With noticeable excitement, Pin High Visions Chief Executive Officer John Worley maneuvers the golf cart along the newly built 8-foot-wide Orangeburg Country Club golf cart paths.

“I come out here pretty often,” Worley said, pointing to the newly expanded tee boxes in place at the first hole of the club’s newly renovated 18-hole golf course. “Every one of these tee boxes is as level as you can get it. It is all laser leveled.”

During a brief Wednesday afternoon sneak preview of the course, Worley, along with Country Club Head Golf Professional David Lackey, detailed the renovations at the golf course that have been under way for the past four months.

The golf course has been resodded, greens have been expanded, and bunkers have been reshaped in an effort to bring back the course’s original 1961 design, which officials say had been lost over the past 40 to 50 years.

Officials say time has decreased green square footage, tee square footage and increased sand bunker size.

About 1-1/2 million square feet of sod was placed on the course and a new irrigation system was installed. The previous system was the original put in place about 50 years ago and was not spreading water efficiently.

Aerial photographs from 1963 were used to restore the original course.

The two-phase project began in July with the front nine holes done first.

The front nine are about 98 percent complete with just minor work such as the laying of pine straw remaining.

The second phase, which will include renovations to the driving range and creation of a short range practice area, began in late summer. The back nine are about 90 percent complete.

Golf course architect Richard Mandell said what golfers will first realize is “something special happened here.”



“This will be a Southern classic and will be a gem,” Mandell said. “Our goal was to create a situation where all golfers get the same experience no matter what their talent level is,” Mandell said. “This really was not happening before.”

Mandell said what golfers will see is “more dramatic bunkering, larger putting surfaces.”

“The larger the putting surface, the more roll and interesting high and low points we can get out there,” he said. “The golfers will have a more fun experience than what they had before.”

The course will also be expanded from the current 6,700 yards to more than 7,000 yards.

The same Champion Bermuda grass and soils will be retained on the course. Around the bunkers, zenith zoysia, was placed.

Construction work is being done by Hendersonville, N.C.-based Course Doctors.

Strategically, about 700 trees, of which 30 percent were either dead or in the dying process, were removed. Most of the trees were destroyed during the 2004 ice storm, Worley said.

“We also relocated some bunkers,” Mandell said.

Mandell said dramatic changes will be seen in the second hole, the sixth hole and the eighth and ninth holes.

Mandell said on the eighth hole, a bunker that was not original was removed and a bunker was added on the right side of the fairway.

On the ninth green, a new bunker was added on the left side of the fairway because of the addition of a new 2.5-acre short game practice area.

“This will really make the golf hole a challenging golf hole,” Mandell said. “We tried to do things that would create function for the golfer.”

Two restroom facilities on the course are also under construction.

Pin High Visions LLC, a subsidiary of Orangeburg-based Zeus Inc., purchased the club in May 2009 after shareholders voted 550-27 to sell the club and its assets.

The sale of the club was approved in May. Pin High has agreed to operate the facility as a country club for the next three years.

Club owner Frank Tourville took responsibility for the club’s debts up to $1.2 million and has promised to make $1.5 million in capital improvements.

On Wednesday, Tourville would not provide details on how much the golf course remodeling has cost or how much clubhouse renovations will cost, except to note the project is “substantial, substantial, substantial” and over the initial $1.5 million total capital improvement expectations.

In addition to the golf course, the 18,000-square-foot clubhouse will be expanded by about 15 to 20 percent.

Planned drawings are about 90 percent complete with construction work expected to begin before the end of the year.

“I am hoping we can get started as early as possible in November,” Worley said. A contract for renovations has yet to be awarded, though discussions have been ongoing with C.F. Evans Construction.

The clubhouse will remain open throughout the renovation process, with work staggered to minimize disruption to members and guests.

The expansion will include a 760-square-foot pro shop and a 540-square-foot addition to the River Room, which will include an open-air kitchen design.

The current club’s Walnut Room will be transformed into a reception area where guests can relax before being served. Balconies will be created for an overview into the ballroom.

The ballroom will be expanded by about 1,296 square feet and an outdoor terrace, with fireplace, will be added in the club’s rear.

Restrooms will be added to the ballroom level. New ceilings are also planned.

Worley said the status of the club’s frontal, formal dining room is unclear.

“It does not get used very much,” Worley said.

The current clubhouse snack bar will be removed and a new snack bar will be placed near the planned six new tennis clay and hard courts and a 4-foot-deep swimming pool. The courts and pool will be installed in proximity to the current court and pool.

The current tennis courts and swimming pool will be replaced with newer, up-to-date models. New lighting will be installed.

The snack bar in the River Room will be relocated near the tennis courts and a swimming pool.

A workout and exercise room will be added to the grounds near the tennis courts and pool area. Specific details on the exercise facility are being completed.

The entire clubhouse will be made accessible to people with physical handicaps through the placement of a lift from the River Room to the ballroom.

West Summers of Orangeburg is the project architect.

“It won’t look like this when we get finished,” Worley said.

The clubhouse exterior will be redone with natural stone and stucco. The front portico area will be expanded and the roof will be replaced.

The main parking lot, which already has had its trees removed, will be redone with 250 additional spaces.

Beyond renovations, the Country Club has hired Daniel G. Cook as club manager.

Cook comes to Orangeburg from Epping Forest Yacht Club, a 2,300-member yacht club in Jacksonville, Fla., where he served as assistant general manager.

Cook has managed the operations of the banquet department and catering sales since 1996 at Epping and has more than 20 years experience in the catering and restaurant management industry.

Throughout the club’s transition, officials say most of its original 32 employees have been kept.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.

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