A new Athletic Center and a full dose of fresh ambition from members and staff have reinvigorated this suburban Philadelphia club and its rich golf legacy.
Great Rock GC Set to Reopen After Two-Plus Years of Dormancy
The public facility in Wading River, N.Y., has had a checkered history since it opened in 2001, but its new owners have undertaken renovation and modification projects since acquiring it in May 2021, including improving the golf course’s irrigation and drainage system, upgrading bunkers and acquiring a new fleet of electric carts. A rebuild of…
Broken Top Club Selects Troon Privé
The 28-year-old club in Bend, Ore. includes a par-72 golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, along with an 18-hole putting course, a golf performance center, two tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and a fitness center with a yoga studio spa and steam rooms. The club takes its named from the remnants of…
New Owners of White Birch GC Plan Improvements While Keeping ‘Hometown’ Feel
Randy Kurzinsky has returned from Florida to his native Barnesville, Pa. to join Jasmine Colon in purchasing the 27-hole public facility from a member of the family that had operated White Birch since it opened in 1961. The property had been on the market for four years and after a planned sale fell through, the…
Wheels Put in Motion to Explore New Irrigation System at Westview GC
(Photo by J. Robert Gough/Muddy River News, Quincy, Ill.) The 27-hole public course in Quincy, Ill. isn’t facing a dire need yet to replace the double-row sprinkler system that was installed in 1991 and then had a series of upgrades to the pump station, central computer and sprinklers. But glue for the couplers connecting the…
Clearview GC Prepares to Construct $1.1M Education Center
The historic club in East Canton, Ohio, where the late William Powell created the first golf course in the U.S. designed, constructed and owned by a Black person, now plans to build a 5,800-sq. ft. Powell Education Center that will include an archival area and museum. The complex would also host a new structure for…
Club Threatened with Loss of Tax Abatement Over Tree Removals
(Photo by Anne Marie Tobin/The Daily Item, Lynn, Mass.) While Peter Fischl, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., told the city’s Conservation Commission that the club “takes full responsibility” for any unauthorized removal of trees as part of a golf course renovation, Commission members said they will consider…
Colorado City Considers Ban of Cool-Weather Turf
A proposed ordinance that will be considered by the city council of Aurora, Colo. in April would restrict the use of cool-season species such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescue for any new golf courses beginning in 2023. Ornamental water features such as exterior decorative fountains, waterfalls, basins and ponds would also not be allowed. “I…
Club Staff’s Extra Efforts Lead to Quick Arrest After Theft of $29K in Golf Equipment
(Bloomington CC) After a weekend break-in at Bloomington Country Club in St. George, Utah, with much of what was stolen belonging to nine club members, General Manager Scott Brandt and his staff quickly notified area pawnshops with a description of the stolen property and also scoured social media and found postings of stolen items that…
The New Slice of Life at Grand Harbor G&YC
A popular new pizza restaurant and an upgraded golf course and clubhouse have given members even more reasons to be happy they found their way to this secluded South Carolina community.
Minneapolis/St. Paul GMs Report “The Best of Times” for Their Clubs
(Edina CC) A survey by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal found that the average initiation fee of private clubs in the Twin Cities region has increased by two-thirds over the past two years, and half of the 24 clubs surveyed said they were now at their limit for golf memberships, with some GMs reporting wait…
New York-Area Clubs to Provide Internships for Ukrainian Students
Through GOLFWORKS, the internship program of the Metropolitan Golf Association Foundation, several clubs in the New York area have already signed up to provide paid summer internships for students at U.S. schools from Ukraine and adjacent countries that are being impacted by the current conflict. Interested students are being directed to their school’s office of…
California Bill to Convert Golf Courses for Housing Reappears in New Form
(Los Angeles’ Chester L. Washington GC) After proposed legislation failed that sought to strip the classification of the state’s municipal courses as parks, to make it easier to rezone them for housing, its advocates have introduced a new version that would provide grants for municipalities to voluntarily convert courses into a combination of open space…
Nicklaus Companies Form Partnership for “Residential Resort” Experiences
The golf course design firm and licensing company founded by Jack Nicklaus will partner with Rentyl Resorts, a lodging hospitality platform that places travelers in private homes and provides concierge services. A successful test of the concept at The Bear’s Den Resort in Orlando, Fla. generated a 70% per-square-foot premium, the partners say, while also…
‘From Ashes Will Come Triumph’: Oakland Hills CC Lands Two U.S. Opens
(Photo of USGA’s John Bodenhamer making announcement by Andy Morrison/The Detroit News) The storied club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. got a much-needed shot of good news as it recovers from the fire that destroyed its century-old clubhouse in February, with the USGA awarding it the Opens in 2034 and 2051. Oakmont (Pa.) CC, previously scheduled…