Montclair Golf Club Merges With Rock Spring Club
Montclair Golf Club and Rock Spring Club, two premier private golf clubs located in West Orange, N.J., are pleased to announce the merger of their properties and operations. The club will be known as Montclair Golf Club and will continue to operate both facilities, which are located 3.6 miles apart.
The memberships of both clubs voted decisively to approve the merger. “This merger is unprecedented in the golf/private club industry in New Jersey and the greater Northeast. We will be able to provide greater value to our members who will enjoy increased options for golf and all other club activities,” said Keith Phillips, MGC president.
Leo Fraser, RSC president, added, “Both Rock Spring and Montclair have long histories and strong traditions. We believe this merger will leverage the strength of both clubs and create a new chapter on a combined basis.”
It is believed to be first merger of private clubs in New Jersey in nearly 100 years. Rumson was formed by four clubs merging in 1908. Upper Montclair began as a merger of two small groups in 1901. Cranford and Westfield merged to form Echo Lake in 1921.
Both clubs are full service facilities with rich histories in golf, dating back to 1893 at Montclair and 1925 at Rock Spring. Following the merger, the combined Club will boast 54 holes of golf designed originally by Donald Ross, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks.
The 36 holes at the Montclair campus are unique in that there are four nine-hole layouts each beginning and ending at the clubhouse; because each of the courses is identically sloped and rated, Montclair has never needed pre-arranged tee times and can accommodate competitions of many different formats. The Montclair courses were renovated recently by Rees Jones. The 18-hole Rock Spring course was designed by Raynor and Banks and complements the design of the Montclair courses.
“A benefit of the two campuses is our ability to have golf seven days a week. Most private clubs, including MGC and RSC, have traditionally been closed Monday. We will have minimum of one campus open and staffed seven days a week, and also while big tournaments like member-guests, etc., are being played, we’ll have 18 great holes at the second campus. This will add 40 days to the golf calendar in season,” Phillips said.
“The Rock Spring membership was simply thrilled to be joining Montclair Golf Club,” Fraser said. “For us, it was a tremendous outcome. Like a lot of clubs in recent years, there have been challenges, certainly in attracting and keeping members and doing capital investments in property. Both clubs felt it was a win-win. It’s really about the vision more than anything else. We’re offering something certainly unique in this area.
“We really feel this will create a marketing powerhouse in this area. Both clubs share a similar philosophy. It’s a good fit all the way around.”
Montclair Golf Club treasurer and former vice president Mark Softy was instrumental in completing the financial structure of the merger.
“The more we looked at it, the more excited we became. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and the members at Rock Spring are just as excited as the members at Montclair," Softy noted.
“We believe the club is positioned very well in northeastern New Jersey. The members feel very strongly about the merger and the Rock Spring golf course is very complimentary to ours. Rock Spring had been hit hard financially and by removing that cloud, the club is now extremely viable. We see enormous upside with growth in their membership," he said.
Softy emphasized that the two former privately owned clubs have merged seamlessly into one club.
"Rock Spring has merged into our subsidiary. Their property is now ours, their debt is now ours and their members are now ours. The agreement has tidied up a lot of loose ends. We are now one entity.The discussions were extremely positive. We’ve created a solid friendship. We want to be the premier golf club in the area," Softy said.
Phillips expected dues to be frozen and to possibly even decrease in future years.
“Back office efficiencies and synergies will drive stronger economics. Private club dues have really spiraled out of control and this merger will help us address that,” Phillips said. “Together we have a very strong balance sheet and expect an operating surplus in 2016 with no assessments.”
“MGC and RSC memberships are very well-aligned culturally. It’s a really nice fit.”
“We’re excited to have 27 holes of Raynor/Banks to complement our 27 Ross holes – long-term objective of restoring all 54 holes to original designers’ intent. We believe the 54-hole club will appeal to a broader geographic region than MGC did on its own. Together we have a very strong balance sheet and expect an operating surplus in 2016 with no assessments,” he added.
Both clubs have hosted numerous tournaments over their long and distinguished histories, thanks in part to the pedigree of their designs. Montclair has hosted six New Jersey State Open Championships, seven New Jersey State Amateur Championships, and the New Jersey State Four-Ball Championship, along with the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1985 and the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1973.
Rock Spring has hosted the New Jersey State Open four times and the State Amateur once. The courses are similar in that they do not overpower in length but instead rely on strategic shot-making and adept short game play around their challenging green complexes.
The merged club also offers 11 Har-Tru tennis courts, eight platform tennis courts, and two swimming pool complexes with adult and children’s pools. Daniel Somogyi, named as the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the merged club, said, “This merger is very exciting. We now have more options for quality programming designed to bring our members together. We have a very talented employee group at both clubs who will do everything possible to meet and exceed member expectations through the integration and beyond.”
On a combined basis, the Club will have approximately 950 members, including 590 members with full privileges. Montclair Golf Club’s vision is to be the premier family-oriented golf club in northern New Jersey with unrivaled facilities.
