Wedgefield Plantation Golf and Country Club, with its golf course, pool and Manor House restaurant, will reopen in stages over the next several months.
That’s thanks to Harry Karetas and his wife Vonnie, Mitch Thompkins and his new family business, and lots of hard work.
Thompkins said the golf course is scheduled to open July 1, a 100-person dinner is set for early February and a wedding is booked in early May.
“The pool will be open in May, weather permitting,” he said.
Schedules for dining service, pool and tennis courts and other amenities are being finalized.
New owner and new operator
The Karetases live in North Myrtle Beach. Last summer they came to Georgetown to purchase a "get-away" home. While driving through Wedgefield, they saw a sign that the amenity areas were for sale. They bought the property from a foreclosure, paying $650,000. They will use a cottage on the property for their retreat.
Harry Karetas owns Terminal Storage in Myrtle Beach. He’s not a golfer, nor a restaurateur, tennis pro or pool operator. Initially, he planned to lease various parts of the country club to separate operators.
He had some discussions with Mitch Thompkins about operating the golf course, and Thompkins suggested he would take it on as a turn-key service. They worked out an agreement, and Thompkins Golf Management LLC is now operating the Wedgefield Country Club and all of its amenities. Mitch and his wife, Jamie, along with their relatives make up the company and are handling the myriad aspects of bringing the club back to life.
Many folks likely know Mitch Thompkins as the owner of Curry’s Cleaners and Island Cleaners. He retired and sold those businesses, and has used some of the proceeds from their sale to help with start-up costs for the golf course and other amenities. He’s not new in the golf management business by any means.
“I went to school to be a golf course superintendent,” Thompkins said. “I have a degree in agriculture and golf from Horry-Georgetown Technical College.”
He was superintendent of Heritage Club for four years in the late 1980s. “I helped build Caledonia, and worked with Mike Stroud. He was the most sought-after golf course superintendent in the ‘90s,” Thompkins said. "We were laying rip-rap in the ditches,” along with many other duties he said. His brother Kevin is currently the golf superintendent at True Blue.
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Wedgfield January 2018
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A view of the Wedgefield Plantation Golf Course course from the patio of the Manor House.
Glad to have him
Henson Floyd is a long-time resident and member of Wedgefield. He said he is happy that Thompkins has taken over the course because he will put his heart into it.
“Our preacher was the first one to pay the membership fee -- I was the second," he said. "The whole community is really excited about it. Some of us were helping cut grass -- we were able to keep it from getting too high."
Floyd said he has a lot of confidence in Thompkins.
"He’s going to make Wedgefield great again,” he said.
Thompkins is also a long-time resident of Wedgefield.
“I’ve seen it open and close four times in 32 years,” he said. The previous owner closed it in June 2016.
Lot of work
With the golf course, Manor House and other facilities closed down for more than a year, it’s taking a lot of work to get things back in shape.
Along with some people cutting portions of the fairways with their own lawn mowers, many Wedgefield homeowners contributed money to the cost of other mowing.
Even with that, Thompkins said, “We had to use a bush hog in order to get a mower out there. Then we mowed it five or six times.”
Thompkins' plan is to start stripping the top of the grass in April.
"In May, we’ll put new grass on the greens,” he said. And he looks to open the golf course on July 1.
“Somebody is coming (this month) to look at and redo the cart paths,” he said. “We had a volunteer cleanup day the first Saturday in November. We had over 30 residents show up and clean up limbs and such.”
For years, the golf cart shed had a roof but no side walls. When recent hurricanes visited Georgetown, not only did they knock down tree limbs and branches, but the strong winds moved the cart shed over enough that there was a decided list to the uprights. They’ve been set back to vertical, and walls and doors have been added to the shed. Also, the drains for the cart wash area have been cleaned out.
Much other work has been done on the grounds. “We cleaned up and painted the maintenance building, and cleaned up around it,” Thompkins said. “It was an eyesore.”
Thompkins said it will cost about $40,000 to redo the greens.
“Harry (Karetas) bought it as an investment. He’s been very cooperative. He paid for the work done on the shed.”
Inside the Manor House
Floors in the kitchen for the Manor House are being redone to be seamless. All of the appliances are being inspected and so far, Thompkins said, there aren’t any significant problems with the stoves, fryers, refrigeration or other equipment.
It’s an expensive process, especially having to redo the floors. It cost about $11,000 to make sure the kitchen floor has no seams and is covered with a special paint. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control will inspect the kitchen and dining area, which Thompkins expects will happen this month.
In the dining area, ceiling tiles have to be repaired and replaced. While the place was closed down, he said, there was a leak in the roof. Some pipes had separated. “So, for 15 months, rain got into the building," he said. "That has been repaired.”
The whole inside has been repainted. Floors in the dining area and other rooms have been or are being redone, too. The Thompkins wives are converting one of the smaller rooms into a history room. They’re accumulating photos, stories and other items to help tell the history of Wedgefield Plantation.
Mitch Thompkins plans to convert the bar area to a meeting room. He’s been using part of it as an office for now. There will likely be a smaller area set up to look out over the fairway.
Dining operation and events
Plans are to serve lunch Monday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner will be served on Friday and Saturday nights with two seatings, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Each night will have a special menu. Menus for the week will be posted on the website.
“Matt Branham will be the chef. He’s a Georgetown boy. He went to Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute in Charlotte. He’s worked in the Ballentine Resort,” Thompkins said. "Within Wedgefield, we will do home delivery for lunch, and on Friday and Saturday nights. We’re going to do a men’s night out on Thursday nights. There will be a ‘special’ to play nine holes of golf, followed by a steak supper. That will be from May to September."
Thompkins is planning on a shag night once a month. “We’ll probably have some local talent come out and play and entertain,” he said.
The patio area outside the dining room will be set up for music with bands. A dance floor will be made and in place.
“For weddings and events, we’ll do it all. Chairs, tables and food. It will be a turn-key operation,” Thompkins said.
The club will have local tournaments and club championships.
“We will support local non-profits in tournaments,” Thompkins said. “High school golf teams will play here.”
Thank you
Thompkins said he wanted to “thank the homeowners for keeping the grass cut on much of the course.”
“Butch Williams is on the board. He headed up the effort to keep the grass cut while the golf course was closed,” he said.
Having the Wedgefield Country Club with the various amenities “will also help property values,” Thompkins noted.
Some people have already purchased memberships. Rates and several options, as well as a calendar of events will be posted to the website. Membership categories include golf, social and pool memberships.
“We’re also selling corporate memberships,” Thompkins said.
The dining area at the Manor House will be open to the general public to come out and enjoy the food without having a membership in the Wedgefield Country Club.
For more information visit www.wedgefieldcountryclub.com, "Wedgefield Country Club" Facebook page, call 843-325-3534 or send an email to MitchThompkins@yahoo.com. The office address at the Manor House is 129 Club House Ln., Georgetown SC 29440.