ClubCorp Salutes Clubs of the Year

For five top club and resort properties recently honored by ClubCorp, success is defined by a remarkable level of member involvement and by exemplary community stewardship by members and employee-partners. The following properties are outstanding examples of the ClubCorp motto of “the best serving the best.”

RESORT OF THE YEAR
“Of all the great golf centres in the world, there is perhaps only one that comes close to sharing the ideals and aspirations of St. Andrews…” This kudo, in a yearbook published by the St. Andrews Links Trust at the “home of golf” itself, refers to Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The resort’s milestones of the past year represented the culmination of many years’ work, according to Pat Corso, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Pinehurst. Among the year’s highlights were the sellout of corporate hospitality tents for the 1999 U.S. Open Championship and the reopening of course No. 2 with greens restored by architect Rees Jones to their original Donald Ross quality.

GOLF CLUB OF THE YEAR
Members at Golden Bear Golf Club at Indigo Run in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, consistently rank their club among the best of the best. Manager Bob Thomas says the semi-private club benefits from the input of three active member committees. And despite its name, golf isn’t the club’s only game — the tennis facilities currently are being expanded to six courts.

COUNTRY CLUB OF THE YEAR
“Everything that could have gone right, did,” says Jerry Diamond, manager of Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, Texas. For 1997, that meant continued growth in membership and continued improvement in club facilities and services. Capital improvements to the golf course, which enhanced the playability, included bunker restoration and environmental measures to prevent erosion in lake areas. On this year’s agenda: Groundbreaking for a new 18-hole course designed by Tom Fazio.

CITY CLUB OF THE YEAR
Manager Tim Shepardson says one of the most successful membership innovations of the year at the Harbour Club in Charleston, South Carolina, was the establishment of the “Town & Country” program. The new membership level provides participants privileges at nearby Snee Farm Country Club.

CITY/ATHLETIC CLUB OF THE YEAR
The Greenspoint Club in Houston also experienced success with a new membership category: “Individual Only.” The new classification added 250 members who, because of their business needs, want privileges solely for themselves and solely at the Greenspoint club quarters. Manager Rich Andrae ended the year with a new challenge when he moved to the Houston Center Club.