Country clubs opening doors to the public
Elite, golf-centric country clubs may be becoming a thing of the past – at least in the traditional sense.
The days of high-priced dues and initiation fees, strict dress codes and rules are being replaced by lower or no dues and special activities or events. Some owners hope a more casual, informal atmosphere will appeal to a wider audience, bringing in younger members.
The reason for the changes? Survival.
The former Pleasant Valley Country Club, now called the Pleasant Valley Golf Club, is the perfect example. For 98 years, the Bullskin Township venue operated as a private, members-only club. Last spring, the owners opted to sell it, rather than watch the club fold.
Now under the ownership of local businessman Tuffy Shallenberger, the club is fully open to the public.
“Thirty years ago, Pleasant Valley was the premier country club in the area,” said Ken Ivory, the club’s director of golf operations, who stayed on after the club was sold.
However, Ivory pointed out, times have changed. Membership had dwindled and those who did remain were paying far less in dues than they ever had. Ultimately, the club couldn’t make enough to put any money back into the club.
“It was done out of necessity, like most courses,” said Ivory. “It was give it to the bank or take a very fair offer to buy the place.”
Not terribly far away, Uniontown Country Club also saw a change in ownership.
After closing its doors in October, the club was purchased by Phoenix LLC, a group that owns and operates several businesses in the area, including Duck Hollow Golf Club, a public course that also sells golf memberships.
General Manager Rico Coville said it will still be a country club and will operate on a semi-private basis.
That means the restaurant/bar and golf course will be open to the public, but the club will offer “members only” times for those amenities as a special benefit to those who choose to join. The pool and a cigar room, Coville said, will be for members only.
“We’re just taking it step by step,” said Coville, a Uniontown native.
Both clubs have undergone and continue to undergo numerous renovations.
Changes at UCC have included updating the kitchen, painting, redecorating and even reworking the restaurant area, which now features a big open room, where it was once closed off by a wall. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner daily.
The restaurant has been renamed 1908 Bar and Restaurant – a tip to the club’s history, which began in 1908. It will feature a bar menu during the day and dinner menu beginning at 4 p.m. The outdoor deck will also be available for diners with a view that can’t be beat.
The banquet hall will also be available for meetings, private parties and special events with seating up to 225 and an additional 100 on the outdoor deck.
Drainage issues on the course and updates to bunkers are just some of the work being done on the UCC golf course. There is also work to be done to the swimming pool and baby pool.
With such a tremendous transformation, Coville welcomes the public to check out the changes. The club’s grand reopening was held recently.
“Come out and see it. We are open every day. Come walk around the grounds and see what’s happening here,” said Coville.
Updates at Pleasant Valley include a restaurant and bar called The Locker Room, located in the former site of a literal locker room. Another restaurant and bar, 19th Hole, is on the second floor of the club.
“This has really taken off and flourished, and not just as a bar, but as an eatery,” said Kim Robson, who was hired as director of club operations last fall.
Behind The Locker Room, the new state-of-the-art golf simulators are a huge hit. Ivory said the simulators have become a valuable tool for serious golfers and novice golfers just learning the game.
On the top level of the club, renovation plans are underway for the banquet room but haven’t begun yet. The pro shop has also been redesigned and new merchandise is arriving.
On the exterior, an extensive renovation of the course, which stretches on both sides of Route 982, began at the end of the season last year and continues, including the construction of an island green on the 17th hole, and a peninsula green on the 14th – something Ivory said will be unique to this area. Additional bunkers and cart paths are also being redone.
“This place is more of a country club today than it was five years ago,” said Ivory.