The Pinewood Story
In 1959, Al and Marie Bromann Jr. moved to Harshaw from Itasca, Illinois, to fulfill a dream of building a golf course. They purchased 325 acres of land in Harshaw to begin their new life in the Northwood's. With the assistance of local residents and a bulldozer, the work began. In 1962 the front nine opened. The original clubhouse was the chalet, which is now a rental vacation home that sits at the bottom of the #3 golf hole and was the original #9 hole.
During that time, the greens were placed in depressions so that when it rained, the water would flow onto the green areas. Watering systems were not the norm back then so ideas like this helped keep the greens alive during the summer months. Al's first mower for the fairways was a Jeep towing 3 gang mowers behind it!
In 1972, the back nine was completed and the current clubhouse was opened up as a pro shop & restaurant. The back nine was cut out of the hardwoods on the property. As the golf course was constructed, stumps were buried in the fairways to save time and were used as fill. The front nine was originally a potato field. The area where the current clubhouse is was The Pinewood Tree Farm. The tall pines that are along the 2nd fairway on Lakewood Road were transplanted from that tree farm as seedings.
In 1983, Al and Judy Bromann III moved to Harshaw to take over the business. They made several improvements to the golf course including adding a driving range and watering system to the golf course.
In 1998, Al (Chip) and Jayne Bromann IV moved to Harshaw to begin the third generation of owning and operating Pinewood Country Club. Changes have been made to several of the golf holes over the years from the original design. Each year new improvements are being made to bring our guests the best possible golfing experience in the Northwood's.
We are very fortunate to still have with the golf course, three individuals that started back in the 60's working for Al and Marie. Ed Radtke, Mark Radtke and John Schulz. The stories they can tell you would make you laugh for hours!
We hope you enjoy your experience at Pinewood Country Club and welcome from our family to yours. |