As word circulated a couple of weeks ago about the armed robbery that took place on the 16th hole of Brynwood Country Club’s golf course, community members may have become worried about Milwaukee’s only predominantly Jewish country club.
Brynwood’s declining membership has been widely reported the last several years, and some may have doubted the club’s ability to survive.
However, after undergoing a change in management and taking several other steps designed to improve the club’s financial outlook, the future of Brynwood looks much brighter now, according to the club.
The robbery took place on Saturday morning, June 28, when a man held up four golfers and two caddies as they were about to tee off on the 16th hole. With a stocking over his head, he pointed a gun at the six men and demanded money.
Two of the golfers and one of the caddies gave him what cash they had, $670 total, and the assailant ran back through the woods and out of sight.
“It was a very disturbing event, and we are very fortunate and very happy that nobody got hurt,” said Todd Lappin, president of Brynwood’s board of directors. “We have taken appropriate measures to see that it does not happen again.”
Lappin declined to go into specifics about those measures, citing his interest in keeping the golf course and the entire club a secure facility.
After the incident, the club issued a statement to its members that said, “Beginning with the first tee time [Sunday], we will have a security detail on the course to discourage anyone to enter the course.”
The statement also advised golfers to carry cell phones so they may alert the club of any suspicious activity.
Lappin stated that he is optimistic about Brynwood’s future because recent changes in operating procedures have been successful for the club. Lappin acknowledged that as recently as 2005 the financial status of the club was dire.
In 2004, Brynwood management decided to make an effort to diversify its membership. The club, located at 6200 W. Good Hope Rd., was started in 1929 as a haven for Jewish people who were unable to join other country clubs in the area.
Lappin said that, to his knowledge, there was never an official policy that restricted membership to Jewish people, but an August 2004 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the club voted to be non-sectarian.
The Journal Sentinel article stated that at the time the club had 280 members, 170 of which had “full membership privileges,” which includes access to the golf course.
That number was down from a peak of 225 full members. Lappin declined to provide specific figures about the club’s membership, but he stated that Brynwood has experienced “a healthy increase” in membership in recent years.
Lappin also declined to estimate the percentage of members that are Jewish — the club does not keep records of the members’ religious affiliations. But he said that the effort to diversify was the reason for increased membership.
In 2005, the club unsuccessfully sought a partnership with the Wisconsin Club, a private business and social club located in downtown Milwaukee.
“When we were talking with the Wisconsin Club a few years ago it was under duress,” said Lappin. “We were not in very good financial condition.”
In 2006, Marcus Hotels and Resorts, a division of the Marcus Corporation, took over management of Brynwood, making it the first country club in the corporation’s portfolio.
In another effort to increase revenue, