Oberlin Golf Club celebrates grand reopening

Oberlin, Ohio – Oberlin Golf Club, founded in 1899 and one of Ohio’s oldest private golf clubs, celebrated the grand opening of its newly remodeled golf course April 30. Spencer Golf Concepts, a division of RD Zande & Associates of Columbus created the remodeling master plan.

The greens and surrounds were completely redone at the Oberlin Golf Club as can be seen from this before, above, and after shot.

Construction began at the club in the spring of 2003 with the building of a new ninth hole, a 530-yard par-5, allowing the conversion of the old ninth hole into an expansion of the practice range and a new short game practice range. Work continued that fall with the complete redesign and remodeling of the bunkers on the course’s front nine, and the addition of several new teeing grounds. Those nine holes were opened for play in the spring of 2004. Holes 10 through 18 were closed last September for the overhaul of the bunkers and teeing grounds, along with the installation of additional drain lines.

Golf course architects Denny Spencer and Ben Wheeler said they were very pleased with the work performed by Quality Golf Construction of Sunbury, Ohio.

“Our goal was to provide this wonderful old course with a facelift, and I think our team certainly achieved all the goals we set out to accomplish, especially within the parameters of the modest construction budget that the club could afford,” Spencer says.

Wheeler added that it was very gratifying to hear the rave reviews of the membership during last week’s grand opening.

“The best compliment an architect can receive is to hear how pleased and excited the membership is with his work,” he says. “In the long run, the feeling of creating something worthwhile and lasting is the best reward of all.”

Howard Williams, an original member of the remodeling committee and current president of the club, had high praise for the project.

“Remodeling is not an easy process but our membership is very pleased with the results,” Williams says. “Our new bunkers have added a remarkable visual value to the course, and they drain beautifully. We think we got a tremendous value for our remodeling budget. Between the dramatic changes on the golf course, and the opening of our completely remodeled clubhouse, we have made significant changes to the club that will last for decades to come.”

The head of the long range planning committee, John Goodman, says their choice in architects was practical.

“When we were selecting architects, we had an opportunity to hire a much bigger name,” he says. “We chose Denny Spencer instead because of his practical approach to design, and that was truly a great decision on our part”.

Oberlin Golf Club has been nominated for Golf Digest’s “Best Golf Course Remodeling Project” for 2005.