By BRIANA HARRIS / Staff Writer

PELHAM – General Manager Hal Brown said Ballantrae Golf Club has more members than it ever has and is on track to generate an additional $15,000 in revenue for the city of Pelham.

Brown said the club recently reached the 200-member mark, a feat that has never before been achieved.

The club gained members when another golf course shut down, and in the spring the club offered a membership special that waived the $600 application fee, Brown said.

He also attributed the growth to the start of Sunday alcohol sales in Shelby County.

“Now our golfers are coming here on Sundays to play and eat lunch, but when we didn’t have Sunday sales they would go to other courses on Sundays,” Brown said. “It’s been great. It’s helped our golf and food sales.”

Last year about 32,000 people played golf at the course, but this year Brown said that number has jumped to about 35,000 people.

Brown said he is also hoping to lease a fleet of 70 new golf carts. The three-year lease for 70 golf carts would cost the city about $7,000 per month.

He requested that the money for the golf carts be included in Ballantrae’s fiscal 2017 budget at the City Council’s Aug. 30 budget hearing. The 2017 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Beginning Sept. 17 from 10-11 a.m., the club will host Get Gold Ready – a five-session golf clinic for women. The cost is $75 for all five sessions. Brown said the clinic is for beginners as well as women who’d like to sharpen their skills.

Membership at Ballantrae is $600 for the one-time application fee and then $162 per month for one person or $216 per month for a family of four. Members receive access to a locker room, a golf practice facility, additional discounts at the gift shop and are allowed to book reservations 12 days in advance.

For more information about Ballantrae Golf Club go to Ballantraegolf.com.