Paul Maholm, who pitched for four National League teams over a nine-year career, has joined with a local homebuilder to acquire the 98-year-old club, where he has been a member. Before leaving Mississippi State University to pursue his pro career after being drafted in the first round of the major league baseball draft in 2003, Maholm had spent three years in the school’s PGA Golf Management program. “Golf was always my fallback plan,” he says.
Paul Maholm has figured out how he wants to spend his retirement, and it’s better than he ever imagined, The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss. reported
The former Mississippi State University and major league baseball pitcher and his partner Carter Callaway, owner and operator of Hattiesburg, Miss.-based Callaway Custom Homes, were set to close on the purchase of Hattiesburg (Miss.) Country Club on September 29th, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Maholm said. “I never knew if I’d have the chance, but once [Callaway] came to me with the idea and we started to talk about it, I knew it was the right opportunity.”
The club’s Board of Directors was looking for a potential buyer, and it found a suitor in Maholm and Callaway, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
Maholm, a 35-year-old native of Holly Springs, Miss., was an All-Southeastern Conference pitcher at Mississippi State and played nine years in the big leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers before retiring to Hattiesburg after the 2014 season, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
He bought a house in the Canebrake subdivision of Hattiesburg, and holds memberships at both ClubCorp’s Canebrake Country Club and Hattiesburg Country Club, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
Maholm left Mississippi State University early after he was drafted in the first round of the major league draft by the Pirates as the eighth overall pick in 2003, but he was in the university’s PGA Golf Management program for three years in Starkville, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
“Golf was always my fallback plan,” he said. “I knew if baseball didn’t work out, I wanted to work on a golf course or be around the game.”
The new ownership is walking into a decent situation at Hattiesburg Country Club, The Clarion-Ledger reported. Despite dwindling memberships, it is one of the oldest and most storied golf clubs in Mississippi. It was founded in 1919 and rebuilt in 1959 after the original building burned down.
“The course is in the great shape it’s always been in,” Callaway said. “We want it to be considered the nicest course in the state, or at least in the conversation, and we want the clubhouse to be among the best in the state as well.”
Hattiesburg Country Club has played host to USGA qualifiers, State Amateur championships and State Opens, The Clarion-Ledger reported. The club hosted the PGA Tour’s Magnolia Classic from 1968 to 1993, with the late Payne Stewart winning his first tournament there in 1982.
“I played in [the Magnolia Classic] down there, I don’t know how many times,” former tour pro and Jackson golf course owner Randy Watkins told The Clarion-Ledger. “I loved it. It’s just a great club and great course, and it was very popular among the tour players.”
Hattiesburg CC serves as the home course for both the Southern Mississippi University men’s and women’s golf programs and hosted the school’s annual Sam Hall Intercollegiate Tournament this September, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
The new owners plan to renovate the clubhouse and spruce up the tennis facilities, which currently includes eight courts, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
“We really want to make it a family atmosphere,” said Maholm, who earned more than $30 million in his playing career. “I’ve got two sons who are nine and one years old. I want them to grow up out there and learn to play golf and tennis.”
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