While many private country clubs are feeling pinched by the sluggish economy and seeking creative ways to maintain quality levels of service, Ridgewood Country Club in Waco is thriving and in the midst of a $6.8 million clubhouse makeover.

The extensive renovation project will add roughly 2,000 square feet of new construction, but virtually every section of the existing 42,000-square-foot clubhouse is being upgraded and refurbished.

Planning for the project, being done in four stages, started five years ago. Work, under the direction of Mazanec Construction, kicked off in September and should be completed in December.

Workers renovate the ballroom at Ridgewood Country Club as part of a $6.8 million clubhouse makeover.
Duane A. Laverty / Waco Tribune-Herald

Ridgewood is known for fine dining and playing host to elegant weddings and banquets.

Club members hope to enhance that reputation with a more efficient kitchen design, new appliances that are technological marvels and an updated ballroom with a larger entryway to accommodate large wedding parties and other gatherings.

Cabana-style kitchen

Most of the new construction includes a cabana-style kitchen and grill behind the clubhouse that will service the pool area and the golf course.

The grill not only will offer more casual dining fare, but will include restrooms on both sides for those at the pool and golfers making the turn who want to take a break or get something to eat before teeing off on the back nine.

“When we started thinking about this, we had to identify what we wanted to do and how we were going to go about getting it done,” Ridgewood president Jim Holley said. “The need was there. We were old and outdated and we needed the renovation due to the age of our clubhouse.”

The 170-acre country club, which has about 1,000 members, was established off Fish Pond Road overlooking Lake Waco in 1947.

A fire ravaged the clubhouse in the early ’60s, and the last major clubhouse renovation was done in 1998, general manager David Gardner said.

Pool improvements

Near the cabana under construction, workers are installing new stairs leading to the clubhouse and a new elevator. Behind that, the swimming pool area is also getting a makeover, with the pool being resurfaced and redesigned to include a separate diving area.

A new outdoor cabana facility and upgrades to the pool area are part of renovations at Ridgewood.
Duane A. Laverty / Waco Tribune-Herald

Work in the pool area should be done by Memorial Day weekend and also will include waterfalls, slides, areas for basketball and volleyball and new lighting, Gardner said.

The project also includes the construction of a splash pad that overlooks the pool with water fountains that shoot into the air for younger children.

To Andy Horn, a past Ridgewood president and a building contractor, one of the most appealing elements of the project is the introduction of “green,” energy-saving components such as tinted windows, insulation, better roofing and efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

“One of the most important things that we are doing is bringing the clubhouse up to basically achieve the level of a green facility,” Horn said. “This is going to be a first-rate facility when they are done. (General contractor) Eddie Mazanec is a member here and the majority of the subcontractors are also members. They have really taken ownership of this project and are treating it as though they are working on their own house.”

More events

The club plays host to about 10 to 15 weddings a year, Gardner said.

But club members, who are footing the bill for the renovations through increased monthly dues, hope the improved facilities will attract more weddings, parties and other gatherings at the club.

Large, flat-screen TVs will be installed throughout the clubhouse and will have the capability of playing slide shows or videos of the wedding party or messages, Gardner said.

Four conference rooms, including the 91-by-41-foot ballroom that seats 350 people, also are being refurbished as part of the project.

In what is called the Royal Room, a 20-foot, climate-controlled wine cabinet made of cherry wood will be built across one wall that will keep even the most robust drinkers in stock for a while.

A rendering shows what the country club’s exterior will look like after the work is complete.
Duane A. Laverty / Waco Tribune-Herald

“Country clubs are not the same kind of social settings that they once were,” Holley said. “We want to attract younger members with young families and we want to establish an environment where people want to come out here with their families. We are a family. We really are.”

Golf course

Ridgewood made $2.3 million worth of improvements to the golf course in 2004, replacing the irrigation system and resodding the fairways. Two years later, it spent about $225,000 to resurface the greens and rebuild two greens.

“I think this club is an important part of town,” Holley said. “It attracts people to Waco and it helps sell Waco. The Chamber of Commerce brings business recruits out here to show them what we have to offer. We have a lot to offer.”

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

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