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Anthony_Nysse

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Anthony J. Nysse
Director of Golf Courses & Grounds
Apogee Club
Hobe Sound, FL

Evan Fleisher

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2010, 09:27:41 AM »
Holy crap!

I was just there (fairly recently) in December, 2008 and thought it to be a wonderful structure.  We had a group dinner there one evening as well in a lovely setting.

What a shame...
Born Rochester, MN. Grew up Miami, FL. Live Cleveland, OH. Handicap 13.2. Have 26 & 23 year old girls and wife of 29 years. I'm a Senior Supply Chain Business Analyst for Vitamix. Diehard walker, but tolerate cart riders! Love to travel, always have my sticks with me. Mollydooker for life!

Jim Sweeney

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2010, 09:34:21 AM »
Three clubhouse fires a on Kiawah in the last 15 years? Wow.
"Hope and fear, hope and Fear, that's what people see when they play golf. Not me. I only see happiness."

" Two things I beleive in: good shoes and a good car. Alligator shoes and a Cadillac."

Moe Norman

Steve_ Shaffer

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2010, 10:01:55 AM »



"Designed by the prestigious firm of Shope Reno Wharton Associates out of Greenwich, Conneticut, The River Course clubhouse sits on an ancient bluff surrounded by huge live oaks overlooking the Kiawah River to the north and Bass Pond to the southeast."

"Charleston designer Amelia Handegan decorated the interiors, which include more than 20 original works of art."
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Mark McKeever

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2010, 10:06:17 AM »
Thats terribly unfortunate.  It seems like it was a very nice building!

Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

PCCraig

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2010, 10:49:10 AM »
Ready for this....

My sister-in-law was supposed to get married there in June!  :o

Apparently the fire started in the women's sauna and it's expected to be a 100% loss. I thought big buildings like this have firewalls? Too bad as it was a great building in a very neat setting overlooking the marsh. I'm sure they will rebuild something equally as nice in the same place.
H.P.S.

Carl Nichols

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2010, 11:21:48 AM »
Remarkable that the fire department had been there, put out the first fire (or at least that's what they thought), and then the place burns to the ground. 

Evan Fleisher

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2010, 11:38:24 AM »
Remarkable that the fire department had been there, put out the first fire (or at least that's what they thought), and then the place burns to the ground. 

That is exactly the part I do not understand.

As for firewalls...not sure what code is like for saunas, but my guess is that there are NOT very many regulations when it comes to "extra" protection for rooms like these.
Born Rochester, MN. Grew up Miami, FL. Live Cleveland, OH. Handicap 13.2. Have 26 & 23 year old girls and wife of 29 years. I'm a Senior Supply Chain Business Analyst for Vitamix. Diehard walker, but tolerate cart riders! Love to travel, always have my sticks with me. Mollydooker for life!

George Pazin

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2010, 11:55:22 AM »
Remarkable that the fire department had been there, put out the first fire (or at least that's what they thought), and then the place burns to the ground. 

Something similar happened to the house across the street from us at home. The problem fire depts. have is that they have to balance destroying the structure versus putting the fire out completely. In the case of the house, they put the minimum amount of water on to extinguish the fire, trying not the destroy the house. All of their instruments showed the fire out, but apparently there were smoldering embers somewhere, because the fire started back up about an hour later. The next time they came, they made 100% certain the fire was out, but it entailed ripping apart a lot more of the house. It did not burn down completely, but there certainly was a lot more damage overall.

Fightin' fires ain't easy!

Sorry to hear about your sister-in-law's predicament, Pat, but it could be worse. One of my wife's best friends was scheduled to have her wedding at Pittsburgh Field Club, and a tropical storm blasted through the area TWO DAYS before, causing the club to be closed due to damage. She also had her rehearsal dinner at another club moved. Fortunately for her, the wedding and rehearsal were moved to Fox Chapel and Oakmont, respectively, so it was kind of lateral move. But it made for a couple stressful days - not that you could tell by the bride, who looked both stunning and at ease. Grace under pressure, that's a good quality for a wife. :)
Big drivers and hot balls are the product of golf course design that rewards the hit one far then hit one high strategy.  Shinny showed everyone how to take care of this whole technology dilemma. - Pat Brockwell, 6/24/04

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2010, 01:07:23 PM »
Remarkable that the fire department had been there, put out the first fire (or at least that's what they thought), and then the place burns to the ground. 

