STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Features

• Finding a voice in a foreign language
• Pet Talk: Summer time — fun and risky for your pet
• It’s the Law: Health club liability may be limited

Share and Enjoy [?]

In the beginning

Once a literal diamond in the rough, the Island Country Club was the sales catalyst for the Deltona Corporation’s mid-1960s development of single family homes and condominiums on Marco Island.

Operating as a public golf facility for the next 20 years, its status changed in September 1986, when a group of 400 members bought the club and turned it private.

A fire that destroyed the original structure in 1993 turned out to be a blessing in disguise, resulting in the construction of a new, 40,000 square foot clubhouse, which opened in 1995.

It, in turn, underwent an extensive makeover in 2006.

The Island Club is home to two huge golfing icons: Tony Lema, a pro there until his death in 1966, and Gene Sarazen, a champion whose statue in front of the club still commands reverent glances from members heading out into the “Squire’s” territory.

A selection of Sarazen memorabilia is featured in the clubhouse, all donated by the diminutive champion.

He was resident pro from 1981 until his death in 1999.

The changes, the results...

The Island Club’s 11-year Director of Membership, Melody Kappauf, loves going to work.

Following the makeover and redesign, with an expanded golf shop, fitness facility and addition of the Double Eagle restaurant, she has much with which to woo new members.

The restaurant name refers to Sarazen’s amazing achievement on the way to his win at the 1935 Master’s.

“There are more reasonable clubs just off the bridge,” says Kappauf, “but we also have full activities, such as a monthly dinner dance, comedy nights and member-chef food nights.”

The result, she says, is that members can enjoy the sporting and social aspects of the club without having to leave the island.

Golf memberships are the non-profit club’s main source of income, complemented by tennis and social memberships. All members can use the fitness center.

The club may be steeped in tradition, but utilizing modern technology is a priority. Kappauf draws attention to the club’s recently redesigned Web site, island-countryclub.org, aimed at keeping existing members informed and attracting new ones.

“I like meeting people’s needs for the betterment of the club,” she says.

Kappauf keeps up with the local real estate market, because it can be so influential with recruitment efforts. Her husband, Wayne Kappauf, is a 13-year veteran with the club and is in charge of the way the course looks and plays.

Tour de fours (and threes and fives)

Head Golf Professional Mike DeJordy has been with the club for the past three years, originally as a first assistant.

Easing around the course on a golf cart tour, he constantly interjects his chat to greet players by name.

Formerly from Tampa, DeJordy says it’s unusual that such a small island can play host to full-sized course.

“It’s not intrusive having houses around the perimeter. They’re away from the fairways, and you’d almost have to aim at them to hit them.”

He pauses at the sixth hole, a daunting par 3 with a water carry, and says it’s a toss-up with number 8 as to which is the signature hole.

Members, he adds, have a special affinity for hole No. 12, because a tree on the fairway is home to a pair of bald eagles that breed there each year.

A good-looking course is one thing, but how it plays is another, and DeJordy has nothing but praise for Wayne Kappauf’s maintenance.

“Fortunately,” DeJordy says, “we have some well water of our own, plus we buy reclaimed water, so we’re fine for irrigation.”

In season, DeJordy helps send off 200 golfers on any given day, but over the summer he and his colleagues spend much of the time planning for the next season.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma damaged many trees, but the replanted and staked trees have fared particularly well.

About a round

Pairing up with a retired attorney, an eye surgeon and a self-made businessman for a round doesn’t mean the conversation is going to revolve around legalities, cataract removal, the sale and manufacture of appliance parts, or about writing an article, for that matter.

As any social golfer knows, the game is what it’s all about, and the conversation is limited largely to the appreciation of good shots, commiserations about bad ones, and good-natured ribbing about terrible ones.

DeJordy’s right about holes 6 and 8, by the way.

They’re picture perfect postcard stuff, but in both cases, Noodle long and soft balls find themselves unceremoniously in the water.

Number 18, too, with a choice of carrying as much water as one dares when confronted with a parallel lake, swallows two more balls, hence a fairly good-looking card is sullied by three proverbial “snowmen” 8s.

But there’s always that one shot that brings golfers back for more, as the saying goes, and the kudos for good shots outweigh the temporary gloom caused by the awful duffs.

For the average player, the Island Club is a pleasant mix of open fairways, with hidden creeks and plenty of Kodak moments.

Overall, the atmosphere is elegant, compared with less-exclusive clubs, and when you step out onto the lush turf, you can almost feel the presence of the Squire.