Reputable Golf Clubs Embrace Fun to Attract More Members

Broderick said the conversion of the Fazio course to two more relaxed courses was driven by the club’s new owners, Brookfield Asset Management. 233 million dollars for the club in 2018. “We’re unbuttoning the top button of our golf shirt and relaxing the rules,” he said. “We want people to have fun”

Firestone Country Club in Ohio, a private club that was originally the corporate club of the tire manufacturer of the same name, has long been known as a test of strength golf. It has hosted decades of PGA Tour events, most recently the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. Tiger Woods has won eight PGA Tour events at Firestone.

However, more recently, the club has opened up to limited stay and play options.

“We’ve always had three really good golf courses,” said Jay Walkinshaw, the club’s general manager. “As the club and membership developed, we realized we had these 86 guest rooms on the property and a little overcapacity. That’s when we started thinking about opening Firestone.”

Opening for semi-public play brought revenue without damaging member play. “It’s a destination for golf enthusiasts and now we can reach them,” he said.

Even the venerable Pinehurst in North Carolina, which hosted four United States Openings over the next two decades, slackened. The main attraction is the Pinehurst No. The 2 remains a sought-after golf test, just as Payne Stewart beat Phil Mickelson at the 1999 US Open. But now there’s Cradle, a nine-hole course with music inside. Cradle aims to make up for what’s missing in history, within fun.

“At Pinehurst there is a theme of going back to our history and fine-tuning it for the modern age, and Cradle is a great example,” said Pinehurst president Tom Pashley. “Having music on Cradle is lauded now, but it was a very difficult decision. It added to the relaxed atmosphere we wanted. It’s part of the charm of playing Cradle now.”

Similarly, this year, California’s Pebble Beach Golf Links is relocating an underutilized par-3 course to Hay, a short course of lengths commemorating historic moments at Pebble, including the short course designed by Tiger Woods and a replica of the course’s seventh hole. transformed. 3 surrounded by water.