Sixty percent of all voting members at both Woodholme Country Club and The Suburban Club would have to approve any deal. The two Baltimore-area clubs have existed separately for 91 and 118 years, respectively.
Two of Pikesville, Md.’s storied country clubs, Woodholme and Suburban, have had early talks about a potential merger that would have to be approved by members of both clubs, the Baltimore Business Journal reported.
In a letter to members posted on Woodholme’s website on November 29, the country club said “the leadership of both Woodholme and Suburban have had preliminary discussions to explore the possibility of a Woodholme/Suburban merger,” the Business Journal reported.
“As you are aware, it is becoming more challenging to increase the number of members of each club. Because of that difficulty, it has become obvious that we must explore all possible ways of ensuring Woodholme’s future success,” the letter continued. “We believe that a merger would be a positive step for members of both Woodholme and Suburban.
“A combined club creates a strong and vibrant organization with a bright future,” the letter added. “Until our membership tells us otherwise, we believe it is in Woodholme’s best interest to continue the ongoing discussions.”
In a separate letter to its members dated November 30 and obtained by the Business Journal, the leadership of The Suburban Club said it was becoming “more challenging to maintain the number of members to support the club. Because of this difficulty, it has become obvious that we must explore possible ways of ensuring Suburban’s future success.”
The letter also said that Suburban had formed a committee to contact and meet with a number of members about investing in the club by purchasing bonds, the Business Journal reported. The bonds would mature in five years and carry a 3 percent annual interest rate, the letter said.
“The bottom line is the two clubs are in very, very preliminary discussions,” David Nevins, a Woodholme member who spoke on behalf of the club, told the Business Journal. “There’s been simply a recognition of the fact that the times have changed over the last 100 years since the clubs’ respective foundings.”
Nevins, a former Suburban member, said the two clubs will discuss a merger and possible partnerships, the Business Journal reported. “Everybody is approaching this with a completely open mind,” he added.
The Woodholme letter details what would be needed for a merger to go through. Sixty percent of all voting members at each club would have to approve such a deal, the Business Journal reported.
According to the Business Journal report, the letter also said that the executive board “has made our position clear that certain facilities and the golf course at Woodholme must remain in existence. Certain facilities at Suburban are very valuable to remain open as well.”
Woodholme CC was established in 1927 by a group of members belonging to a social club called “The Amity Club” who decided it was time for them to select and purchase a site in the countryside for a new club, according to the club’s website. Today, the club boasts an 18-hole golf course, 15 tennis courts, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a redesigned clubhouse, the Business Journal reported.
The Suburban Club calls itself “a focal point for social and sporting activity in [the Baltimore area].” The 118-year-old club, which sits on 130 acres in Pikesville, has been a staple for golf, swimming, tennis and life events such as weddings, bar mitzvahs and charity events, the Business Journal reported.
The Jewish Museum of Maryland explored the role of the two country clubs in Baltimore’s Jewish community, the Business Journal reported. In the book, “Generations – 2004: Recreation, Sports & Leisure. Generations,” author Deborah R. Weiner wrote, “First, wealthy Jews of German ancestry founded the Suburban Club because they could not get into non-Jewish country clubs. Second, the ‘German’ Jews would not let the ‘Russian’ Jews into their club, and so the Russians started their own, the Woodholme Country Club.”
In the Baltimore area, the Business Journal reported, Bonnie View Country Club in Baltimore closed in 2002 and the land was developed into single-family homes. Further north, the 240-acre Chestnut Ridge County Club in Lutherville-Timonium, Md. closed in 2011.