THE BUZZ: Greenwood goes MEMBERS ONLY

Greenwood Hills 102716

B.C. Kowalski/City Pages

Greenwood Hills 102716

Fat bikers race during the Badger State Games at Greenwood Hills earlier this year. Greenwood Hills is closing its dining to the general public, but will make winter trail memberships available for $30.

Greenwood Hills for 20 years, despite being a private country club, had served the public at its restaurant. That all changed this week: Access to Mulligan’s bar and grill, along with the club’s dining hall, are now exclusively membership-only amenities.

But the restructure is also allowing a new type of membership as the organization refocuses its efforts: A winter trail membership that offers some serious perks for the price.

Club manager Scott Sann says starting this winter season, Greenwood Hills will offer a winter trail option for $30 that allows use of the golf course trails for the entire season. Trails will be open for cross country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking. The club makes its own snow at the beginning of the season, which makes for some excellent conditions. Trails have been open in previous years, but could expand, Sann says. Winter members are also allowed access to Mulligan’s bar and grill.

“We want to make it affordable for winter enthusiasts who want to use the trails and the members’ bar and grill,” Sann says.

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Greenwood Hills decided to make the change because the restaurant wasn’t getting a lot of public business anymore. The only busy day was Friday, Sann says, which is not enough to justify keeping a restaurant open to the public. But while traditional diners have declined, there’s been increased demand from those wanting to hold events or small parties. “We’ve seen that increase especially in the past two years and we decided to go with the trend.”

Even though the restaurant won’t keep regular hours, Sann says, the country club will still host public events. Earlier this month, the club hosted a beer run in which runners traversed a 5k with beer stops throughout the course. A music performance with Brad Emanuel was also open to the public.

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