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Golf Club Offers New Membership Plan

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By JOHN CEBALLOS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

RUSKIN - A year after a major reworking of its 18-hole course, the Golf Club at Cypress Creek will soon turn its attention to making over the way it serves its members.

This month, the club, at 1011 Cypress Village Blvd., will introduce its new membership program, which will allow golfers to pay a flat monthly rate instead of daily rates for every trip to the course.

"Right now, our golfers have to decide how many times a week they can play and, with gas prices the way they are right now, how many trips they can afford to take," said Christopher Brandt, general manager.

Presently, daily tee time rates range from $29 to $49 plus tax per player depending on the time of the day. Starting Nov. 16, daily prices will be between $39 and $59.

The new program will offer its members the chance to play as much golf as they want for a monthly fee. Single memberships will be $299 plus tax, couple's memberships will be $399, family memberships will be $479 and corporate memberships will be $999.

Brandt, who has been in the golf industry for 25 years, said the idea came from his experience working in private clubs.

"I was always interested in finding out what frustrated the golfers the most about their memberships," Brandt said, who has been the general manager at Cypress Creek for less than a month.

In addition to the unlimited golf, the program will also waive cart, greens and practice ball fees, eliminate the food and beverage minimum and offer a discount for accompanied guest fees.

"Over the years, all these members in different clubs always told me they'd rather be charged double up front than get hit by all those little fees over and over again," Brandt said.

A monthly golf clinic with Cypress Creek's Murphy's Golf Academy also will be included. The academy, which has been open for eight months, is staffed by two PGA and two LPGA professionals.

On top of the monthly price tag, the membership requires a 12-month commitment and a $250 early termination fee, which is refundable after the year-long commitment is met.

The golf club celebrated its 20th year in South Shore last year.

The introduction of the new membership structure comes less than a year after a $1 million renovation on the course was completed. That project was the first major alteration in the course's history.

"A lot of other clubs have sort of pulled back how much they spend on maintenance and other improvements," said John Ward, superintendent. "We've sort of gone the other way, to try and make our course better."

As the club continues to look toward the future, Brandt said his goal with the program is to help remedy two main issues - frustrations from golf club members and the current state of the economy.

"We understand what's going on in the economy," Brandt said. "People are making monetary decisions based on how much they're going to have to pay for groceries, much less a round of golf."

For information, call (813) 634-8888 or go to www .cypresscreekgolfclub.com.

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555 or jceballos@tampatrib.com.

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