For country clubs, winter is the time to clean up and spruce up – and, in some cases, really fix up to herald the return of spring, golfers and an uptick in clubhouse activities.
On Valentine’s Day, the Country Club at Muirfield Village opened its extensively remodeled clubhouse, marking completion of a three-phase improvement program of facilities inside and out that were based on members’ preferences.
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Domenick Mancini, general manager, shepherded the clubhouse work during the winter.
“This was the most dated (country club),” Mancini says. “Now it’s going to be the newest” in northwestern Franklin County.
A focal point is the new Nicklaus Room, a lounge with a U-shaped bar and dining tables in space that was part of the ballroom. The former café is divided by a two-sided fireplace that creates the Golden Bear and Muirfield Village rooms, furnished in distinctive but complementary styles. French doors on either side of the fireplace can be used to make them private. The ballroom has new folding steel dividers that can create the Golden Bear, Jones and Sarenzen rooms, or one large banquet room. Carpet and wainscot throughout complete the redecorating.
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Other work completed since last summer included rebuilding all greenside bunkers, adding a pond in the 17th fairway, upgrading the swimming pool and resurfacing the tennis courts.
By the end of April, members of the venerable Columbus Country Club will see their 1964 clubhouse now features modernized facilities, but still retains a flavor of the golf club’s storied 108-year history. It was a riding club for four years before golf was introduced.
Work throughout the building includes an upgrade to the Shock Room, the members’ grill, that added a fireplace, a larger bar and big-screen TVs. This space will be a focal point of the renovations, which included moving walls to expand the dining area and refurbishing the ballroom to blend into the former lounge space.
Manager Jay Frank explains the remodeling result will be “a complete 180, a really big change” in ambience that includes installing wood floors in most areas and “taking it out of the 60s and 70s era.” Some historic mementoes will be retained in the Heritage Room, including some from the 1964 PGA Tournament the club hosted.
At Wedgewood Golf and Country Club, general manager Chris Casto says the largest clubhouse ballroom in the city is being refurbished from floor to ceiling. The first phase of the 23-year-old clubhouse’s three- to five-year capital reinvestment program includes installing wood flooring near a new hospitality bar, along with lighting, carpeting and decorating.
The New Albany Country Club’s clubhouse reopened in mid-February after a significant six-week facelift.
The mixed grill and club room, two popular eating areas, received new furnishings, fixtures, fabrics and carpeting. The main ballrooms and East and West halls on the second floor received window coverings, carpeting, furnishings and artwork to complement and emphasize the beautiful views and abundance of natural light. Culinary and service areas that support the dining and special event spaces were updated as well.
Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
