August 1st 2009

Club moves into new building after real Demo Day

Greer Country Club had a real demo day to tear down their old clubhouse and move into their brand new facility a full month ahead of schedule.

The club started the construction on the replacement for the 38 year old building in September and moved in during the first week in March.

Now the new clubhouse dominates the entrance to the club and gives all the members a real sense of pride in their club.

“I could not be happier with the way it turned out,” said Phillip Stevenson, the head of the building committee.

The project from start to finish was completed ahead of schedule and on budget.

“We had a good plan and good people working on it and I think it turned out even better than we expected,” said club president Ron Bennett.

The new building is almost like two clubhouses. The first floor includes offices, golf shop, a full service restaurant and gathering areas, while the lower level includes a portion of the building reserved for members only. Members’ lockers and shower facilities, as well as a special lounge and enough room to expand and grow, makes the new building functional and flexible.

“This new building lets us offer a lot more to our members,” said Stevenson. “Besides the clubhouse we have a new pool and new pool house the members are going to enjoy,” he said.

One of the design features is a porch that almost wraps completely around the building to be used by members and guests as a gathering place.

“I really liked seeing so many people out sitting on the porch and talking or rocking. It’s a kind of bonding atmosphere for the members,” said Bennett.

The new building was completed before the old clubhouse was demolished. The fact that at one point the new clubhouse was just inches from the old building was created some exciting moments during the demolition.

“You always worry that once you get half a building down the other half may just fold up,” said Chuck Harvey who supervised the demo of the old clubhouse and was a member of the building committee. “We didn’t have much room to work with, but everything went fine,” he added.

The club followed a well researched plan to build the new facility and used the expertise of some members to help guide the construction process.

“We had a building committee that had three contractors and a couple of bankers in the group and they were able to help us make the right decisions,” said Bennett.

One of the very big decisions was made early in the construction process and that was to keep building the building.

When the economy began to slow in the fall, the club’s board held a meeting to talk about a delay. Ironically the downturn in the economy actually helped bring some costs down and keep the project on schedule.

“We found that we had subcontractors ready to work and some material costs were a little less, so it didn’t hurt us,” said Bennett.

About the only problems that occurred for the club happened at the very end of the project. A trucking company lost the dining room tables and some bad weather has slowed the construction of a 5,000 square foot putting green.

The club was able to operate all through the construction with minimal inconvenience to members and guests.

“Our staff deserves a lot of credit for keeping things going. Kenny Brooks and Zack Easler worked hard and deserve a lot of credit,” said Stevenson.

In fact, the entire staff including Superintendent Rick Lister was involved in many decisions about the new facility.

The very fast construction of the building has helped the club meet one of the goals for building the new clubhouse. Greer has seen a number of new members sign up early this year.

“We never get new members in January but we got several this year and a few more later and the big reason was they liked what we were doing with the clubhouse,” said Bennett.

The clubhouse is a continuation of many improvements at the Greer club in recent years. A modern irrigation system improved the quality of the course and now the clubhouse adds to the improvements.

“I was just a kid when the club moved from an old house to the clubhouse and our new clubhouse is the kind of building we are going to enjoy and my children can enjoy for many years,” said Harvey.

While the members of the club and guests will be the biggest beneficiaries of the new facility. Bennett believes the entire Greer community is going to benefit from the building.

“The clubhouse is going to be available for private meetings and parties and we already have some inquiries into scheduling events during the year,” said Bennett.

The club will hold a special grand opening for the members later this month.

“We hope everyone in Greer is as proud of our new clubhouse as we are,” concluded Bennett.

PGA Tour Pro Mike Souchak played the opening ceremonial round at the new Greer Country Club. “Well, fellows,” he exclaimed, “you have yourself a championship course.”

Dr. Ralph Brown remembers it as the “roughest nine holes in the country.” He says, “One day a week we picked up rocks. Bobby Williams, W.E. Harvey, and I were assigned the fourth hole. We cleaned up the course that way.”

