Imagine the looks Bob Ronca must receive when he loads his clubs in his car and tells his neighbors he is going to “the island” to play golf.
The mere mention conjures soothing images of palm trees and tropical breezes, emerald-green grass and water more blue than Cameron Diaz’s eyes. Especially when the snow is blowing and the wind-chill is lower than his handicap (which is about 15).
But at least three times a week, Ronca does just that — heads to the island to hit balls and get his game ready for the golf season in Western Pennsylvania — whenever it arrives.
This island, however, is not located off the coast of Florida or floating in some exotic part of the Caribbean.
It’s just a wedge shot across the Ohio River from Coraopolis, a narrow parcel littered with industrial plants, weathered warehouses and what is billed as the most spacious indoor golf dome in the country.
Make no mistake, Neville Island has never been confused with a winter getaway destination. But if you’re looking to hit golf balls and get your swing in shape while snow and ice blanket the region’s golf courses, the golf dome at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center is the place to be. And you don’t even have to wear gloves, turtlenecks or wind shirts in the climate-controlled dome.
It’s a balmy 70 degrees every day, making it a must-stop destination for Ronca and a host of other cooped-up golfers in Western Pennsylvania.
“When I go down there, I always see a lot of other people,” said Ronca, 52, a Baden resident who plays mainly at public courses and considers himself a low- to mid-80s player. “I think, there must be a lot of other idiots like myself.”
Lots of folks, it seems, go to the dome. Professional athletes. Professional golfers. Men. Women. Kids. High handicappers. Low handicappers. Duffers. Hackers. Beginners.
Some of the best young players in Western Pennsylvania practice there, working with the dome’s four instructors: Jim Cichra, Bill Kurp, Kevin Shields and former LPGA Tour player Jodi Renner. Included in the group are Chartiers Houston High School senior John Popeck, who is headed to Maryland on a golf scholarship; WPIAL boys champion Brock Pompeani and his twin brother, Brandon; and Fox Chapel freshman Nadia Luttner.
Walter Rowland, 60, is a 22-handicapper who lives in Penn Hills. He makes the 50-mile round trip to the dome three times a week, sometimes more. And he does it year-round, not just in the winter months when he can’t play at North Park or some of the other public and private courses that he frequents.
“It’s a facility that offers indoor practice, but you can also work on various aspects of your game, like the short game, sand trap and chipping, plus still work on the long game,” Rowland said. “And they have enough [teaching] aids you can use to do a lot of different exercises. Since I’ve been coming here, I’d say I shaved eight to 10 strokes off my handicap.”
The RMU Island Sports Center golf dome isn’t like other places that offer indoor golf, where players hit balls into a simulator with video images of famous golf courses. The dome has an inflatable roof that is 75 feet high — more than enough room for the average sand wedge — and 100 yards long, with netting covering the dome. Cichra, the facility’s director of golf, said no other indoor golf facility in the country has a longer uninterrupted shot.
Players wishing to hit longer clubs — even drivers — can do so at the dome. The roof is resilient enough to withstand even a Tiger Woods laser, and players can easily determine if their ball was hooked, sliced or nailed perfectly. The ceiling is backlighted so fixtures do not interfere with a shot or cause glare.
“It lets you see the flight of the ball,” Cichra said.
The balls — 30,000 of ‘em — are clean and the mats aren’t weather-beaten, unlike some outdoor driving ranges that stay open during the winter months using heated teeing areas. What’s more, there are 42 hitting stalls — 22 downstairs, 20 upstairs — each with two types of artificial surfaces, one offering tighter, firmer lies and the other fluffier, more grass-like lies.
There also is a practice sand bunker and a putting green that is 23 feet wide and 55 feet long. The green is similar to one at the PGA Hall of Fame at St. Augustine, Fla., and offers a slick, true surface with subtle undulations. Sand particles are dumped on the surface to actually slow the pace of the ball.
And, of course, what better way to practice the uneven shots golfers face in Western Pennsylvania than by using a hydraulic tee that can tilt to simulate sidehill, uphill and downhill lies.
There aren’t many domed golf facilities in the country, so there isn’t much competition. The closest to Pittsburgh are the Creekside Golf Dome in Girard, Ohio, and the Family First Golf Dome in Erie, Pa.
“We start getting busy right after the new year and we’ll go all the way until the weather really breaks for good,” said Cichra, one of the top players in the Tri-State section of the PGA of America and a two-time winner of the section’s Teacher of the Year award. “It could be mid-March or it could be mid-April.”
Cichra smiled and said, “We root for the bad weather here.”
The golf dome is part of a 32-acre recreational complex on the west end of Neville Island built on property once known as Poison Park because of the toxic chemicals that were buried there. The complex, which opened in August, 1998, was originally funded by the Hillman Company for $20 million. But Robert Morris University purchased the recreational facilities in 2003 and operates the complex for its athletic programs. It includes four ice rinks, an athletic field, miniature golf course and batting cages, .
All the facilities are open to the public, though the golf dome has recently reduced its weekday hours (8 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) because the RMU lacrosse teams practice at the indoor facility. The reduced hours are in effect through March 7. The dome is open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends.
“I think originally this might have been a novelty, a place where people come to practice,” Cichra said. “But top players and people who just want to get their games ready come down all the time. It’s been busy almost from the start and it hasn’t slowed down.”
Prices run $5 for a small bucket (35 balls), $9 for medium (70) and $12 for large (105). Juniors and seniors get a $1 discount and value cards are available.
During the warm-weather months, the dome specialty is $10 for an unlimited number of balls. That and the air-conditioned climate are the reasons Ronca uses the dome all year, not just in the winter.
“You go outside in the summer, you sweat to death hitting balls,” Ronca said. “A lot of people say [on outdoor courses] you can see how far you’re hitting it. But sometimes those distances at those outdoor ranges aren’t precise, either. Plus, after a while, you can tell how far you’re hitting it [in the dome], or if you sliced it or hooked it.”
Ah, there’s no place like dome.
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