By Gary Nager
When I moved to Hunter’s Green in 1995, Hunter’s Green Country Club (HGCC) was already a few years old and the centerpiece of an exciting new community in an area which was first referred to as “New Tampa” only a year or so earlier.
My family first bought a membership at HGCC in ‘95 and it was always a beautiful, 6,900-yard, Tom Fazio-designed golf course with “environmental integrity.” (Note-Fazio has 40 years in the golf course design business, and his website, FazioDesign.com, says that “no living golf course designer has more courses listed on Golf Digest’s top-100 courses than Fazio does).
[new_royalslider id=”78″]The club also features an elegant clubhouse, a great pro shop, driving and practice area, wonderful golf pros (led by head golf pro Doug Brown, plus an amazing array of 17 championship-caliber Har-Tru (clay) tennis courts and lots of outstanding benefits and amenities for its members.
The only problem back then, in my opinion, was that it never really had great food, at least not the kind of top-quality chef-created cuisine you’d expect at an upscale, private country club inside an elegant, gated community.
Well, if it’s been a while since you’ve checked out HGCC, you owe it to yourself to check it out again — even if you don’t live in the Hunter’s Green community!
HGCC membership director Ann Pereira and member relations director Ashley Allen-Nelson stress that although HGCC is a private club owned by Club Corp. of America (CCA), “the largest owner and operator of private clubs worldwide,” Ann says, membership in the club is available to everyone, regardless of where you live.
In fact, Ann adds, “Today, fewer than 50 percent of our members actually live in Hunter’s Green, although more than 80 percent of our members live in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and the surrounding communities.”
The club recently completed major improvements to the restaurant and bar area, known as Fazio’s Grille, and although current executive chef Ed Steinhoff (who previously was with the Temple Terrace Country Club) didn’t create the current menu, he has definitely upgraded the dining experience at HGCC and he promises that new menu items and specials are in the process of being added. We’ll talk more about the food after running down the benefits of membership at HGCC.
Your HGCC membership allows you to play golf and enjoy privileges at more than 300 top-quality CCA-owned-and-operated (and allied) clubs and resorts in more than 20 countries around the world, including nearly 40 right here in Florida (including Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, Carrollwood Country Club, the Tampa Club and the Centre Club, right here in Tampa, plus Feather Sound, Countryside and East Lake Woodlands Country Clubs in Clearwater).
HGCC membership also provides you with special access and privileges at more than 1,000 CCA-affiliated hotels and restaurants, including more than a dozen hotels and 20 restaurants (including The Capital Grille and Roy’s) in Florida alone.
And, if you upgrade to a Tampa Bay Society membership, you’ll get complimentary and discounted golf and fitness, dining and access to social and networking events, members-only benefits at local restaurants and retailers and Ticketline (a premium ticket service with VIP seating for concerts, theatre and sporting events and more.
But, even if you only plan to spend your time at HGCC, you won’t be disappointed with the Tennis Athletic Center (TAC), which has a great pool, those amazing tennis courts, spinning, personal training and other group and individual exercise opportunities and a playroom for kids. Plus, you’ll receive bar code access to get inside the entrance gates, like an HGCC resident, when you join.
And speaking of kids, HGCC offers excellent children’s programming including after-care, kids movie nights, parents nights out, a Kids Club, summer day camps, junior tennis and golf camps and clinics, a swim team and lots of great holiday events.
And, you parents can enjoy amazing Club Wine Dinners, trivia nights, karaoke, bingo, “Yappy” Hours and more.
HGCC will host its annual Memorial Day party at the TAC on Monday, May 25, an End-of-School-Year Party on Friday, June 12, a Father’s Day BBQ on Sunday, June 21, and more.
So, About The Food…
I can honestly say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the food the last few times I have eaten at HGCC. I always loved the great grilled hamburgers, but I also recently enjoyed Chef Ed’s outstanding overstuffed (with real crab) crab cakes (with roasted corn salsa and a semi-spicy creamy sriracha sauce) and spicy Buffalo wings when I brought some of our Neighborhood News employees out to try it.
My favorite dish so far was a thick, 14-oz. prime rib special, which was served with excellent homemade horseradish sauce and au jus. We also had a chance to sample the homemade gnocchi with pesto sauce, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, and we added grilled chicken. Office and marketing assistants Jill Reilly and Erica Everett both loved the caprese pasta, which had fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and tomato sauce topped with grilled chicken. Assistant editor Matt Wiley also was impressed with the pan-fried rainbow trout special and the jalapeño martini, although the daily signature drink at Fazio’s is the “Filthy” Black Cherry Manhattan.
I also look forward to trying the grilled NY strip steak, the flat iron steak with pommes frites, the grilled mahi-mahi and the chicken fried chicken.
Chef Ed also offers Wing Night on Tuesdays, special chef features and wine specials on Fridays, a la carte breakfasts on Saturday mornings, Pasta Nights and more.
In other words, if you’re like me, it may have been a while since you’ve visited HGCC. If so, you should definitely give Ann a call at the club (contact info below) and arrange a tour.
HGCC is located at 18101 Longwater Run Dr. For more information, visit ClubCorp.com/Clubs/Hunter-s-Green-Country-Club or call 973-1000.
No comment yet, add your voice below!