The former Blue Ridge Country Club in Palmerton, Pa., reinvented itself under new ownership last year as a public golf course, but originally opened in 1915 as a nine-hole golf course. The centennial celebration will include a three-person scramble, live music, prizes and fireworks over the 4th of July weekend.
Blue Shamrock Golf Club, the public golf course in Palmerton, Pa., that recently had its first anniversary, also will be celebrating its centennial over July 4th weekend, the Lehigh Valley, Pa.-based Morning Call reported.
The course plans three days of activities to mark the 100th anniversary of the former Blue Ridge Country Club, which opened in 1915. Blue Ridge closed in 2013 and reopened last year under new ownership as a public course, the Morning Call reported.
Head pro Ray Silnik said Blue Shamrock tied the centennial celebration with the holiday weekend. “We think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
Blue Ridge’s history dates to April 1915, when the club’s nine-hole golf course opened. Since 1989, it added nine holes and a 17,000-sq. ft. clubhouse. Membership ultimately fell below 200, however, and the club closed in November 2013, the Morning Call reported.
When the course reopened to the public last year, Tim Nagle, who heads the ownership group, said that Blue Shamrock would respect the club’s long history but also needed a fresh start. As a result, the new owners sought to retain the course’s character while making some changes inside and out to go public, the Morning Call reported.
They added a restaurant, pub and outdoor deck for outings and events. Silnik said that former Blue Ridge members have been drawn back to the public course, the Morning Call reported.
“People are really happy with the course,” said Silnik, who formerly worked at Silver Creek. “We’ve doubled our number of yearly members, and a lot of [the former Blue Ridge] members are coming back to on a daily-fee basis.”
The centennial celebration calendar includes a three-person scramble tournament Saturday, live music, prizes and fireworks on July 5, the Morning Call reported.
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