Updates to the Bedminster Township, N.J., club include the construction of three new kitchens, a pool complex, a two-sided golf range measuring 300 yards, expanded locker rooms, a new pro shop and cart barn, and an expanded parking area. The project, which is expected to be complete in May 2014, was prompted by a change in membership from corporate-only to individual in 2011, and the club anticipates reaching membership capacity by next year.
In an effort to continue to satisfy and increase membership, Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster Township, N.J., is implementing facility improvements, MyCentralJersey.com reported.
Ken Donovan, a trustee at Fiddler’s Elbow, said the renovations were prompted by changes in membership, MyCentralJersey.com reported.
“The history of Fiddler’s Elbow goes back to 1965 when it was mainly a corporate membership club due to the density of corporations in New Jersey,” Donovan said. “Up until 2011, it was a corporate membership-only club.
“However, it was decided that we should incorporate individual membership into corporate membership. The corporate membership always enjoyed the 54 holes of golf, meeting rooms, as well as the facility’s food and beverage program with an excellent chef. But our individual members also needed pools and more dining options.”
The renovations include the construction of three new kitchens, as well as a pool complex featuring two pools, a large deck area, cabanas, a locker room and dining area, MyCentralJersey.com reported.
A full, two-sided golf range measuring 300 yards with a short-game practice area, putting area and more will allow, Donovan said, “for a more realistic golf situation.”
The men’s locker room will be expanded, while a brand new locker room for the club’s female members will be constructed. Also new to the list of amenities: a new pro shop offering top-of-the-line gear and customized/personalized items, a new cart barn to house four large fleets of golf carts and an expanded parking area, MyCentralJersey.com reported.
“The project was broken down into phases,” Donovan said. “In July, the new, full golf range will open, as well as one of the new kitchens, which will be complete and operating, and the creation of The Elbow Room dining area featuring a members-only bar and fine dining. Everything else will begin in July and is due to be completed by the end of May 2014.”
The funding of the project was made as an investment by the club, and not as a solicitation of donors, MyCentralJersey.com reported.
“The feedback so far has been extraordinarily positive,” Donovan said. “Mother Nature was not very kind to us in the spring, especially in June with all of the rain we experienced during that time. The construction of the range was impeded because we could not move dirt.
“We decided to sod instead of seed, and when that was announced to our members, we received dozens of emails from them in which they expressed their appreciation.”
The construction of The Elbow Room has also been enormously well received, according to Donovan, because the new facility helps to “build the social aspect of the club,” MyCentralJersey.com reported.
“We hosted a cocktail reception for 60 new members, and they stayed for three hours,” Donovan said of a recent evening activity.
Donovan stressed that the growth of the membership at Fiddler’s Elbow has been an incredible boon to the club. In fact, the club’s membership director recently reported that the club will reach its capacity next year, Donovan said.
“It is rare in this economy that country clubs are investing in their physical plant and are at full membership. We expect that we will be starting a waiting list next year,” Donovan said.
“We offer a great deal of activities for our members. It goes beyond golf and dining, but to a robust menu of entertainment for our members.”
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