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Lakewood Country Club broadens its range
By SHARON L. BOND © St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- Lakewood Country Club, established in the 1920s, has changed its name to St. Petersburg Country Club, hoping to more closely identify with the city and attract new members. The change is official Nov. 1, but the club began phasing it in earlier this year. The logo has been changed, and the new name is used in answering telephones. The marquee still says Lakewood Country Club, though. "We're right in the middle of everything right now," said Ken DeMott, general manager of the club, in Lakewood Estates, which is at the southern end of the city. Club president Harold Summerford said in a news release that many private country clubs face increased competition from semiprivate and public golf courses and need to attract new members. "And frankly, many newer St. Petersburg residents who are potential members simply don't know where we are. We are confident that the name change will broaden the awareness of our location," Summerford said. He was not immediately available for further comment. Membership stands at 726, and the club would like to have about 1,000 members, DeMott said. Target areas for new members include Tierra Verde, Isla del Sol and the beaches. The name change gave some people the idea that the city of St. Petersburg bought the club, but that is not the case, said Mary Beth Singh, membership director. The idea for it came from the membership at the annual meeting in April, DeMott said. "Since we are renovating the club and reinvesting with various capital projects, they thought it would be wise to change the name," he said. "I look at it as a new beginning." The club is in the middle of a $2.5-million upgrade that includes resurfacing the tennis courts, installing a new irrigation system on the golf course and redecorating the clubhouse. DeMott said that there was some opposition to the new name but that no members resigned because of the change. He also said the change was not an attempt to distance the club from its location in a predominantly African-American section of the city. The club has minority members, including blacks, he said. The country club picked an ideal time to align itself with the city of St. Petersburg, which is undergoing a renaissance with three new luxury condominiums downtown, new office space planned or in the works, revitalized shopping centers, and a retail/entertainment complex scheduled to open downtown next month. Lakewood Country Club opened as a public golf course and clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day 1924. In 1935 the property was purchased by stockholders and turned into a private operation, which opened in January 1936. In 1935 the country club consisted of an 18-hole golf course, a large clubhouse and golf shop. The new owners said they planned to add a swimming pool and tennis courts. Today the country club, which features eight types of memberships, includes the golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool, and the clubhouse with two dining areas and a ballroom. A full golf membership requires a $2,500 initiation fee, $2,500 for a share of stock, $333.96 monthly dues for a family and a minimum expenditure of $60 per month for food and drink. In addition to full use of the facilities, the golf membership includes voting rights. On the lower end, a house membership has a $300 initiation fee plus monthly dues of $67.91 and the minimum monthly $60 on food and drink. It includes use of the pool and clubhouse year round and use of the golf course during the summer by paying greens and cart fees and the tennis courts by paying court fees. Times researcher Mary Mellstrom contributed to this report.
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