The new owners of Midland Country Club are opening the golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts and dining room to the public.
Midland Country Club will become a public 18-hole golf course and restaurant as new owners take over the facility.
The corporate name of the new facility will be Kewanee Dunes.
A name will be chosen for the course and restaurant in the future, and the new owners said they may hold a contest to name the facility.
The new owners of the facility are Roy Carver of Muscatine, Iowa, and Dr. Calvin Atwell, a Quad City surgeon.
Carver said he always has had a love and interest for golf and would like everyone to get to enjoy the course.
He said he would especially like to see young golfers get started at the course. Anyone 13 or under can golf free with a paying player.
Carver said he heard from a prior member that the course was for sale.
The course will be open as soon as weather permits.
The restaurant with new menu items was to open today, serving sandwiches and salads during the day. The dining room, open to the public, will only serve dinners on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
There will be no liquor served until Friday, when the establishment receives its license.
The word has gotten out, as there are a lot of wedding receptions and private parties already booked at the facility.
Carver and Dr. Atwell have done updating since they have purchased the course. The kitchen has been updated with a new dishwasher, grease trap and water softener.
They still have more plans to repaint the swimming pool, fix the heater and update the dressing rooms.
A grand opening is planned for May.
A lot of the employees will remain the same, Carver said. He said office manager Crystal Summy plans to hire a few employees, as several private functions are scheduled.
Carver said he would like to give a lot of credit to the Kevin Yepsen, the president of Community State Bank, for being extremely “helpful” to them during the transition.
He also complimented superintendent Phil Riedell of Kewanee for all of his work.
Carver said a golf pro will be hired, and men’s, women’s and couples leagues will be organized.
The course has a practice range, which will also be open to the public.
The fees will be less than in the past: $1,000 per year for a family, and $800 for an individual. A pool and tennis membership will add $100 to the golf membership; a pool and tennis membership only will cost $300 per year.
There are no daily fees for the swimming pool, except with a member.
Golf fees for non-members are $35 for 18 holes and $20 for nine. Both fees include a cart.
There are also annual family, single or daily fees for cart rentals. Carver said babysitters and grandchildren could also be named on the memberships.
Summy said she will try to get a schedule together each month, so everyone will know when events are scheduled and when the restaurant or the course would be closed.
For further information, contact Summy at 852-4508.
By MIKE BERRY Of The Star Courier Published: Thursday, December 27, 2007 8:28 AM CST
Club owners hope to finalize sale by March
Midland Country Club is for sale, and the club’s board of directors hopes to have the new ownership in place by next March 1.
Fred Leggett, president of the Midland board, said Wednesday that the club’s 75 golfing members who are residents of the Kewanee and Galva area voted Dec. 17 to put the golf course and other facilities up for sale. The vote was 56-17, he said.
Leggett said declining membership and increasing costs in recent years prompted the decision.
“The bar and the restaurant actually make a profit,” he said, but not enough to cover all of the club’s costs — such as maintaining the 18-hole golf course, the swimming pool and the tennis courts.
The members will meet again next Wednesday and vote on authorizing the board to accept the “most responsible bid above the floor price,” Leggett said.
By “floor price,” he said, he means one firm offer that has been received from a prospective buyer.
“There are somewhere in the vicinity of four or five other potential purchasers who are putting their proposals together,” Leggett said.
He said the board wants to accept a bid from a purchaser who plans to continue to operate Midland as it always has been operated — with a golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, restaurant and bar.
While the future of Midland would be up to whoever ends up purchasing it, Leggett said in most cases when a private golf course is sold, it is turned into a “semiprivate” club: There are still memberships, and members get preferences for tee times and other privileges.
However, the general public would be able to pay greens fees and play during some times.
Leggett said a number of country-club golf courses in Illinois have been sold to business interests in recent years; this, he said, is due to declining interest in golf.
In a letter to companies that supply goods and services to Midland, Leggett wrote, “The club has an offer in hand worth several hundred thousand dollars more than the club’s total debt and accounts payable.”
Should the sale of the club bring in more than is owed, he said, the excess funds — after taxes — would be distributed to the current members.
“It’s not going to be enough to finance a cruise or anything like that,” he said.