The rebranded York, Pa., club will be part of a new Bridgewater Community and will feature a newly redesigned and renovated nine-hole course. The developer, Keystone Custom Homes, has contracted with Bridgewater Golf Club and Daniel Baker, PGA, to manage the golf operations, and with a local restaurant operator to run the clubhouse and dining venue.
The former Springwood Golf Club in York, Pa., is rebranding as Bridgewater Golf Club, with a scheduled reopening for sometime in May. The club will be part of a new Bridgewater Community, developed by Keystone Custom Homes, with a 10-year plan to build 535 homes around a newly redesigned golf course.
The golf course operation will be managed by Bridgewater Golf Club, and the clubhouse and restaurant by the operators of the White Rose Bar & Grill and Rockfish dining establishments in downtown York.
C&RB reported in 2016 on attempts to create a 27-hole facility by merging the Springwood GC course with one operated by the nearby Heritage Hills Golf Resort, using land leased from Keystone Custom Homes. But after that did not come to fruition, Keystone has unveiled its new plan, which involves partnerships with separate food-and-beverage and golf-management entities as the new Bridgewater GC is developed.
“We are not in the golf and restaurant business,” said Greg Hill, Keystone’s VP of Commercial Real Estate. “So we have partnered with the White Rose Bar & Grill to run the clubhouse/restaurant and with Daniel Baker, PGA, to run the golf operations. We feel we have a fantastic team assembled here at Bridgewater.”
The 160-acre Bridgewater Residential Community currently includes over 50 acres of permanent open space and a scenic and challenging nine-hole golf course that has been redesigned under Baker’s direction from the 18-hole course that was previously on the property. Baker, previously owner/operator of the Waynesboro (Pa.) Municipal Golf Course and inventor of The Laser Golf Cap teaching tool, said that the new layout will provide a better fit with the new direction that golf is taking for many players.
“We took existing holes and reconfigured them to fit into the development,” Baker said. “Golfers, families and corporate outings will be able to enjoy a two-hour golf experience on a beautiful course that is fun to play.
“The days of five-hour rounds of golf and being away from home for half the day have to change,” Baker said. “People just can’t justify being away that long anymore.” But for those golfers that may still want to play more rounds, he adds, golfers at Bridgewater will be able to play a second nine from alternate tees if desired, “for an outstanding 18-hole experience.”
Baker cited several recent reports from golf publications and associations in explaining the motivation for focusing on a nine-hole format for the new Bridgewater GC.
“An article in Golf Digest said that ‘the future of golf may well involve talented architects producing modest, inexpensive 9-hole courses that are fun to play,’” he said. “A report from the United States Golf Association said that ‘9-hole courses offer as much charm and challenge as ‘regulation’ 18s, and are usually more ecological and economical,’ and another one from the National Golf Foundation said that nine-hole courses are ‘a significant part of the game’s landscape in the U.S., now accounting for 27% of all golf facilities in the country.’
“[Bridgewater’s course] will start out as a par 34, but don’t let that fool you—It will be a shotmaker’s course, with different sets of tees to play from,” Baker said. “For example, the 2nd hole can be played at 465 yards from the back tee, or 415 yards or even 380 yards.
“Our signature hole, #7, has been redesigned from a par 4 to a 139-yard, par 3 that’s only 82 yards for the ladies,” Baker said. “It features a downhill, over-water [tee shot] to a two-tiered green; It’s a spectacular golf hole.
“We’ll also have a state-of-the-art, fully stocked golf shop with a putting green, and a Full Swing Simulator for lessons and clubfitting will be offered and to rent out,” Baker said. “You’ll be able to ‘play’ Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines or Oakmont and then have lunch and a beverage, right in the pro shop.”
Baker has already arranged for two local high schools to come back to use the new Bridgewater course, along with a few charitable organizations. “I am big into kids and on building a relationship with the community, focusing specifically on youth,” he said. “They are our next generation of leaders and golfers.”
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