The former Central Valley Inn has become a much more impressive destination since Wayne Corts and his partner, Barry Fixler bought the golf club and catering hall and renamed it Falkirk Golf and Country Club back in 2009.
The new club, complete with totally renovated banquet facilities, also offers an outdoor patio and a pub for golfers to enjoy while relaxing between rounds. Corts estimated that more than $1.5 million went into the first round of renovations; and he”™s not finished yet. He is planning to build a small boutique hotel on the property, which is a mile from Woodbury Common.  Corts expects the entire project, when built out, to come in between $5 million and $6 million.
Corts has added some distinguishing architectural touches to the 5,200-foot course and work is under way to build it out to 7,000 feet, meeting PGA championship length requirements.
“We”™re about six months away from having that completed,” said Matthew Fichera, Falkirk”™s chief operating officer, who is also the club”™s golf pro.
The hotel is on the move, Fichera said.
“We plan for smaller rooms, but a larger gathering area. We want Falkirk to be a complete destination for weddings ”“ a golf outing for the couple and their guests, a boutique hotel to stay in after the wedding ”“ we expect to open by 2015 if all goes as planned.”
Corts did not foresee raising current membership dues when HVBiz interviewed him last May. “Even though we”™ve taken it several notches up in quality and character, we”™re in a recession. We are also not in Scarsdale. The last thing I want to do is to make the club unaffordable; my goal is to keep the 80-year-old golf course open and intact and make it beautiful.”
Members have access to Falkirk Farm, a private equestrian center adjoining the golf course ”“ complete with an indoor riding ring and an enclosed pub overlooking it.
The club is semi-private and open to the public. Members, however, have dibs on tee times and other amenities that come with club membership
“We hope to open the first week of April,” said Fichera. “The weather this year has been wild, and we know many courses opened when we had that one 70 degree day, but we didn”™t. The damage that can be done to the course in a single day didn”™t warrant opening, especially since the temperatures dropped back down into the 20s. We”™re just hoping for a great spring and great weather.”
Fichera said Falkirk plans to open a year-round driving range with heated stalls to accommodate golfers who start to get cabin fever by January and February.
“Most of the clubs farther south have them and we”™d like one here, too. …it”™s all in the plans for the club, and we hope to have that available to members and the public by 2012.”