In 1955 a group of local businessmen built the nine-hole golf course on Gap Creek Road on the old Bright homestead. Knowing that many clubs of the day were exclusive to members only, the founders offered golf to the public also. Green fees were quite affordable at $6.00. The old two-story house became the clubhouse, and Jim Riggins was hired as the manager/pro.

When the club opened, golfers rolled their own bags in hand-carts. Young boys, eager to pick up spending money, would caddy. On one occasion, the country club had invited other clubs to participate in a tournament. The Greenville County Champion arrived and was approached by one of the boys who asked him if he needed a caddy. “Do you know this course?” the golfer asked. “No, sir,” replied the caddy, “but the holes are numbered.”

One of those early caddies was Albert “Prunell” Kelley. Kelley has been a fixture at the club since its beginnings, starting as a caddy, then working as groundskeeper, and enjoying a round of golf himself as an associated member. Although retired and no longer playing golf, Kelley still enjoys working part-time in the summers.

Albert Kelley received his nickname as a kid. He began as a caddy at the age of 8 at the Shores Brook Club in Spartanburg. “I was so little. The bag was bigger than me,” he says. One of the golfers looked at this small boy holding a big bag of clubs and shouted, “Come here, Pruny.” Kelley says that the name stuck.

About seven years after opening, the club directors purchased additional land and added the last 9 holes a few years later. In 1970 builder Joe Smith erected a new club house beside the swimming pool. Tennis courts were built where the cart shed is today, and an irrigation system was later installed, using water from Apalache Lake. A restaurant replaced the snack stand in 1988, and manager Martha Corbin has been cooking breakfast and lunch since.

Lady golfers were active from the beginning. Hannah Beason organized Ladies Day on Tuesdays. Golfer Gwen Johnson, who has golfed at the club many years, says there were many good female golfers. “We need some new young girls now,” she notes.

When asked about any one famous starting on the course, old-timers Fletcher Vaughn and Harold Boyter remember Tommy “Lefty” Mullinax, who played either hand. Lefty started playing as a barefoot boy, tagging along with his father. Mullinax was great with the trick shots and toured for Dunlop. Fletcher says, “Nobody was like him around here. He would drop the ball from his mouth, let it bounce, and hit it. Why he could knock the ball through a phone book!”

As Dr. Brown observes, “It’s a fun course.” The Par 72 course is rated mountain hilly with its downhill lines favoring shot makers over power hitters. Today there are 393 members, but the course and restaurant are still open to the public. Manager Kenny Brooks, who has been at the club since 2002, says that 32,000 rounds are played each year.

On March 9, 2009 the old clubhouse was razed. A new clubhouse designed by architect Jason Smith and built by Craig and Jack Ticknor of CMT builders sits on the hillside and covers the site of the old pool. Beside it is a new pool and pool house. Designed with porches on all sides, the clubhouse offers golfers and guests a grand mountain view. The clubhouse with three levels has the prop shop, offices, dining area, kitchen, and women’s area on the main level. Downstairs are the men’s lockers and facilities; upstairs is a future conference room to be completed. Restaurant manager Martha Corbin loves the new kitchen facilities and hopes to cater for special occasions in the dining area.

Brooks feels that the new facility will bring more members and offer more community activities. “This is a great asset to the Greer community.” He praises the building committee (Chuck Harvey, Phillip Stevenson, Bruce Redmon, Joey Finley, and Jack Atkins), the board of directors (President Ron Bennett, Phillip Stevenson, Chris Dumas, and Leonard Hill), and the club membership who have given him great support. He also says, “Special thanks go to my employees for their hard work.” Working with Brooks are Pro Zach Easler, greens keeper Rick Lister, and caddy master Milton Gordon.

Even if you don’t golf, you should drop by to see the beautiful new facility. Sit a spell and ask one of the old-timers about golf. Fletcher Vaughn is 92 and remembers a lot about the early days, but don’t get there too late or you’ll miss him. He’ll be on the course “hittin’ my age” or under.