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Magnolia Point opens new pub

Christiaan DeFranco
Posted 12/14/16

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – About 10 or 12 years ago, Trevor and Deneen Rothfels were looking for something to do together. He was a successful tennis pro and club manager, she was a successful owner and …

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Magnolia Point opens new pub


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – About 10 or 12 years ago, Trevor and Deneen Rothfels were looking for something to do together. He was a successful tennis pro and club manager, she was a successful owner and operator of medical spas.

The longtime husband and wife were living out in the Seattle area, and they began searching far and wide for a joint venture. Five years ago, they found Magnolia Point Golf and Country Club in Green Cove Springs.

“Magnolia Point almost instantly felt right for us,” Trevor said.

So they up and bought it, and they moved here. The deal was finalized in July 2012 for $1.8 million.

Lots of golf courses were changing hands at the time – and still are – and they got a good deal. This particular country club had changed hands a few times itself. The Rothfels purchased it from Thomas Schad, a doctor who had owned it on two separate occasions.

“We had been looking over in the Canary Islands, and we knew it wasn’t for us,” Deneen said. “We looked at a place in Austin, Texas, but that didn’t feel right either. This was the place.”

It’s a 27-hole golf course with seven tennis courts, a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool (recently renovated), a splash pad and playground for kids, a clubhouse with a formal dining area upstairs for special events, and a brand new pub downstairs that just opened last month.

The pub is open to the public – members and non-members alike, residents and non-residents of Magnolia Point.

The Rothfels celebrated the opening with a ribbon cutting on Nov. 18. A sizeable crowd turned out.

“The community has been very responsive,” Deneen said. “I think the country club was in a waiting phase for new ownership. The people here have embraced us and we have embraced them.”

The country club is “semi-private.” Facilities, except for the pool, are open to the community.

“The Rothfels have a vision for the club and want to take it in a positive direction in all areas,” Matthew Putnam, the agent for the sale to the Rothfels, has said. “I think they’re going to do some great things for Magnolia Point.”

The golf course has no parallel fairways and is a final sectional qualifying location for the U.S. Amateur. It boasts magnolias, oaks and pines, and abundant wildlife that includes wild turkeys, deer, hawks, alligators, water fowl, snakes, turtles and bald eagles.

While golf is the primary athletic feature of the club, Trevor has been developing tennis programs here. He directs much of the instruction, and Deneen captains many of the women’s teams. Also, swimming programs are in the works.

“We believe very heavily in being physical and healthy,” Trevor said. “Tennis, golf and swimming are all lifetime sports.”

Their sons, Adam Blackner and Andrew Blackner, are tennis pros in Ponte Vedra Beach. They followed their parents here from Washington.

“Being active in sports keeps us young, and it brings camaraderie to our community,” Deneen said. “And we compete against other clubs in the area. It’s really fun and it’s healthy, so it’s great to be able to share these activities with other people.”

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Email Christiaan DeFranco at chris@opcfla.com. Follow him on Twitter @cdefranco.