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Dry Spring Drives Golf Business at Kennsington Club
CANFIELD, Ohio – A drier, warmer spring is getting Kennsington Golf Club off to a better start than 2011.
“It’s unbelievable the difference,” remarked Paul Otto, general manager and director of golf at the course. “It really has helped out. We don’t have the rain to deal with and the cold temperatures. It’s really been a nice spring and a nice start to the golf season.”
The golf course opened in 2006. Typically, it takes seven- to eight years for a golf course to “grow in” from its inception, Otto said, but Kennsington is of that schedule and has become a destination course for golfers in the Mahoning Valley as well as from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
“As you grow in a golf course the trees and the grass and everything start to mature and it just gets more playable,” he said. “Our name is getting out there and people are realizing that we’re one of the premier public facilities in the area.”
Kennsington, designed by award-winning golf course architect Brian Huntley, boasts carefully sculpted fairways and strategically placed hazards, presenting challenges to golfers at every skill level.
For the upcoming season, golfers can cruise the 7,050-yard, 18-hole, par 71 course in new golf carts enhanced with global positioning system units. They can also enjoy the driving range and full-service practice facility which provides large, spacious areas to perfect drives, and putting greens to work on putting and chipping.
Elements such as the elevation changes, undulation in the greens, strategic locations of bunkers and different lengths set Kennsington apart from other courses, according to Otto. “It’s a nice mix of holes,” he said.
“You have to use every club in your bag. You have to think your way around the golf course,” he added. “Every hole has its own character.”
This season will see the addition of food service to the golf club at the Kennsington Grille. The lounge-style bar, with nine LCD televisions and 16 different beers on tap, will offer an upscale menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps, along with a wide assortment of appetizers. There will also be dinner specials for patrons who want to finish their day at the grille. The venue has inside seating for up to 90 people, and 70 more on the veranda, which overlooks the 18th hole and a lake. The grille is also being offered for rehearsal dinners, anniversary celebrations, and corporate luncheons and dinners.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.