Indian Oaks appoints board
- Updated: May 4, 2015
[corner-ad id=2]Former U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate expected to give the course a look-over, offer suggestions
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
The investors of the new Indian Oaks Golf Club took the first real step in bringing the Saks-area course back to life Monday with the installation of a board of directors to oversee its operation.
About 40 backers, mostly residents of the neighborhood, gathered in the clubhouse to create an expanded seven-member board. Ten candidates were nominated, two declined and one withdrew filling the board without a formal vote.
The board includes owner Ronnie Cofield, who initially declined to accept a post, and residents Mike Wright, Terry Howell, Sam Stewart, Starling Ridgeway, Laura Satterfield and Helen Robinson. No chairman was appointed at the meeting.
“We’ve got the first step and the board will start the ball rolling this week,” Cofield said.
Actually, nearly two dozen players were rolling the ball at Indian Oaks again Sunday as Cofield offered a chance to play for those who helped a weekend beautification and shakedown effort. The club is still shooting for a June 1 opening.
“I was glad to get back up here,” Ridgeway said. “I’ve been a member here for 30 years. I just can’t wait to get back.”
Another encouraging sign is the willingness of former U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate to visit the property and offer suggestions for success. Stewart reached out to Pate last Tuesday and the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Famer accepted an invitation to visit the next day.
Pate’s visit is anticipated within the next four weeks, perhaps during the week of the Region’s Tradition at Shoal Creek, the first major of the Champions Tour season.
“There’s no better set of eyes to see it,” said Stewart, a longtime friend of Pate’s whose property backs up to the course’s 15th hole. “He has seen thousands of golf courses; he has seen what makes them work, where they’ve been successful, where they have not been successful.
“I just asked him to come over, ride the course, sit down and critique it with us, offer any suggestions. He’ll give us a good, honest opinion.”
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