A rts & Recreation
Under New Management
After more than 20 years of operation, Bentwater Golf Club is getting some major upgrades — and members are excited. By Lindsay Field Penticuff
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nown for its striking views of Red Top Mountain, as well as the ponds, creeks and wetlands that highlight each round of golf, Bentwater Golf Club in Acworth has been a recreational treasure for more than 20 years. The club’s new owners want to ensure its legacy as a picturesque place to play while also bringing Bentwater into a more modern aesthetic. “Members are really excited to see the new ownership come in and do exactly what they say they are going to do. No more promises, but actually making the improvements. Members are getting to see change within the first month of the new ownership,” says Chris Connolly, General Manager at Bentwater Golf Club in Acworth. Bentwater, which is one of the best golf courses northwest of Atlanta, includes more
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than 7,000 yards of back tees, as well as a practice green bunker, practice range, clubhouse, golf pro shop and dining area. The club opened in 2000 but transitioned to a new management firm — Club Specialists International (CSI) — on May 1 of this year. CSI, which has consulted with more than 500 private clubs, golf courses, resorts, and real estate developments, brings more than a century of collective operating experience in private club operations and development, marketing, membership development, and management. This operational proficiency portends great things for the course.
Details of the renovation The major overhaul started shortly after CSI took over management in May. Designed to
enhance the member experience, improvements at Bentwater include: • Removing tree roots that are causing ongoing cart path damage, and repairing the cart paths on the entire course. • Renovating all course bunkers and the practice green bunker, using the state-ofthe-art Capillary Bunker system with new tour-angle sand. • Rebuilding and upgrading the members’ practice experience on the practice range by leveling, regrading, and resodding landing areas for better drainage and range ball management, as well as adding new targets, hitting stations and a seating area. • Reorganizing and conducting capital repairs to the clubhouse, including the lobby, bathrooms, dining area, kitchen, golf pro shop, and administrative areas.
