Rock Ridge Members Approve A New Clubhouse

By Steve Bigham

Rock Ridge Country Club members Sunday approved a proposed new clubhouse estimated to cost $3-4 million.

About 75 percent of the members turned out and 59 percent of them voted in favor of the plan.

The club hopes to begin construction in September of 2002 with the completion set for May or June of 2003.

Club president Isabelle Murray read the results out loud Sunday afternoon to the applause of the membership in attendance.

Members approved the club’s long-range plan, which calls for the replacement of the existing clubhouse with an 8,000-square-foot facility. The proposed clubhouse would include a pro shop, dining room, kitchen, grill room, men’s and ladies’ locker rooms, and cart storage underneath.

The proposal also calls for the reconfiguration of the golf course, specifically the eighth and ninth holes. The existing ninth hole would become the first hole and the eighth hole would become the ninth.

There would also be improvements to the pool, tennis courts, and golf course and construction of a  new golf maintenance building.

Last year, Rock Ridge hired the McMahon Group, a consulting firm, to work with members to formulate a survey that was circulated to members last November. The results indicated that members supported long-range improvements. A long-range planning committee then formed a plan that was approved Sunday.

Rock Ridge Country Club was once the summer home of a wealthy New York doctor. The estate –boasting a three-hole course – was eventually sold and opened as Pine Tree Country Club in 1953. Soon after, the club went bankrupt and was later sold to a handful of its original members. To help finance the purchase, the new owners sold off 25 of the original 65 acres. This still provided enough room for a nine-hole course. The new club was called “Rock Ridge.”

Among the large number of celebrities who have graced the picturesque golf course over the years: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.