Two longtime members partnered for the purchase of the club.

Two longtime members of the Anderson (Ind.) Country Club now own it, reports The Herald Bulletin.

John Paugh and Jeff Stoops completed the purchase of the golf course in early October, and are already in the process of making changes in hopes of improving it.

The club had been member-owned since it opened 109 years ago. The golf course currently has 265 members.

The membership had hoped to keep it member-owned, but new leadership was needed to help improve the club, so the next best thing was to sell it to specific members. That way, the club could remain private and in the hands of someone who knew the course.

The club’s board members approached Paugh a year ago about purchasing the club, but he wanted to truly understand how the club functioned. So, Paugh became a member of the board for a year to learn about its deficits and management.

As he began to consider it, Paugh met with Stoops over lunch and told him about it. Stoops suggested they split the cost and co-own it.

About three months ago, the pair began the process to purchase the club.

Since a new corporation owns the club, employees will need to be rehired, and the owners plan on doing so. They don’t anticipate any turnover, and instead hope to increase the staff.

The most immediate change will be a new general manager, and Paugh said the club is in the process of interviewing people for that position.

Pope Golf, out of Florida, had been managing the golf course and had brought in its own general manager and golf pro. The management agreement expired last week, so the manager returned to Florida, but the golf pro stayed.