The Columbus Country Club is back in the black after paying off back taxes, catching up on loan payments, eliminating six staff positions and slicing rates and expenses.
The country club, located on Military Road north of Highway 82, was in financial straits in March after losing 125 to 150 members over a 12- to 18-month period, club president Kirk Hardy said then.
“It got scary there for a while,” said General Manager Mark Grisham.
But now, Grisham added, the club has “taken a 180 degree turn.”
The club has attracted 55 additional members over the last three months by cutting rates for both its social and full memberships, bringing the total number of members to 271, Hardy said.
Social members, who have access to all services except the golf course, now pay $100 per month, down from $125, he said. Full members, who were formerly paying $230 per month, now pay $150.
Services were also scaled back, Grisham said. Dinner is served only on Fridays now and the golf course opens at 9 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Maintenance costs at the course were also cut by 35 percent, he said, although golfers said they cannot tell the difference.
“There haven”t been any drastic changes as far as I can tell,” said 32-year-old Michael Wyers, who golfs at the course about once every two weeks.
“The greens are just as nice as the first time I played them,” he added.
Besides trimming services, the club also had to trim its staff, erasing six positions, including that of PGA-certified golf professional Tom Riley.
An assistant to the pro is still on staff and able to officiate at tournaments and give lessons, Hardy said.
In the clubhouse, the positions of banquet coordinator and office assistant were rubbed out, as well as three positions in the kitchen.
“We”re just trying to keep the doors open,” Hardy said of the changes.
One of the ways the club dodged the bullet was by installing the popular pay-to-play option, which allows golfers to pay a one-time fee of $35 to play the 18-hole course with a cart, he said.
New full member Kiley Moody, 35, said the club”s troubles have opened up the course to the public, who are now welcomed with open arms by staff.
“With the economy the way it is, anyone can get in trouble,” Moody said. “But people have really gotten behind the club.”
Besides new members, longtime members also rose to the occasion in May, helping to pay the city and county $55,000 in overdue taxes, Hardy said.
“We had some members that came up with some capital that allowed us to pay off back property taxes and catch up on loan payments,” he said.
The club, which is owned by 84 shareholders, currently owes about $2 million to five local banks, including Cadence Bank for construction of the club swimming pool, Hardy said. The payments were three months behind when they were paid.
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