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By Kyle Darbyson
Montecito Country Club is set to undergo an almost complete renovation desperately sought by its members, despite the transformation shutting down several luxuries for more than a year
The members at Montecito Country Club in Santa Barbara, California, are quite used to waiting for their century-old club to be renovated. Many were there in the late-1990s when deflation troubles in Japan handcuffed the club’s Japanese owners. Then, they watched helplessly as the 2008 economic meltdown derailed the ambitious plans of new owner, and Beanie Babies founder, Ty Warner.
Now, with the economy stable and the private club business thriving, these members will finally see their facility receive the upgrades it desperately needs. First, however, their already stretched patience is going to be tested one final time. That’s because the plan calls for a near-complete renovation that will see members lose access to the golf course, swimming pools and tennis courts for more than a year.
Giving up such amenities might seem like a significant sacrifice on the part of Montecito’s membership, but Bill Medel says nearly everyone is willing to wait, if only for a little longer. “Our members have been hearing about plans for years, and some of them are getting older,” he says. “Frankly, they just want to finally see this thing get done.”
Medel is the project development manager at Ty Warner Hotels & Resorts. He and other managers at Montecito have gone to great lengths to ensure members don’t lose access to the services they’ve grown accustomed to. “We approached facilities that offered comparable amenities like fitness centers, tennis clubs, dining and swimming,” Medel says.
From there, the club developed an à la carte menu of local services that had agreed to offer Montecito members discounts on initiation deposits and dues. “On the day we announced the closing date, we presented a huge list of options,” Medel recalls.
All 400 members’ dues are deferred during construction, freeing them up to capitalize on these pseudo-partnerships on a temporary basis. Many have, including approximately 60 who migrated to the nearby Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club. “It’s another Warner property, so it just makes a lot of sense,” Medel says.
Being part of the Warner family of properties also put the club in an enviable position when it came to fulfilling the golf aspect of the member experience. Members were directed to the Sandpiper Golf Club or Rancho San Marcos Golf Course, two local daily-fee courses in the Warner portfolio. “We were able to offer a golf program where our members received discounted tee times and priority booking.”
With membership happy, Medel and company could focus on their master plan. “There haven’t been any upgrades around here since the 1960s, so there were a lot of places to start.”
Nicklaus Design was tapped to redesign the course because his team presented a plan that fit with the club’s vision. “He really focused on making the game fun for the average player,” Medel says. This meant removing trees, flattening greens and widening landing areas. The plan will see the bones of the original design remain predominantly intact, with Nicklaus rerouting about 30 percent of the holes.
The delay also gave management the chance to tweak their part of the plan. The club held general meetings with members and sent out questionnaires and surveys. Feedback exposed significant gaps. “There’s a different generation coming in, and frankly we weren’t preparing for them,” Medel says.
Many members couldn’t justify the commitments golf demands, asking what the club could provide for their families. Medel says the club had to make substantial changes. “We completely redid our offering to include a huge family pool, a children’s splash park and two lap pools.” A 6,000-square-foot fitness center was also added.
The Nicklaus name will attract a lot of new members when the facility reopens in early 2017. Montecito is also upgrading membership offerings to leverage the plethora of new amenities. “We will be offering new, non-golf memberships,” Medel says. “It’s something that we’ve never offered before.”
Warner himself is funding the reported $30 million cost, meaning members won’t see large assessments. Medel also doesn’t expect to lose any members during the club’s yearlong hiatus. The changes are so significant, he says it’s almost like they’ll get to come back to a whole new facility.
“It’s going to be bigger and better in almost every way imaginable.”
Kyle Darbyson is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.