INDIO, Calif. — The tearing down of a 60-year-old building signals at least some of the changes that are coming to The Lights at Indio Golf Course, the city-owned lighted golf course just north of Interstate 10.
That building, the old clubhouse at The Lights, came down earlier this month as the first step among significant changes around the 18-hole par-3 golf course. The changes will be mostly for the undeveloped land around the course, but a few tweaks will also be in store for the course itself.
“All we are losing is the parking lot that we use now,” said Jeff Walser, the general manager and director of golf at The Lights for management company Landmark Golf of Indian Wells. “That’s been sold to a developer called the Can Do project. They are the ones that are doing The Greens at Indio.”
As part of a retail development of just over six acres of empty land near the course, the new buildings will include two drive-thru restaurants, including a Chick-fil-A, a Dutch Bros. coffee and another sit-down restaurant. None of that will impact The Lights property itself, though the reconfiguring of the parking lot during the building of the new restaurants will force The Lights to build a new parking lot and use temporary parking in the coming season.
The Lights facility will see some changes, including a new 2,500-square-foot building for its pro shop, bar and restaurant and the small United States Postal Service office that serves residents of north Indio. The golf course will remain open this summer during the renovations.
“July 1 is when they pushed the building over,” Walser said. “They are figuring 10 or 12 months before (the new facility) is completed. We were hoping to start up a month ahead of time to get ready for season, January or February, but that’s going to be hard at this point. So we are probably going to miss next season, which is too bad, but it is what it is.”
The new clubhouse will actually be two buildings set on the site of the old building. The Lights clubhouse will feature an expanded restaurant and a new bar, with glass walls to allow golfers to look out on the golf course after a round while getting food.
Desert landscaping and water features will also be part of the new clubhouse, still situated near the first and 10th tees of the course. While no drastic changes to the golf course are planned, Walser said minor changes to two holes might be added to the overall plan.
“We are looking to maybe have to move the…
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