 "Photo: Eliot Meyer")
 "Photo: Eliot Meyer")
Demolition began this week to clear away the charred remains of a partially constructed $8 million clubhouse at the University of Texas Golf Club.
A two-alarm fire on Dec. 26 destroyed the clubhouse on the banks of Lake Austin. The building had been under construction for 10 months and was 70 percent complete. It would have opened in March but golf pro Jean-Paul Hebert predicts the new completion date to be spring 2009.
"It's so disappointing because we've watched construction from the ground up, and after the fire, it's just gone like that," said Hebert, who has worked at the golf club for two and a half years. "But when you really consider the fact that no one was hurt and we can rebuild, all we can do is look ahead."
The fire left the par 71 golf course and the UT golf team clubhouse untouched and has not disrupted the team's season. The ruined clubhouse belonged to private members who share the club's facilities with UT's golf teams.
"My heart goes out to the members and staff who have been waiting for the clubhouse," said Martha Richards, head coach for the UT women's golf team. "When it's finished, it'll be a huge shot in the arm for our team, but at the end of the day, we've got a great golf course, a great staff and our facilities are fine."
Workers using an open flame for roof construction accidentally started the fire when a flame lit building materials, said Dale Faust, spokesman for the Hudson Bend Fire Department, which responded to the call due to its proximity to the golf course. Faust arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the fire started to see that winds had spread the fire.
"Just after the first unit arrived, the building was already collapsing," he said. "Roof workers had their extinguisher and tried hard to put it out, but the winds just took this fire and ran."
It took 90 minutes, 60 firefighters and nine fire trucks to bring the flames under control. Interior instability of the building prevented investigators from entering the facility until five days later, at which point the fire was ruled accidental.
After a four-week demolition process and an analysis of the foundation, clubhouse construction can restart. The structure was insured under a builder's risk policy, which will cover the restoration cost of the building. Both men's and women's golf teams will have access to the private clubhouse upon completion.
"The clubhouse will be a huge aspect to our entire program," said John Fields, head coach of UT's men's golf team.
Fields says the new clubhouse will offer a holistic program for both teams by providing food and fitness facilities, as well as a site for competitive golf.
"Before the fire, the building was magnificent," Fields said. "With this chance to do it over again, from my perspective, it'll just be bigger and better."
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