The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to approve a contract for a new clubhouse to be built at the county-owned Clear Creek Golf Club in Bovina.

“This is just an opportunity to continue to make really good use of a county asset that is here,” President and District 5 Supervisor Kelle Barfield said.

Four supervisors voted in favor of the construction, with District 3 Supervisor Shawn Jackson voting against the proposal.

“I’ve been asked from time to time, ‘Why would a county own a golf course?’ And yet, quality of life in a county is important. It’s important to have facilities, whether they’re, you know, libraries or golf courses or playgrounds,” Barfield said. “You may not have children playing on a playground anymore, but it says something about a community that it provides recreation and healthy pastimes for people of all ages.”

The new clubhouse will cost $910,900, and the contract was awarded to M&P Construction out of Richland. Although a date to begin construction hasn’t yet been set, Barfield said that it should be in the very near future.

Ronny Ross is the head PGA professional at the golf course. He said he and his colleagues are “over the moon” about the prospect of the new clubhouse.

“The project is good for the community because our golf course is spectacular. But the clubhouse is just old,” Ross said. “They don’t match each other.”

Ross said the new clubhouse would be a big improvement.

“It’s going to be a nice open concept when you walk in the building,” Ross said. “It’s going to be just a big open area where we’ll have the golf shop. We’re going to have some really nice restrooms and a big wrap-around porch. So it’s basically just going to be a huge upgrade to what we’ve got.”

The new building will butt up against the old one. When construction is finished and the new building opens to the public, the existing clubhouse will be retrofitted into a multi-use community space.

“Best case scenario, we’d be ready to rock and roll by next spring when things kick back up again,” Ross said of a projected opening for the new clubhouse, however, no dates have been set.

Ross added that construction will cause some disruption for players while the project is underway, but asked residents to be patient as the new building progresses.

“If you don’t keep moving forward, you know, the way golf is starting to boom, and especially with Vicksburg being a so-called retirement community, if you don’t keep thinking outside the box and progressing, then… you’re going backwards,” he said.