Building a championship golf course along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, complete with high-end residential and commercial development, will be a boon to golf-related tourism, say officials, especially for county-owned Clear Creek Golf Course.

&#8220It’s not going to hurt us at all because it will draw more golfers here and help us,” said Kent Smith, golf pro at the 27-year-old public course at Bovina, adding that Clear Creek will provide a venue for golfers wanting to hone their skills – most likely at a lower price.

The front nine holes at Clear Creek underwent a $250,000 renovation in 2004, the bulk of which went toward replacing greens destroyed by a root infection in the Bermuda grass.

Since then, the number of players has increased and most have given the refurbished course good reviews, according to Warren County Parks and Recreation Department Director Jimmy Hamilton.

&#8220We lost a lot (of players) initially with the renovation, but we’ve picked up real good this year,” Hamilton said.

Both said golfers like the better sand traps and smoother greens and foresee a renovation of the back nine within two years.

Another refurbishment would likely involve a deeper financial commitment from the county, which had to borrow the money to pay for the front nine renovation. The 2005-06 budget allocated $220,000 toward the Parks and Recreation Department.

The year-round, 18-hole Clear Creek was completed in 1978 and is one of two golf courses in the area, the other being the private Vicksburg Country Club.

Clear Creek is home to numerous benefit fund-raisers and alumni association tournaments. Rates range from $27 on weekdays to $32 on weekends. Nine-hole rates are also available, usually $14.

Smith estimated that about 30,000 rounds of golf are played at Clear Creek each year. Golf is also played at Vicksburg Country Club, a private course off Indiana Avenue.

Last week, the city announced an agreement with Denver-based developer Paul Bunge to develop high-end residential and commercial sites centered around a golf course designed to United States Golf Association specifications.

Calls to Bunge were not returned, but Mayor Laurence Leyens said the cost estimates depend on the scope of the development, anywhere from $8 million to $12 million.

Leyens said Tuesday that the price tag would reach $12 million if a high-profile figure in golf can be found to help design the course.

To be called Mississippi Bluffs, the development would be built on land south of the Mississippi River bridges between Rifle Range Road and U.S. 61 South, home of the former Vicksburg Chemical.

It has been under the control of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality since the company filed bankruptcy in 2003.

Much of the 480-acre tract remained undeveloped as a buffer for the plant. Up to 60 acres included land found to be contaminated.

Before development can go forward, Bunge said at a city board meeting last week, the site will have to be cleaned. Additionally, approval must come from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

Despite the long road to realization, area leaders whose constituents it would affect said they were hopeful about the development’s overall effects.

&#8220It would bring in clean dollars, tourist dollars, that wouldn’t be just for golf carts and greens fees. They would buy hotel rooms,” said South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman, himself a former golfer when the city operated a course at Vicksburg Municipal Airport.

A round of golf there is expected to be in line with similarly designed resort golf courses, around $50, Beauman said, using Dancing Rabbit Golf Course, part of the Pearl River Resort near Philadelphia, as an example.