Despite a six-alarm fire on the grounds, Valleaire Golf Club hasn’t missed a beat and is open for business
By Laura Briedis
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to find out how lucky you really are. That is what happened to Valleaire Golf Club & Event Center when its maintenance facility burned to the ground last month. The community rallied behind this local business so it could stay open.
The fire in the building, which was situated beyond the clubhouse out of sight from the golf course, started in the early evening as the last golfers were making their way back to the clubhouse. Lost in the fire was not only the 5,800-square-foot structure, but everything inside—including all the equipment. Gratefully, nobody was harmed.
“We are so thankful to the 10 fire departments that responded to this six-alarm fire,” says Cindy Cole, general manager. “In addition to our Hinckley fire department, so many other firefighters from neighboring cities assisted.”
“We lost all of our equipment needed to maintain our golf course, from the mowers to weed wackers, sprayers and the utility trucks our grounds crew uses to get around,” says Cindy. “We are so overwhelmed by the support from the golf community,” she adds. “Country clubs from the east side to golf courses as far south as Columbus have reached out to us and offered to loan their extra equipment, as well as all of our golf vendors offering their help. The very next morning after the fire we had the equipment we needed to maintain the greens and fairways.”
Thanks to all of this support, the golf course has remained open and is in pristine condition.
“We are open for play and currently have over 30 leagues still golfing here every week,” says Cindy. “Our event center and restaurant were not affected by the fire so it is business as usual. Now that everything is getting back to normal, we are hosting many rescheduled weddings and showers, which is so nice to see as the Covid restrictions have been lifted and we are able to gather and celebrate again.”
Valleaire Golf Club & Event Center is located at 6969 Boston Road in Hinckley. For more information, call 440-237-9191 or visit ValleaireGolf.co.