Golfers sometimes get a mulligan and sometimes entire golf courses do also.
This week, Starmount Forest Country Club announced a major renovation project that’s meant to “elevate our members’ golfing experience to new heights.”
The Country Club calls the move a “comprehensive revitalization initiative that aims to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of our history-rich golf course, ensuring a world-class experience for golf enthusiasts of all levels.”
There are a lot of parts to the big renovation project, which will involve a course redesign.
The club has acquired the services of renowned golf course architect Kris Spence – who, according to Starmount officials, has a reputation for “bringing classic golf architecture back to life.”
Spence will redesign the course in a way that brings it stylistically closer to a course from 1931, the year after the club opened.
The redesign will focus on things like improved playability, especially on and around putting surfaces. The new course will also offer more strategic challenges for golfers, but it’s meant to lead to greater enjoyment for golfers of all skill levels.
According to club officials, the new course will be very eco-friendly and will incorporate sustainable practices including new water conservation measures.
The course will also remain true to the native landscaping.
Here are some of the new features Starmount officials say golfers can expect:
- Exciting additions to the course, such as new bunkers and tee boxes strategically placed to elevate the challenge and visual appeal of each hole.
- Enhanced Accessibility. There will be some strategic tree clearing for expanded sightlines across the golf course.
- An Infrastructure Overhaul. Updates will include a new state-of-the-art irrigation system and an improved drainage system.
- New grasses. Hybrid Ultradwarf Tifeagle Bermudagrass will be used on the greens. The Rhino Times is not familiar with that type of grass; however, a Google AI bot says that the grass is “known for its excellent putting surface, color retention, and ability to tolerate heat and shade.” (By the way, the green collars will have Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass; the fairways will have Tif-Tuf Bermudagrass and the Tee-off areas will feature Zeon Zoysiagrass.)
Club officials call the renovations a testament to Starmount’s commitment to providing an unparalleled golfing experience – and they say the changes will help Starmount remain one of the premier private clubs in central North Carolina.
Starmount General Manager Ray Armini said everyone there is really looking forward to the finished product later this year.
“We are excited about the upcoming renovations and believe that they will exceed the expectations of our valued golf community,” he said. “The improvements will position Starmount Forest Country Club as a top-tier private club.”
The renovation project began in December of 2024 and it’s expected to be finished sometime this fall.
Unfortunately, the course will be closed until the renovations are complete.
Located near the center of Greensboro, Starmount Country Club has a history that dates back nearly a century. Founded in 1930, the club was one of the original co-hosts of the PGA Tour’s Greater Greensboro Open – now called the Wyndham Championship – and the course was graced with the likes of Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Walter Picard and Arnold Palmer.
In 1947, Starmount hosted the US Women’s Open’s first stroke-play event, with LPGA founding member Betty Jameson winning the title that year. The club has recently hosted the Carolinas Open, US Women’s Open Qualifier and the US Senior Open Qualifier.
Starmount has a 6,800-yard golf course, two golf simulators, six lighted outdoor clay tennis courts, a 22,000-square foot indoor tennis center with four hard surface courts, a resort-style pool, a two-story fitness facility and a 34,000-square foot clubhouse.
And, of course, these days you have to have pickleball courts so the club is getting some of those as well by the summer of this year.
I would love to play that course again once it is complete, but you have to know a member just to have the opportunity. Haven`t played it in 40 years!
This is some Daily Mail level stuff.
Is Starmount Country Club a 501(c)(7)? If so, taxpayers are paying for the renovation. Therefore, federal taxpayers everywhere should be able to play the course free of charge.
That’s not how that works. No, taxpayers are not paying for the renovation, it’s paid for by a large capital campaign.
Is Starmount Country Club a 501(c)(7)? Is Starmount Country Club tax-exempt? If so, then taxes that would be paid by Starmount Country Club are paid by the average Joe. Does Starmount pay property taxes? If not, then the average Joe property owner is making up for the taxes that Starmount Country Club does not pay. If Starmount Country Club, Greensboro Country Club, and other such clubs are tax-exempt through federal tax exemption, then they should be open to the public.
It’s a private club. Why would assume it is a 501c? Its funded by the capital from its exclusive membership as well as their monthly membership fees and usage fees.
Please view the definition of a 501(c)(7). I did not assume anything. I asked if the Club is a 501(c)(7). That is a legitimate question to ask.
All be damned. Took only a second to look up online but Starmount is a 501c(7) non-profit so donations to them are NOT tax deductible and new rules show that they pay taxes on membership fees but DO NOT pay property taxes.
Learned something new today. Just curious, why didn’t you just google the question? The answer was quick given their form 990 is public information.
Starmount Country Club is not a nonprofit. Starmount is tax exempt, which means they pay no federal taxes. Membership fees are not a tax deduction for the individual member. Of course, membership purchased by a business or law firm may be considered a business deduction expense. I am not a tax expert and don’t claim to be. However, when I see clubs such as Starmount, I know that it takes a tremendous amount of money to keep them operating because for one thing their members are so demanding. Dues alone are not enough. I don’t begrudge these clubs and their members. What I do begrudge is their tax-exempt status. I am not tax exempt from any taxes. Why should I subsidize Starmount Country Club’s lack of their tax obligation, including property taxes when my property taxes continue to grow? Tax exempt means that someone else is paying the taxes that the tax exempt does not pay. And that, Chris, are you and me. As far as searching for the answer to my 501(c)(7) question, there was a reason for asking the question.
You and I are on the same page. I was shocked to see private golf clubs don’t pay property taxes. Fascinating. They currently take in about a $1 million more than they spend on operations (about 6 to 7 million in operating expenses per year).
local ‘boxes of worship’ are also exempt from property taxes . . . why? look @ the many usually empty buildings . . . add a civil rights museum that is just a drag on our downtown economy.
Starmountl is like Cone Hospital which has a tax status of “ not for profit “
Please don’t equate Starmount Country Club with a hospital. The reasoning for their tax exemption is not the same. Plus, doing so gives cover for Starmount’s tax exemption and all other such clubs. If interested, read https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicc96.pdf. The federal income tax constitutional amendment which allowed for taxation of income was enacted in 1913, the year of the Left’s victories. Most likely seeing what this meant to clubs, 501(c)(7) was added to the federal tax code granting tax-exemption in 1916 ushering in the Roaring 20s. As a born Southerner would say, more crooked than a black snake.
There was no comparison simply saying that in terms of property and paying no property taxes Cone eclipses Starmount a hundred times over
Of course, you are correct. Personally, all such clubs and retirement communities and such should pay all taxes that the average person must pay under penalty for failure to do so. Starmount Country Club and Greensboro Country Club serve only their members. As stated before, it is gratifying that members have a place to gather and socialize, play golf, tennis and simply chew the fat. It is also gratifying that the elderly can afford to live in a community and be provided with constant care while they wait for God. However, taxpayers should not be compelled to pay higher taxes because the federal government, state and local governments have taken it upon themselves to exempt country clubs and retirement communities from taxes. A sad part is that most taxpayers have no idea they are paying taxes so these places can operate tax free. Life is unfair but it is made more unfair by governments.
these tax loopholes are created by politicians to ‘pork pals’ !