RACINE — The City of Racine Common Council voted 15-0 Tuesday to approve plans to redevelop Shoop Park Golf Course, clearing the way for a $10 million private investment from the Leipold Johnson Golf Group.
Terms of the agreement include the development of a new caddie program for Racine kids ages 14 to 16, in partnership with the Caddie & Leadership Academy of Southeast Wisconsin. Earlier access to a caddie program will give participants a head start on qualifying for the Evans Scholarship, an award for caddies that includes full college tuition and free housing.
Skip Theuring, co-owner of Meadowbrook Country Club and a former Evans Scholar himself, has been helping young caddies develop the skills they need to qualify. He said the scholarship changed the trajectory of his own life.
"Understanding how it's impacted me, I want that for these kids, I really do," Theuring said.
Theuring said the program at Shoop Park represents a significant new pipeline for Racine youth.
"What a great opportunity to do that at Shoop, and then graduate them up to Meadowbrook, to Strawberry Creek," Theuring said.
Read more: Leader, caddies welcome news of new opportunity for Racine kids with Shoop Park Golf Course redevelopment
He said an opportunity for younger kids to start as caddies will help prepare them earlier, and more experience could better their chances of receiving an Evans Scholarship.
For Jeriah Hawkins, a caddie currently eligible for the Evans Scholarship, the stakes are personal.
"My hope is to receive the scholarship, just so that it can really take a financial burden off my parents and me," Hawkins said.
She said she'd recommend younger Racine kids to seriously consider an opportunity like the one that will soon be available at Shoop Park.
"I would say, 'Go for it,' she said. "Once you try it, it will be life-changing."
Alessandra Arteaga, a current Caddie & Leadership Academy participant, said she welcomes the opportunity.
"I think it's great. I feel like it's good to put yourself out there and try new things," Arteaga said.
Theuring said the caddie program at Meadowbrook Country Club has already been gaining momentum.
"We got a scholarship in 2024. We got three scholarships in 2025. We got four scholarships in 2026. I'm going to fill this plaque, and then I'm going to put another plaque here, and another plaque here," he said gesturing to a wall inside the country club that displays Evans Scholars who've come through the Meadowbrook program.
Beyond the caddie program, the redevelopment agreement calls for transforming the golf course into a more environmentally friendly prairie dune habitat, constructing a new clubhouse, and stabilizing the bluff along Lake Michigan.
"You can buy lots of golf courses for way less than 10 million dollars, so that's a very impressive and significant investment in the community," Theuring said.
The project proposal indicates construction could start as soon as this summer, with a possible soft opening in summer 2027 and a grand opening in Spring of 2028.
The course will be known as Lighthouse Dunes at Shoop Park, and terms of the agreement indicate the course will remain open to the public.
City of Racine residents will have a $24 rate for the first two seasons, with a discounted rate for residents continuing in future years.
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