The owners of the Highlands Golf & Country Club, in Post Falls, are relocating the courses pro shop and expanding its clubhouse and have renumbered its tees in preparation for the 2000 golfing season, which likely will begin sometime in March.


Jon Coles, whose family owns the Highlands, says another family-owned company, Skyview Construction, is the general contractor on the $400,000 project.


Work already is under way on a new, two-story facility that will house the Highlands pro shop. The building will include about 1,300 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, plus storage space in a daylight basement, says Sean Stiller, head golf pro at the Highlands. The new pro shop will be located next to the Outback snack shop, near the golf courses driving range, which is on the opposite side of the course from the pro shops current location, he says. The pro shop will sell an array of golf clothing and equipment, and golfers will be able to pay their greens fees there, he says.


Since the 18-hole golf course opened in 1990, the pro shop has been located in the same building as Carnegies Restaurant & Lounge. No decision has been made on how the Highlands will use the space the pro shop will be vacating, Coles says.


Meanwhile, the Outback snack shop is expanding into what will be the clubhouse, Stiller says. Skyview is nearly doubling the size of the building to approximately 3,000 square feet of space. When the Outback reopens, it will be a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a bar, he says.


It wont be fine dining, Stiller says. Itll be more of the burgers and pizza kind of thing.


Coles says the new and expanded buildings will make the Highlands more golfer friendly.


When the pro shop was a mile away from the driving range, it wasnt easy for golfers to use the driving range before teeing up for golf, he says. Now, the tees throughout the course have been renumbered so that the first hole is near the new pro shop and clubhouse.


Coles says he expects both buildings to be ready for the opening of the golf course in the spring.