Published: Tuesday, August 1, 2006
New owners plan to get into swing of upgrading
The winning bidder is developing a six-year plan to improve the course.
By DON SHILLING
COITSVILLE — Owners of a Youngstown excavating company plan to upgrade Countryside Golf Course after buying it at auction for $1.2 million.
The winning bid by the owners of Marucci and Gaffney Excavating must be approved in federal bankruptcy court, however. A hearing will be Monday.
Scott Marucci, one of the company founders, said he expects to reopen the course next year and begin a six-year plan to upgrade it.
The winners outbid two others in the 15-minute auction at the course Tuesday. Bidding opened at $900,000, though the owner of Bedford Trails Golf Course in Coitsville had placed a pre-auction bid of $850,000.
A. Thomas Grischow, Bedford Trails owner, was the next-to-last bidder but wouldn't top $1.2 million. He declined to comment afterward. He is to be paid $5,000 for filing the initial bid with the court.
Another bidder, Tom Parteleno, dropped out before Grischow.
"We gave it our best shot," said Parteleno, a native of the area who used to be a golf professional in Florida. He has opened a driving range on Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Coitsville and is planning to build a par-three course at that site.
From the beginning
Marucci said he and his partners, Bill Gaffney Sr. and Bill Gaffney Jr., started thinking about buying the course when they heard about the auction.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Marucci said. "It's an opportunity to try another avenue."
He said that if the sale is approved, he and his partners would work to improve the drainage on the course before it opens next year.
Next, they would work on improving three holes a year, which would include adding sand traps or making changes to lakes, he said. The course, at 1421 Struthers-Coitsville Road, has 18 holes.
Maruccci said he and his partners have yet to decide on the ownership structure for the course.
All three are golfers.
"But that's not why you buy a golf course. Once you buy a golf course, you put away your clubs because of all the work," he said.
The course was closed in April by a bankruptcy court trustee who had taken over operations.
Previous bankruptcy
The previous owner, Villa Marie Estates, filed for bankruptcy protection last year to avoid a foreclosure sale. It owed Cortland Banks $530,000. Steve Olenick III of Boardman is the majority owner of Villa Marie Estates.
About 70 people attended the auction, which was conducted by Beth Rose Auction of Toledo. About 80 information packages on the course were requested.
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