Something similar happened to the house across the street from us at home. The problem fire depts. have is that they have to balance destroying the structure versus putting the fire out completely. In the case of the house, they put the minimum amount of water on to extinguish the fire, trying not the destroy the house. All of their instruments showed the fire out, but apparently there were smoldering embers somewhere, because the fire started back up about an hour later. The next time they came, they made 100% certain the fire was out, but it entailed ripping apart a lot more of the house. It did not burn down completely, but there certainly was a lot more damage overall.

Fightin' fires ain't easy!

Sorry to hear about your sister-in-law's predicament, Pat, but it could be worse. One of my wife's best friends was scheduled to have her wedding at Pittsburgh Field Club, and a tropical storm blasted through the area TWO DAYS before, causing the club to be closed due to damage. She also had her rehearsal dinner at another club moved. Fortunately for her, the wedding and rehearsal were moved to Fox Chapel and Oakmont, respectively, so it was kind of lateral move. But it made for a couple stressful days - not that you could tell by the bride, who looked both stunning and at ease. Grace under pressure, that's a good quality for a wife. :)

Thanks George.

Lucky for them they still have a couple other options in the area as it's going to be a small-ish wedding. Apparently the night before there was/is a 400-person wedding set for the River Course....no idea where they can squeeze such a big group in short notice.

My mother in law did have to call the invite printer yesterday to say "stop the presses!"  :)
H.P.S.

JSlonis

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2010, 01:13:31 PM »
That's a shame, it was  a beautiful building. That clubhouse hosted the US Mid Am functions last fall.  Hope their insurance coverage was up to date.

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2010, 04:19:04 PM »
Sorry to hear it, said clubhouse was the launching pad of one of the top ten craziest nights of my life. 

Played a round there as unaccompanied guests during a grad school spring break trip in 1998.  Night before we had seen Tom Watson at a nearby restaurant.  Post round we walk into the clubhouse and the pro says we should head down to the range to watch Tom hit some balls.  He gave about an hour Q&A/demo on the range (including a remarkable impression of Calc at the Ocean Course) with a couple dozen members in attendance before heading into the clubhouse to unveil the plans for Cassique.  We were kindly invited to attend the affair, which included an open bar and a world class buffet.  Several cocktails later, still wearing our golf attire (golf shoes, gloves in back pockets, etc.), we get a photo taken with Watson.  He takes one look at the crew and asks us if we just got off the course.  The rest of the night, in no particular order, includes the female wait staff from the party, Def Leppard, a video blackjack game that paid out, a kimono, eventful trips to and from Charleston (involving two cars, a limousine and various taxis), a bachelorette party, Taco Bell and a trailer park nowhere near Kiawah.

As the impetus for the evening in question, I would endorse the old clubhouse as an inductee into my personal list of national historic sites.

"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

JohnV

Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2010, 04:25:53 PM »
That's a shame, it was  a beautiful building. That clubhouse hosted the US Mid Am functions last fall.  Hope their insurance coverage was up to date.

Sad.  It was a very nice clubhouse.  Not too big, and well put together.

George Pazin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2010, 04:33:37 PM »
Sorry to hear it, said clubhouse was the launching pad of one of the top ten craziest nights of my life.  

Played a round there as unaccompanied guests during a grad school spring break trip in 1998.  Night before we had seen Tom Watson at a nearby restaurant.  Post round we walk into the clubhouse and the pro says we should head down to the range to watch Tom hit some balls.  He gave about an hour Q&A/demo on the range (including a remarkable impression of Calc at the Ocean Course) with a couple dozen members in attendance before heading into the clubhouse to unveil the plans for Cassique.  We were kindly invited to attend the affair, which included an open bar and a world class buffet.  Several cocktails later, still wearing our golf attire (golf shoes, gloves in back pockets, etc.), we get a photo taken with Watson.  He takes one look at the crew and asks us if we just got off the course.  The rest of the night, in no particular order, includes the female wait staff from the party, Def Leppard, a video blackjack game that paid out, a kimono, eventful trips to and from Charleston (involving two cars, a limousine and various taxis), a bachelorette party, Taco Bell and a trailer park nowhere near Kiawah.

