The new look is obvious in the sprucing up of the 17-year-old clubhouse and grounds. The new outlook is just as obvious as both the staff and members are doing a lot more smiling these days.
“Everything and everybody is positive now,” says General Manager Jim Alley, also a self-proclaimed chief bottle-washer. “People coming into the neighborhood now see and feel the friendliness and they know they are really welcome.”
Alley came onto the Longleaf scene in January and found a club and a membership in disarray. Bankruptcy was being declared and the membership and management were at odds.
“It was almost like a civil war,” Alley said. “After 9/11 in 2001, the original owners reneged on some agreements and it was impossible to maintain the course and the club to the satisfaction of the members.”
A reorganization that included purchasing the course by Longleaf Florida gave the managing team headed by Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame course architect Dan Maples some financial breathing room and Alley was brought in to make it work.
Alley is quick to come to the defense of Maples, who received harsh criticism during the troubled period.
“Dan Maples is a man of great honor,” Alley said, “and he kept the course and clubhouse open the best way he could. People just don’t give Dan the credit for what he knows about growing grass.”
The 52-year-old Alley knows what it takes to operate a golf club efficiently. He’s a people person who enjoys give and take with the membership and understands what dues-paying members expect from club management.
As manager of Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, Alley had to coordinate the PGA Tour’s Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. His job required meeting PGA Tour specifications and dealing with the 1,500 Jaycees and other volunteers as well as 33,000 daily spectators during the tournament. He came to Longleaf from Emerald Greens Country Club in Tampa, Fla., one of six courses operating under the Maples Management Co., headquartered in Pinehurst.
“When we got here, nobody really knew what was going on and everybody was looking at us out of the corner of their eyes,” Alley said. “Now the staff is filled with good people, the membership is growing and we’re reaching out to the community. I’m a hands-on manager and I’m always here. This is important to me. This is a long-term project and working with someone like Dan Maples is a pleasure.”
The commitment shows in work being done on the course, too.
“We’ve done a lot of sod work covering bare areas,” course superintendent Mike McKee pointed out, “and our members are involved with an ‘Adopt-a-Hole’ program. They fix divots, repair ball marks and pick up broken tees and it’s really making a difference in the appearance of the course. One lady told me today that she had filled in 150 divots on one hole.
“We’ve redone the fringes of the greens with TifSport grass and they look great now, and we’ve repaired the cart paths where roots had broken them up.”
“We’ve spent $55,000 on the clubhouse facelift,” Alley said, “and the diners in our Paddock Restaurant are happy now. We’re letting our members know that Longleaf is a special place and we have some things to offer that other clubs in the area don’t.
“We’ve brought in Carlton Goins as food and beverage manager and the members love him. We have 150 members now, which is up from about 95 at the beginning of the year.
“The golf course is extremely playable right now and you can get lessons from some pretty good people on our range. John Marintette, who was a lead instructor for the John Jacobs School of Golf, heads up our program, and we also have Bill and Izzie Johnson on the staff to give lessons. Bill was a coach at Dartmouth for 34 years and Izzie was there for 24 years.
Alley is particularly excited about one of Longleaf’s new projects, a lawn bowling and croquet court being constructed near the entrance between the No. 3 tee and the residential area known as The Meadows.
“A lot of people have shown interest in joining because of this,” Alley said. “It will give people outside Pinehurst Country Club the opportunity to enjoy those sports.”
The court will be visible from Midland Road and Alley hopes it will draw even more interest.
“We’re going to have six lanes of lawn bowling,” he said, “and the bowling and croquet will give us more exposure. People driving past will be able see the players out in their white outfits and this should create an even better image of Longleaf.
“You just have to offer something a little different to be successful in this area with all the competition.”
The addition of the croquet and lawn bowling will necessitate the moving of the tee area on the third hole to the left, making the par-4 an interesting dogleg.
“We’ve held open houses for package groups and Realtors in the area and to let them know what’s going on here,” Alley said. “We’re back to level now and we’re going forward.
“I really like the new energy level at Longleaf.”
Membership at Longleaf includes playing privileges for cart fees only at The Pit Golf Links, Gates Four Golf and Country Club in Fayetteville, Brick Landing in Shallotte, Emerald Greens, and The Bluff in Pinebluff.
Play is limited to members and their guests, Capital Card members and package play. Memberships available include: Homeowners full family $210 monthly; individual $178 and social $98; memberships for Moore residents outside Longleaf available for a $500 initiation fee and the same monthly rates; and memberships at even lower rates are available for out of county and out of state residents. For information, call 692-6100.
