A new look with rich golf history

If you’re traveling on Houston Lake Road and turn on to 100 Champions Way, you will find a place that is full of history. There you will find Houston Lake Country Club.

Last year the club celebrated its 50th anniversary, and with celebrating the club has undergone new upgrades to the course and clubhouse throughout this year.

The property was sold to 17 local businessmen in the early 1960s. Sam Nunn led the group, and of those men were members of the Tolleson, Davis, Hulbert and Weems families. The businessmen purchased the property in 1964, and the Houston Lake Country Club opened in 1966.

The club was sold to Allen Braswell Sr., Allen Braswell Jr. and Chris Murman in 1986. For the next 27 years, Murman and his wife, Beth, made Houston County their home and operated the club. In May 2013, the club was then sold to Byrd and Company LLC, a real estate holding company owned by Houston County natives Mark and Amy Byrd.

“Houston Lake has always been an important place in Houston County and the Middle Georgia community,” said Mark Byrd. “It’s a place where I grew up playing golf, and it’s a place that has great history and tradition with the founding owners all being from Houston County.”

Byrd said that in 2012 he and his wife were looking to invest in something, and after several meetings and discussions with the Murmans, they purchased Houston Lake Country Club.

“Yes, my wife and I own the club, but we really feel like ourselves and the management team are more of stewards of this great asset of the community,” said Byrd. “We feel like that it is our obligation to provide a place where our members and the community can enjoy the premiere golf and dining that has been established over the years.”

Byrd said Houston Lake Country Club is unique in only having three owners over the past 50 years, all of whom were local. Another unique aspect, he said, is that the club is in a central location of the county and growth between the Perry and Warner Robins communities.

“Last year was our 50th anniversary, and it truly is a remarkable milestone to have had that many continuous years of success,” said Byrd. “To the best of our bookkeeping, we have one original member, Ed Beckham Sr., and several other members who have been here since the early ‘70s. It shows the commitment of each ownership group to making this place special for the community. Another key to success besides our members is our staff. We have had several staff members who have been here several years. I believe they are the best staff of any business in Middle Georgia who create this fun and friendly atmosphere to the benefit of our members and community.”

In celebrating the 50th anniversary, the club has undergone a three-phase capital improvement program. Earlier this year, Byrd said phase one was completed in renovating the course’s bunker (sand trap) system, removal of trees and installing a new irrigation system. Phase two was a complete remodel of the clubhouse.

“It’s a remarkable improvement,” said Byrd. “We have added two additional rooms. One is our Lake Room that can host 24 people for a private dinner or meeting, and the other is our Club Room that can seat the same. We also expanded our member grill area as well as our main dinning area. With that, we also completely remodeled our kitchen to produce a higher and faster quality product. My wife, Amy, also did all of the decorating and has done an outstanding job. Our members have really enjoyed the new look.”

The third phase is soon to be completed within the next week. Byrd said the club closed in June to resurface the golf course greens.

“Our members have been so great being patient with us,” said Byrd. “I know being closed all summer was tough for them, but I think they will see it’s going to be worth it. The course needed it really bad. And with them being so great, the month of September will only be open to them with their accompanied guests for play. We are a semi-private golf club with members having priority first, but again, with this renovation we wanted them to enjoy the full benefits and then open to the rest of the community in October.”

Sissi Gann and her husband, Stan, have been members now for 47 years. She said they couldn’t wait to get back out on the course.

“Mark and the staff has done an amazing job with the new upgrades,” said Gann. “The club and course really needed it. My husband and I love being a part of this club. It is like a second family to us. The atmosphere is just wonderful and it’s what has kept us there for so long.”

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