WHITE PLAINS – With a pandemic-inspired boom in full swing, area golf and country clubs are beginning to make a play for new members.
There’s no shortage of competition in this neighborhood.
Westchester Hills Golf Club got right to work at the end of the season, installing a comprehensive system to improve drainage on the greens. A $1 million irrigation system was approved earlier this month, and in hopes of retaining and recruiting members, the club is relying on the restorative powers of Rees Jones.
It’s a name drop.
The famed golf course architect is known as the “Open Doctor” for his work on renowned courses like the Bethpage Black and six other U.S. Open venues.
“We have a really good pedigree,” club president Joe Oates said of the 6,358-yard layout that opened in 1913. “Our golf course two or three years ago was not in great shape and we heard it from the members. If we want to retain members and continue to attract new members, we have to do something for that portion of the golf course where it’s lacking.”
The original design at Westchester Hills came from Peter Clark, its first head professional, who was a Donald Ross protégé. The greens were redone in 1922 under the guidance of Walter Travis.
Jones and his lead designer Bryce Swanson have developed a master plan that starts with green expansion and bunker renovation.
“We’ve looked at every feature and looked at how we can improve that feature,” Jones said. “I think that is really the way restoration should be going right now especially at these clubs that have a history. … It does have the character and the style that should be restored.”
Over time, most of the greens had lost character.
“You can go out on the golf course and see what some of the old green sizes were,” Jones said. “A lot of the greens have shrunk 400 square feet, 1,000 square feet. It looks like when I went into the Country Club in Brookline before the 1988 U.S. Open, all the greens had gotten round during the depression and the Second World War, but the essence of the design was still there.”
Along with that work, the bunkers and green surrounds will get plenty of attention. Some of the fairways might be adjusted, too.
“The idea is to make it a lot more interesting,” Swanson said. “Less accomplished players will be allowed to go to a shot they know they can hit instead of playing out of the heavy rough. For the better players it will definitely become more challenging.”
By modern standards, 6,300 yards is modest.
“It’s not a long golf course, but length is really out right now,” Jones added. “I think we as architects over-emphasize length. … Most golfers have enjoyed the game more with the better equipment, but their ball still isn’t going that far. It’s a finesse golf course. It’s a golf course you enjoy playing every day because it has a lot of shots, variable lies.”
There is one green left to do before the drainage work is complete. Materials for the irrigation system are en route and will be installed over the winter. Some of the restoration work is also slated to begin in the coming weeks.
If the project stays on schedule and the weather cooperates, 17 holes will be open March 15 and the entire course will be open April 1.
“We’ve probably invested between $300,000 and $400,000 the last two years,” Oates said of the price tag. “We think somewhere between $1.5 and $2 million dollars is what the investment is going to be between the XGD drainage, the Rees Jones redesign work and the irrigation. Some of the work, the funds are in place, but we’re going to need to borrow money to do the irrigation work.”
The plan approved by the members includes a debt service fee.
According to general manager Josh Lowney, the club added 56 members this year and now has 348 members. There are typically multiple levels of membership at private clubs, including social, pool, golf and inclusive.
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Westchester Hills is also planning to increase cart and walking options next season. Cosmetic improvements to the women’s locker room are planned and the pool is getting upgraded infrastructure.
More affordable food options are on the proverbial table, as well.
“We have had a tremendous increase in play this year,” Oates said. “Through the end of October we were up almost 30 percent, which is amazing. We think this is what’s going to take us to the next level.”
Mike Dougherty covers golf for The Journal News/lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com, or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.
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