As the impetus for the evening in question, I would endorse the old clubhouse as an inductee into my personal list of national historic sites.



One of the most entertaining posts I've seen on here in awhile. Nicely done, Sven, hope you share more soon.
Big drivers and hot balls are the product of golf course design that rewards the hit one far then hit one high strategy.  Shinny showed everyone how to take care of this whole technology dilemma. - Pat Brockwell, 6/24/04

Tony Weiler

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2010, 04:54:39 PM »
Sven, I want to party with you!   ;D

cary lichtenstein

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2010, 04:56:27 PM »
Hope they have adequate insurance. Those ins companies hate paying claims
Live Jupiter, Fl, was  4 handicap, played top 100 US, top 75 World. Great memories, no longer play, 4 back surgeries. I don't miss a lot of things about golf, life is simpler with out it. I miss my 60 degree wedge shots, don't miss nasty weather, icing, back spasms. Last course I played was Augusta

Carl Nichols

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2010, 05:16:40 PM »
and a trailer park nowhere near Kiawah.

A buddy of mine missed a tee time visiting a similar location, though  you wouldn't have run into him -- it was a few years after your trip.   ;D

Sven Nilsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2010, 05:36:03 PM »
Carl:

On a separate trip we piled 5 guys into a cab for the ride back to Kiawah from Charleston after a late night.  Upon entering the abode, one of the passengers seemed to be missing.  No one could remember whether or not he got out of the cab, but we certainly remember him being in it, as he was the cause of a 20 minute delay during a fast food drive thru stop.

Turns out our intrepid traveler, without the support of his back seat neighbor's shoulders, simply slumped over and continued his slumbers.  The call placed to the cab company resulted in an APB to all drivers in the Kiawah area to check their backseats for a passed out customer.  By the time our driver got the word and discovered the cargo, he was already halfway back to town. 

We didn't get to play the River Course that trip, probably a good thing.

Pat:

The host of these trips attended his brother's wedding at the clubhouse a couple of years ago, they were divorced in less than a year.  The unintended change of venue might not be such a bad idea.
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Rob Bice

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #18 on: March 18, 2010, 05:36:19 PM »
Sven-
Just out of curiosity, where were on Wednesday and did you have any matches?
"medio tutissimus ibis" - Ovid

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #19 on: March 18, 2010, 05:42:56 PM »
Rob:

On advice from my counsel, I can neither confirm nor deny that I was in the ladies sauna at the Kiawah River Course Clubhouse on Wednesday.
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

PCCraig

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Re: Clubhouse at River Course at Kiawah burned down yesterday
« Reply #20 on: March 18, 2010, 09:07:53 PM »
Carl:

On a separate trip we piled 5 guys into a cab for the ride back to Kiawah from Charleston after a late night.  Upon entering the abode, one of the passengers seemed to be missing.  No one could remember whether or not he got out of the cab, but we certainly remember him being in it, as he was the cause of a 20 minute delay during a fast food drive thru stop.

Turns out our intrepid traveler, without the support of his back seat neighbor's shoulders, simply slumped over and continued his slumbers.  The call placed to the cab company resulted in an APB to all drivers in the Kiawah area to check their backseats for a passed out customer.  By the time our driver got the word and discovered the cargo, he was already halfway back to town. 

We didn't get to play the River Course that trip, probably a good thing.

Pat:

The host of these trips attended his brother's wedding at the clubhouse a couple of years ago, they were divorced in less than a year.  The unintended change of venue might not be such a bad idea.



Sven-

I'll see what I can do about getting you an invite to liven the party up ;D ;)

Looking like the wedding will be moved to the nearby Cassique clubhouse. If something happens to that clubhouse we'll really know it's not meant to be!!
H.P.S.