Waynesborough CC changing its turf

WAYNESBOROUGH, Pa. - Perhaps as much as any other area of the country, a strong sense of history permeates Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. Particularly in the “Main Line” western suburbs of the city, sites dating to the Revolutionary War and earlier are treasured and preserved.

One of these sites is Waynesborough, now a museum, but once the home of Revolutionary War hero “Mad” Anthony Wayne. Just a short distance from this historical house is the Waynesborough Country Club, whose land was once part of the Wayne estate. The club is now in the middle of renovations, which are both forward-looking and, appropriately for the area, firmly rooted in past tradition.

Waynesborough CC, which was founded in 1965, opened its first clubhouse in 1968. During the last 35 years, several expansions have occurred and membership has grown to 707 individuals and families, all of whom will be without a course for a while during planned renovations.

The course will close for a year on Aug. 1 so the fairways can be stripped and re-seeded as a disease-fighting measure, according to general manager Ray Kondziela.

“Our intent is to replace our present grass with a new and more disease-resistant grass. Specifically, we have had a problem with anthracnose, a disease that has affected many of the fairways in the northeast part of the country,” Kondziela said. “We believe that the expense of fighting it is prohibitive compared to the replacement expense since the disease seems to adopt to various remedies and rotational cycles are constantly required.”

Waynesborough’s new grass will be a variety of A4 bentgrass that Kondziela said has been developed for just this purpose.

“This is a new strain that has been engineered to fight the disease. It can be cut low for a pure roll. Many clubs have tried new mixtures, but each club has a different soil base,” he said. “Waynesborough has modified its soil system by pulling our topsoil out and replacing it.”

Waynesborough turned to Tom Fazio for consulting on re-grassing questions on the project.

“Tom actually worked here as a crew chief in 1964 and 1965,” Kondziela said.

And the new turf is not the only change coming to Waynesborough CC. On April 1, the clubhouse was demolished in order to build a replacement facility.

“We want our new clubhouse to evoke the feel of an original Chester County farmhouse. This is a traditional look that we hope will suggest continuity of generations,” Kondziela said. “After all, this club is a family and we want our members to consider it as a home away from home.”

While the exact costs of the project are confidential, Kondziela is willing to acknowledge that the construction will carry a multimillion-dollar price tag.

Kondziela stressed that the changes at Waynesborough are not intended to draw new members, but to serve those the club already has.

“Our intent is only to meet the desires of our present members,” he said.

Current members shouldn’t have to worry about finding a place to play during the re-grassing, Kondziela said. While the course is closed for renovation, Waynesboro CC has made arrangements with 30 other clubs in the area to accommodate displaced members.