The Village at Woodcrest Could Open for Golf in June, New Owners Say

It may not be long before golfers return to the fairways and greens at the former Woodcrest Country Club.

A reopening under The Village at Woodcrest name could happen within just a few weeks, according to one of the principals in the development group that purchased the club for $10.1 million at auction this week.

A reunion-reopening tournament could go off some time during the week of June 3, and the former club’s superintendent, Patrick Lucas, and head golf professional, Bill Torlucci, have already been hard at work in that regard, reaching out to former members to coordinate the event, according to Matthew Haydinger, who runs First Montgomery Group along with his brothers, Richard III and Michael, and father, Richard Jr.

Meanwhile, they’re simply concerned with the logistics of getting the course reopened and back up to speed, with the shift to access to the public, Matthew Haydinger said.

“While all the details surrounding membership and club structure are in the process of being finalized, a professional team is being assembled that will maintain the integrity of a private club with a semi-private structure,” he said in an email. “Reopening the course is the foremost concentration of our team at present.”

The 84-year-old country club has been shut down through what would’ve been the early part of its normal 2013 season, after bankruptcy proceedings determined the traditionally Jewish club had no money left to operate this year.

Lucas and his company, Performance Golf Management, had been caring for the course during bankruptcy proceedings, the Haydingers said previously, meaning there should be little delay in getting the club to playability.

As for what happens in the future, Matthew Haydinger said they’re focused on making The Village at Woodcrest a successful golf course again.

“Our long-term vision for the property includes maintaining a premier golf club with amenities and services customary with the most prestigious of courses,” he said.

Township and county officials have both said they want to see the club remain as a golf course and not be developed in any other way.

“Council and I have said from the beginning that we want to see the country club property remain green, and we certainly welcome the Haydingers’ commitment…to running Woodcrest as a public golf course,” Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn said Tuesday.

For more on this story, read:

• End Comes for Woodcrest Country Club
• Possible Bidders File in Woodcrest Country Club Auction: Report
• Cherry Hill Calls for Tax Sale in Woodcrest Country Club Bankruptcy
• Woodcrest Country Club Could Go to Auction in May
• Woodcrest Country Club Goes to Auction May 20
• Woodcrest Country Club Closed-Door Auction Draws Members' Ire
• Woodcrest Bankruptcy Auction Turns Political
• Woodcrest Auction Bid Approved by Camden County Freeholders
• Norcross Announces Bid for Woodcrest Country Club
• Woodcrest Country Club Sold to Developer

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