Bird’s-Eye View

When Hawk Pointe GC expanded its clubhouse, great care was taken to evoke themes from the surrounding land.

by Jamie L. Scheppers (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
June 2007
 

Project Summary Club: Hawk Pointe Golf Club Location: Washington, N.J. Interior Design Firm: Judd Brown Designs, Inc. Architectural Firm: Jefferson Group Architects Cost: $4 million Date: October 2005 through May 2006 Project Highlights: • Added 26,000 square feet to provide full amenities for the first time since the club opened in 2000 • Commissioned local artists and craftsmen for various elements of the decor • State-of-the-art audio-visual equipment installed in banquet rooms

To reach the expanded clubhouse’s sturdy new doors, members now pass through a portico that features 30-foot Canadian timbers.

For its first five years, Hawk Pointe Golf Club was pretty much a “play and go” facility. After Asbury Farms, a development firm in Washington, N.J., purchased the land in 1997, course construction began the next year, with operations conducted from trailers. In 2000, the club opened as a semi-private club owned by Asbury Farms principals Richard Cotton, Patrick Welsh and Bob Ross.

At that time, Hawk Pointe’s clubhouse was a modest 6,000 square feet and essentially a single large, multi-purpose space with minimal facilities. There were no true locker rooms—just restrooms. Food and beverage operations were limited and focused on grill-type food. The pro shop was probably the main attraction at the time. People came to play golf, but aside from that, there wasn’t much else to keep anyone hanging around the property.

In 2005, though, the owners began to make changes that made people stop and take notice from the moment they set foot on the property. Asbury Farms had planned from the outset to grow the club into a larger operation. To do that, a more substantial clubhouse was needed.

In September of that year, the club became fully private, and in October, construction began on a 26,000-sq.-ft. addition to the existing clubhouse. When the dust settled the following May, everything came in on time and on budget at $4 million. “Rarely do we see a project run this smoothly,” says Mark Palazio of Judd Brown Designs, Inc.

The project team found resourceful furniture solutions and commissioned unique local touches for the tavern.

Wood is not only plentiful but richly varied in Hawk Pointe’s new lodge foyer.

Where the pro shop was once the only place Hawk Pointe members ever wanted to hang around, it’s now just one of many appealing spots.

Timber!
The club entrance at Hawk Pointe is now an impressive portico (see photo, above right), fashioned from 30-foot long timbers imported from British Columbia. A local Pennsylvania firm designed it using post-and-beam construction, with large brackets as fasteners. The bases of the columns are fashioned in stone and a large chandelier hangs in the center of the portico. According to Richard Cotton, leading principal for the club, “[The large timbers] signify the sturdy, long-term vision [Asbury Farms] had for the club.”

“The original building had a rustic look, and Richard wanted to maintain that—not as in ‘cowboy rustic,’ but more of an arts-and-crafts feel,” adds John Bell of Judd Brown Designs. “We took that as a design cue.”

“Immediately, when you enter the building, you go into a warm and cozy lodge with a big fireplace in the foyer and a lot of wood,” adds Cotton. The wood in the room is not only plentiful, but richly varied. Hickory-stained flooring incorporates alternating 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-inch-wide planks. The walls are covered with a thin veneer, and beams in the ceiling add a sturdy feel. A mix of more refined and polished woods helps to tone down the rustic feel of the timber fireplace mantle and the woods used outdoors in the portico.

The stone fireplace ties into the columns in the front of the building’s exterior. A large copper relief depicting a hawk, commissioned from a local artisan, rests on the mantle.

F&B Takes Flight
Adjacent to the foyer, two ballrooms—named the Kestrel and Osprey after birds of prey—collectively seat nearly 300 people. To serve them, the kitchen was tripled in size. Now, despite having only one line, it can handle the demand from banquets and simultaneous a la carte service in the tavern.

State-of-the-art audio-visual equipment makes the rooms useful for business meetings and other groups, even allowing the club to offer video presentations as part of wedding receptions. But perhaps its most successful use has been for family movie nights.

“The parents have dinner and cocktails in the tavern room while the kids stay in the banquet room and have their own little dinner and popcorn and watch movies,” says Cotton. “Sometimes there are 50 to 60 kids watching.”

Another important new feature is the clubhouse’s second entrance. Formerly the main entrance to the original, smaller building, it now leads to the tavern and adjoining wine room. This lets club members enter without disturbing any private events being held in the banquet space.

The tavern is another room that benefitted from the work of a local artisan. Stained glass in an inset in the wall (see photo at left) separates the bar from another dining area. The design includes the Hawk Pointe logo and geological features from the surrounding land.

The project team found resourceful furniture solutions and commissioned unique local touches for the tavern.

Sturdy Solutions
The tables in the tavern are a point of pride for the club. While the design team had suggested new furniture for the clubhouse, budget constraints led Hawk Pointe to reuse some of the original furniture and purchase additional pieces from the same company.

Allan Lacara, a Hawk Pointe member, was instrumental in the furnishing of the clubhouse. His company, British Pine Emporium in Madison, N.J., custom-builds furniture from pine. The tables in the tavern room were commissioned for the club. The legs vary in their design, but the overall color scheme is uniform.

“As a little surprise for Richard [Cotton] and the others, we spray-painted the Hawk Pointe emblem and name on every table, and antiqued them so they look like they’ve been there for 20 years,” says Lacara. “They loved it.”

Being a club member, Lacara had seen how poorly the original wooden stools held up to the abuse of golf spikes and the occasional overweight golfer. In fact, he was so tired of repairing them, he recommended forged iron stools in the tavern; sure enough, their joints have proved to be much sturdier.

In the clubhouse basement, members now have access to a 1,200-sq.-ft. fitness center, along with full locker rooms and a new pro shop with another 1,200 sq. ft. of retail space. There are also two lower-level lounges, but in-stead of the traditional separation into men’s and women’s lounges, they’re divi-ded so one can be used for social gatherings, and the other more for business needs. Both sport wireless networks.

Finally, the basement’s member area leads to the first tee and practice facilities. But while golf may have once been the only reason to come to or stay at Hawk Pointe, it’s now part of a full complement of club amenities.