Ever since January we’ve been hearing that the Liverpool Golf & Public Country Club was being sold to a prominent local real-estate developer.
In fact, Longley Jones has a purchase option on the property. Purchase options normally give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy at a predetermined price.
The par 71 18-hole golf course at 7209 Morgan Road has been owned and operated by the Ajemian family since 1947. Earlier this month, brothers Ron and Richard Ajemian, worried that golfers might think the place is closed, publicly declared that the course and the country club remain open for business.
“The misconception is we are closed, but we aren’t,” Ron told a reporter.
Not only are the links ready for play, the banquet room, the driving range and Tiger Links, the six-hole short course, are all staffed and swinging.
Word is that Longley Jones hopes to turn the fairways and greens into an apartment complex or condominiums. The firm’s president, E. Carlyle Smith, said “it’s too premature” to talk about the transaction.
The Ajemians maintain that nothing will change unless Longley Jones exercises its option, which expires Oct. 31.
Third-generation Ajemians now add their energies to the family biz. Richard Ajemian’s daughter, Stacey, is director of special events. Ron and Richard’s nephew, Stephen Schmitt, is director of special projects.
Will Stacey and Steve be looking for jobs elsewhere next year? Will Liverpool duffers be driving further afield to tee off? Only time will tell…
Meanwhile, Liverpool Golf & Public Country Club remains open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Its clubhouse has a big ballroom for wedding receptions or banquets. A cathedral ceiling hovers over the room’s hardwood dance floor, and visitors can enjoy a spectacular view of the golf course through picture windows or by wandering out onto the veranda. A carefully landscaped garden functions as a beautiful backdrop for photographs. The clubhouse features a full-service snack and beverage bar.
The club’s green’s fees are remarkably reasonable. It costs just $20 to play 18 holes during the week, and $22 on weekends. Kids 17 and younger and seniors 55 and older can play for $167 on weekday and $18 on weekends.
The Tiger Links six-hole short course is pretty cool. It’s the only place in Central New York where golfers can practice the game from 50 to 80 yards into a real green. It’s great for beginners to learn the game’s most important shots, and for low handicappers to practice firing at the pins and making the putts; $7 for adults, $6 for kids; 457-7170.
The Barking Gull, the third Gormel-owned restaurant in the village, finally opened to the public on Tuesday, May 6. The Gull’s manager is John Sansone, former owner of Meghan MacMurphy’s Pub and Restaurant out on Route 57. MacMurphy’s closed in January.
The Barking Gull website needs updating (how about a photo of that world-class wood-fired pizza oven?), but it will give you an idea of the club’s layout, design and colorful maritime ambiance: retreatrestaurant.com/pages/gull/gull.html.
For reservations and information, call the Gull at 457-2780.
A week or so ago, Venesky’s Appliances, at 113 Second St., conducted a final close-out sale.
No word yet on the future of the property, although it’s right next door to my bank, Seneca Federal Savings and Loan Association, which is rumored to have expansion plans.
Festival-goers lucky enough to catch the rockin’ Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band at last year’s Syracuse Jazz Fest, will be happy to hear that Kat and the boys return to CNY at 9 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., on the city’s East Side; $10; thewestcotttheater.com; 299-8886.
Kat Wright was raised in Rochester and graduated with an art degree from Alfred University in 2008. Two years later she relocated to Burlington, Vt., where she formed the Indomitable Soul Band which just released its first extended-play CD.
By the way, the Liverpool is The Place Summer Concert series in Johnson Park starts up with performances by Liverpool Central Schools’ student bands at 7 p.m. June 2, and the Pale Green Stars playing honky-tonkin’ rock and roll on June 4.
