Sawgrass Country Club plans for next chapter with new and expanded members’ clubhouse

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As part of its Phase III Master Facility Plan, Sawgrass Country Club is planning to build a new and expanded members’ clubhouse that is projected to be complete in late fall 2020.

Construction on the clubhouse is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019. The new two-story building will total approximately 32,000 to 33,000 square feet, which is up to 8,000 square feet larger than the current clubhouse.

“We’re trying to … bring it up to par with the other amenities we have at Sawgrass while not competing with them,” said C.W. Cook, general manager and chief operating officer of Sawgrass Country Club. “The new clubhouse is meant to be complimentary with what we’re doing at our Beach Club.”

Plans for the new clubhouse include a larger pub and bar area, which will be separate from the banquet rooms; a family activities center; and larger men’s and women’s locker rooms, among other amenities. The new clubhouse, Cook noted, will also feature multi-purpose space so the club can host more banquets and events, as well as a few dining outlets. In addition, a covered veranda will be included for people to drive their golf carts to the building. Cook said the new clubhouse will be in the same general area as the current building, but its orientation will be slightly shifted to take advantage of the area’s water and golf course vistas.

In addition to the new clubhouse, Cook noted the club’s Phase III Master Facility Plan includes constructing an ancillary building for golf maintenance, as well as expanding the parking at the club’s tennis and fitness center and relocating the practice/putting green. Work began on the parking and practice/putting green last week. The parking project is expected to be completed in early fall 2018, and the practice/putting green will be complete in the beginning of 2019. The ancillary building will be constructed before the new clubhouse. The project also includes renovations of the golf course’s west bunker, which are expected to be complete by Aug. 14.

In total, Cook said the club’s Phase III Master Facility Plan is estimated to cost just short of $25 million. Auld & White, the company that built the club’s current clubhouse, is the general contractor for the project, and Peacock + Lewis is the architect. The club is currently working with St. Johns County on permitting and other logistics.  

Janet Collins, the club’s director of membership services, said the club will continue to operate out of its current clubhouse while the construction takes place. The current clubhouse’s Grill Room will be torn down during the construction, but everything else will remain until the new building is complete, ensuring operations and membership experience aren’t impacted. Once the new clubhouse is built, the old clubhouse will be torn down in entirety.

Collins also noted the project received an 80 percent approval rate from its members.

“Many people are not aware that Sawgrass Country Club is member-owned, a nonprofit organization that operates for the benefit of the members,” Collins said in an email to the Recorder. “We base our success on member satisfaction, not the bottom line.”

Collins additionally said the Phase III Master Facility Plan is part of a larger project for the club. Since 2013, Collins said Sawgrass Country Club has spent about $13 million on upgrading its facilities, including the new fitness center, heated lap pool, renovated golf course and renovated Beach Club. Due in part to these investments, she noted the club has a waitlist for some categories of membership.

“All of this is to keep elevating the club facilities to improve the member experience,” Collins said. “We want to keep raising the level of our facilities and really be the club of choice in this area.”

The Sawgrass Country Club operates separately from the Sawgrass Homeowners’ Association. Residency inside the community is not required for membership. For more information, visit https://www.sawgrasscountryclub.com/. For color versions of the renderings, visit pontevedrarecorder.com.