It was the year of the American clubhouse. While clubhouses from across the globe have dominated our Clubhouse of the Year competition in recent years, this year the Americans made their mark. Eight of this year’s nine honorees are in the U.S., illustrating the culturally varied designs of the country’s cardinal points.
Representing the South is Plantation Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, S.C., this year’s Best of Show winner. Its Southern style is nothing short of charming. The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz., which placed first in the renovation category, pays homage to the West with a bold, equestrian interior design.
But the two clubhouses that placed first are not exactly as they seem. Both play with exterior visual illusions that tease unsuspecting members. Plantation Golf Club appears to be a single-story building, only to surprise members with an additional story, visible only from the rear. Upon first look, the Country Club at DC Ranch has hardly any surface changes at all, though the facade was extended out an additional 20 feet to make room for a nearly 2,000-square-foot addition.
As always, the scope of designs, both interior and exterior, impressed Golf Inc.’s four judges. This year’s judging panel was Kenneth Hart, principal of Kenneth Hart Architecture and past clubhouse honoree for his work at Iverness Country Club in Birmingham, Ala.; Angel del Monte, founding principal and vice president of Alfonso Architects, the team behind a winning clubhouse at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla.; Frank Benzakour, general manager at Village Club of Sands Point in Sands Point, N.Y.; and Linda Blair, principal of Image Design, an interior design firm recognized by Golf Inc. for its work at Shadow Wood Country Club in Bonita Springs, Fla.
Entries were judged on three factors: efficiency (25 percent), aesthetics (25 percent) and overall design concept (50 percent). Golf Inc. separated the entries into two categories: new construction and renovation, with nine projects earnings scores high enough to be called winners. To find out which clubhouses are honored, read the free digital issue of Golf Inc. Magazine here.
