Patterson Club inaugurates new clubhouse

After nearly two years of construction, the Patterson Club of Fairfield celebrated the grand opening of its new clubhouse and renovated golf course on Saturday, May 29, to enthusiastic reviews from members.

According to Kevin Lalumiere, the club's general manager and COO, the reaction was "very, very positive."

"The most consistent reaction is it's very tasteful in its design and décor, and it is elegantly understated," said Lalumiere, who's been a club administrator since February. "The members are absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out."

Mark Finlay, president and CEO of Mark P. Finlay Architects, said that members were in good spirits at the grand opening.

"It was nice to see how architecture can change the quality of life. Everyone was in a great mood, everyone really liked it, we were getting a lot of compliments," said Finlay, who designed the new clubhouse.

Plans for a new clubhouse took shape over a 10-year period, according to Lalumiere. A long-range planning committee was established to make suggestions on how best to accommodate the growing membership, and one of these suggestions was to build a new clubhouse.

"Spatial concerns were the biggest issue," he said.

The membership in October 2006 approved a proposal to replace the old clubhouse with new, larger facilities incorporating the separate pro shop and locker room building. The old clubhouse was demolished in late February. The construction contract for the new clubhouse was awarded to A.P. Construction of Stamford, and Highland Design of Pound Ridge, N.Y., was hired as the landscape architect.

The new clubhouse encompasses 53,000 square feet compared to the 18,000-square-foot former clubhouse, and is farther from Cross Highway than the original building. The new clubhouse now sits right next to the golf course and is, according to Lalumiere, better integrated into the landscape of the course.

"A big part of what we do here is the game of golf. It was important to integrate," said Lalumiere. "There was a lot of thought behind the design." Greg Muirhead, senior vice president of Rees Jones, Inc., the golf course architectural firm that worked with Finlay on the renovation project, agrees the clubhouse is now more connected to the golf course than before.

"I feel the relationship between the new clubhouse and renovated golf course is much improved," he said. "There is now more of a seamless transition between the building and the course."

"The old clubhouse was literally right on the road," said Finlay. "We pushed the new building farther up so it's literally between the 18th green and the ninth green. We wanted it to look like it had been there the whole time."

With the new clubhouse came renovations to the golf course as well.

According to Muirhead, all of the tee complexes and sand bunkers have been rebuilt, and some new tees and new sand bunkers have been added. Portions of several putting surfaces were expanded to create new hole locations, and the sixth and eighteenth greens and practice putting green all were completely rebuilt.

Muirhead said the renovations were consistent with the style of Robert Trent Jones, father of Rees Jones and architect of the original course, which was constructed in 1947.

"Whenever we work on a Robert Trent Jones course, we try to be sensitive to his original design style and intent, while updating the course to be commensurate with today's game," he said.

Maintaining the original design was also important to Finlay in his design of the new clubhouse.

"I used the forms of the original buildings loosely -- the neo-classical farmhouse and the barn house in back -- and combined the shapes to make the new building look broken down and not seem so big," said Finlay.

Lalumiere agreed that it had been important to mirror the "Connecticut look and feel" of the old clubhouse when designing the new one.

"The history and feel of the old clubhouse were brought up to the new clubhouse, but a little bit bigger," said Lalumiere. "We were mindful of our history."

Renovations are nothing new to the Patterson Club. According to a press release from the club, the golf course and clubhouse have been renovated several times since being bought in 1946 from Winthrop Palmer, the first female Connecticut state senator, and her husband Carlton.

"The old clubhouse became a compilation of additions" as rooms were added to accommodate the growing membership, said Lalumiere.

The Patterson Club was established in 1929 by General Electric employees as a social and dining club in Bridgeport. The club moved to Fairfield after the 163-acre property was purchased from the Palmers in 1946.