. 

Permitting and bidding will be during the summer and fall of 2026. 

“We’re hoping the construction begins in January of 2027,” Simmons said. 

The planned reopening of the clubhouse is set for January 2028, with a practice putting green rebuild occurring in spring 2028. 

With a project of this size, some pain is inevitable for the membership. This includes creating temporary facilities such as using the club’s racquet facilities as the main clubhouse during construction. 

That will be done by using a semi-permanent tent with air conditioning, high-end portable bathrooms and food and beverage service. 

“We’ll bring in food trucks, luxury bathrooms, a liquor truck,” Simmons said. “We could be glamping it. We’re a little optimistic about this. From 2000 to 2002 we worked out of a trailer. We’ll try to make this fun. We’ll hold some events with local restaurants.” 

Taking care of members

Making such a drastic but necessary remodel, Simmons says the club is aware that could lose members but said that’s pretty natural in any club. 

Like most private clubs, Meadow Springs has a waiting list of 75 to 100 people wanting to join. 

“We think the wait is somewhere about four years,” Simmons said. “There is a natural attrition where some members ease out. Maybe they don’t play golf anymore. We’ve got some people transferring out who worked at the (Hanford) area.” 

Simmons stressed that the true project is not meant to expand the club’s capacity for more golfers. 

“We’re not adding golfers. That’s not the driver in this,” Simmons said. “We don’t want to water down the golf experience for our members. This is simply to take care of the members we have.” 

But the improvements will eventually add more employees. 

“We’re going to add about a third of what we have,” he said. 

Currently, Meadow Springs has the equivalent of 55 full-time equivalent employees, and in the summer, it adds 100 more. 

For Simmons, who has worked at Meadow Springs for 27 years, he’s ready to dive in. 

“I’m super excited to be a part of this,” he said. “I think the membership is, too. This is going to be bigger and better for the current members we have.”