Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2013

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Photos provided.
I was sitting in an illustrious
banquet room, at a table covered neatly by
white cloth. To my left was a game room of
sorts, where a group of chirpy women were
playing bridge. Ten months previous, the
newly-renovated clubhouse at Snee Farm
Country Club in Mount Pleasant was no
more than a “dilapidated, leaky, muggy, smelly and run-
down” facility, but none of
these adjectives would properly
describe the location of my interview with Director of
Membership Sally Marschner, Director of Golf Pete Dun-
ham and General Manager Mike Ashton.
The idea of a new clubhouse for the 800-member private
club was hatched nine years ago when Marschner was hired
to spearhead marketing for the project. Never having visited
the old clubhouse, I asked about what changes had been
made. When silence followed, I wondered if I had somehow
offended my new acquaintances.
“You must have never seen the old clubhouse,” Ashton
finally answered with a smile.
He went on to describe a derelict building that would
scare most Snee Farm members away rather than serve as a
comfortable place where they could get together after work
or a day of recreational activities. Invite guests over to relax
and enjoy the view of the golf course? Not a chance.
“The old clubhouse had become unusable. There were
leaks in the ceiling, the carpets were stained, the AC didn’t
work. We didn’t really have a choice,” Ashton lamented.
Ashton hired architect Stephen Russell, contractor
SouthCon Building Group and engineers SeamonWhiteside
Associates. The team had to put their heads together on the
project and work creatively under a budget.
“We worked collaboratively with Mike (Ashton) and the
design team on the project to give the club members the club-
house they deserved,” said SouthCon President Chris Spach.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
The initial plan was to demolish the old clubhouse and
rebuild at a new location. But after careful consideration,
Ashton and crew deemed that the old clubhouse was in the
By Cullen Murray-KeMP
OutWith the Old;
InWith the New
The Snee Farm Clubhouse Once a run-down facility, a $2-million makeover
has made the Snee Farm Clubhouse a source of
pride among members.