Take look inside the newly revitalized Barrington Hall golf course, opening Friday
A pair of West Virginia brothers are breathing new life into a local golf course after it shut down almost four years ago.
Barrington Hall Golf Club, located at 104 Stoney Creek Drive in Macon, is set to reopen on Friday s with the hopes of being the public golf destination in Middle Georgia.
New owners Toney and Benny Bowles own multiple golf courses in the southeast: Benny owns a pair in Charlotte, North Carolina and Toney owns a course in Albany.
Toned found out about Barrington Hall after a real estate agent played at his Albany course. He was initially hesitant to purchase the golf club, but saw plenty of potential.
“Everything just kind of fell in place,” Toney said. “My brother and I both love working on a course that you can see it grow. You love to make it to where people can enjoy it.”
The green fees with a cart will cost $32 Monday through Friday and $40 on Saturday and Sunday. Over the last year, the Bowles brothers have improved the cart paths, the greens and have cleared away a lot of overgrown areas and fallen trees.
The greens are about a year old now and are TifEagle greens, a type of very fine-textured dwarf Bermuda grass, similar to the ones installed at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course, the site of the 2021 PGA Championship.
The cleanup and preparation of the course have finally led up to opening day on Friday with hours that go from morning to dark. Toney said that he is happy opening day is finally here.
“It is a relief to get people out here to see what we have done,” Toney said. “I hope that they know that it is just going to keep getting better and better.”
Breathing new life
Gary Garmany, the PGA Director of Golf at Barrington Hall, said that he is ready to see what the course can become and is happy that the Bowles brothers decided to bring life back to the course.
“It was really sad to see it deteriorate and left neglected,” Garmany said. “They saw an opportunity to come in a breath some life into it and going about it in a proper manner from a maintenance standpoint.”
The course is designed to have some tight fairways and hills, but should be accessible for all skill levels. Barrington has multiple sets of tees to fit various age groups and skill levels.
There are plans in the works to offer lessons and youth clinics in the near future once they are able to get things up and running. Golfers who are interested in setting up a tee time can call the pro shop at 478-259-7730; more information on memberships is available on the Barrington website. Members may be able to schedule tee times online in the future.
Toney said COVID-19 has introduced a lot of new people to golf. He hopes both new and scratch golfers enjoy the course.
“It is a beautiful layout. I think it is a challenging golf course. I think we can get good course conditions for an affordable price,” he said. “It is going to require some skills. But we have a driving range and putting green for people to practice on. I think it is going to be a win-win for everybody.”