Meadow Greens Adapts, Thrives in Changing Times

By STEVE HUFFMAN

    EDEN – Meadow Greens Country Club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the Piedmont, dating to 1938 where a nine-hole course served its members.

   In 1958, Ellis Maples designed and built an 18-hole course across the street from the original nine-hole layout, which was then closed. For years thereafter, Meadow Greens thrived as an exclusive country club, the facility largely used to serve the executives and employees of Fieldcrest Mills, the company that owned the course.

   During the boom years of the American textile industry, Meadow Greens managed especially well, the golf course long considered one of the Piedmont's premier layouts, the club's pool and tennis facilities the best around.

   But in more recent years, Meadow Greens has experienced the type changes that have affected many golf courses and country clubs throughout the state and nation. Golf, nowadays, is a competitive business.

    With the downfall of Fieldcrest, Meadow Greens became the property of Pillowtex, which in 1999 sold the facility to the club's members.

   In the club's heyday, that membership totaled 500. But just a couple of years ago, membership had dwindled to 225. And without a corporate backer to take care of unexpected expenses, Meadow Greens was struggling to find its niche.

   Club officials have made a number of changes to the course and club that they feel will open the facility to a wider range of the population while also generating considerably more cash revenue.

  Though the facility has maintained its country club name, club officials admit Meadow Greens is now far more accessible to non-members than it was decades ago.

   "Our goal has been to bring the club back to the community," said Ricky Dykes, who was hired as a consultant at Meadow Greens in 1998 and who now serves as the facility's general manager and head golf professional. "What we have is a community club."

   Dykes said the changes are being done through a joint effort involving himself, the club's board of directors and its members. Now, prospective members can choose from one of eight membership packages that address a variety of wants and needs.

   If all a member is interested in doing is playing golf, a package to suit those needs is available. If they want just golf and swimming, that's also available. But if a member desires all the amenities that come with a traditional country club membership, such a package is also ready.

   "I don't want to turn anybody away because we don't have something to fit them," Dykes said. "If we don't serve them, they'll go somewhere else."

   Meadow Greens has worked to lure more golfers from throughout the Piedmont through a variety of seasonal specials. During the winter months, for example, golfers could play and ride 18 holes on Mondays for the bargain price of just $10. Even after the winter special ended, the parking lot still fills every Monday with coupon-cutting golfers who play and ride for $15.

   The clubhouse facilities and golf course at Meadow Greens have all undergone extensive renovations in recent years. The club's dining room was recently renovated and similar work is now taking place in the facility's downstairs bar. A good deal of work is also being done to the club's pool.

   On the golf course, all bunkers have been re-worked to USGA standards. Extensive improvements to the course's irrigation system and cart paths are also in the works.

   "I hope to have it all completed within the year," Dykes said.

   Grayson Whitt, a 15-year member of Meadow Greens, said most members are pleased with the changes that have transpired. He acknowledged that some of those changes were a simple matter of necessity in order for the club to survive.

   "The golf course is in excellent shape and the public should take advantage of it," Whitt said. "We've put a lot of money into it and it's the equal of just about any course around."

   Dykes agreed, noting that he receives compliments from just about everyone who plays the course.

   "They tell me that no two holes are alike," he said. "Every hole out there, you've got to think about how to work the ball into the green, and that's a lot of fun."

   The course offers bentgrass greens and a hilly layout that resembles a more mountainous setting than is typically associated with the Piedmont. The course measures 5,971 yards from the white tees and 6,449 yards from the blue tees.

   Dykes said he's begun marketing golf packages to golfers in northern states, something never before done in Rockingham County. Such packaging, he said, provides economic benefit to Meadow Greens as well as the community as a whole.

   "I get them in one time and they come back," Dykes said of the typical golfer. "They love it down here."