Golfers’ dreams came true Saturday morning with the officialopening of the newest eight holes at the Brookhaven CountryClub.

Golfers’ dreams came true Saturday morning with the officialopening of the newest eight holes at the Brookhaven Country Club.It completed a 2-year project which granted members 18 holes ofoutstanding golf.

“We are very excited about the grand opening,” said BCC generalmanager Chris Coffin. “We had board members and the chamber ofcommerce here for the ribbon cutting.”

Longtime member Leroy Hewitt hit the honorary first ball. Coffinpraised Hewitt’s dedication to the course. “Leroy has done asubstantial about of volunteer work. He has saved the clubthousands of dollars.”

Ten holes on the north side of Country Club Road were completedand opened in the spring. The original nine hole course, located onthe south side of the road had been bulldozed and recreated. Thenew layout measures 6,325 yards from the back tees and plays to apar of 70.

There are six par-3 holes and four par 5s. Coffin said the northside is comparable to a links course. The south side is aheavily-treed parkland style.

“We have a unique routing system,” said Coffin. “Golfers willplay on alternate sides of the roads every three to fiveholes.”

The greens are Tif-Dwarf. “It is easier to maintain,” explainedCoffin. “It is a tried and true surface. There’s quite a bit ofundulation within the greens and lots of mounds around the coursewhich make it more of a challenge to play.”

There are eight small lakes on the course. Water comes into playon several holes.

Dr. Mark P. Smith, BCC board president, said he was pleased tohave the 18 holes open at last. “This is going to be quite acourse. We’ve been working nearly two years on this project.”

Coffin said the club’s membership drive has been productive.”Our membership has grown by 114 members since April 1. We now have366 members.

The goal is to have 450 members by next summer. The club’sinitiation fee is $1,500. Full membership monthly dues are $115.Junior and senior membership dues are $82.50 per month.

Out-of-own memberships, for persons living a minimum of 25 milesfrom the club, are $55 per month.

Coffin said golf course superintendent Tyler Easterwood “hasdone an outstanding job, considering the prolonged drought andother obstacles he has had to deal with.”

The course, according to Coffin, is in reasonable to good shape.”We expect it to improve significantly. It takes from two to threeyears for a golf course to grow in.”

Easterwood said he was pleased with the course’s condition,despite the absence of rainfall this summer. “Everything is lookinggood. All we need is some more water.”

Coffin said a lot of course manicuring would be addressed in thenext few months. “Obviously, there’s still a multitude of things todo to get the course up to full speed.”

Plans are to have detailed yardage markers on each hole. Holesponsorships are for sale. Each hole will be marked with a polishedgranite marker, displaying the sponsor’s business name andlogo.

Additional plans are to establish flower beds and plantdecorative bushes in several areas. Completion of the cart paths isanother project.

Coffin said PGA professional Ronnie Ross has joined the BCCstaff. “Ronnie is a great people person and a real asset to ourclub. He will do most of the teaching. He also will assist in theadministration, helping host golf events, tournaments andoutings.”