Community Corner

UPDATE: Green Garden Golf Dome Collapses During Snowstorm (VIDEO)

The cause of the damage to the country club's inflatable structure is still unknown, but course officials hope to have the dome open for business again in couple weeks.

UPDATED (2:10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3)--The inflatable indoor golf dome at collapsed during Tuesday night's snowstorm, adding to a list of recent sour notes for the golf course.

Todd Russell, the head golf professional at Green Garden, said Thursday that course officials are still trying to figure out what caused the dome to collapse. It appears that one of the top seams might have ripped, he said, causing the dome to fall.

"We're not 100 percent sure what caused it to go down, whether it was the wind or the snow," Russell said, adding that Green Garden workers consulted Tuesday with the company that sold the course the dome to make sure it could handle the severe weather.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It is unknown what caused the damage and exactly when it happened. The was not called about the collapse, said Chief James Grady on Wednesday afternoon, adding he was unaware of any problems at the country club.

As of Thursday afternoon, Russell said Green Garden is still in the process of putting together a "plan of attack" for what to do next and finding out if this damage is covered by insurance. Although it's an extremely preliminary estimate, Russell said the hope is to have the dome back up and operating in a couple weeks. 

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The sooner the dome is open for business the better for Green Garden. February is one of the busiest months for the indoor driving range, and each day closed is lost revenue for the course.

"We would have an average of maybe 100 to 150 different people per day, hitting on a good day," Russell said. "(The loss of money) is pretty significant."

The damage to the golf dome is just one more financial problem for Green Garden. On Nov. 23, . The $21.5 million suit claims the owners stopped making payments in March on a mortgage loan for the course. First Midwest holds the mortgage on the property.

Russell said he was unsure how the dome collapse would affect the foreclosure suit.

The course is owned by William McEnery, whose Frankfort-based Gas City Ltd., which operates convenience stores, car washes and restaurants in dozens of gas stations across the Southland,  in October.

In late December, claiming he was discriminated against at the country club and golf course because of his race.


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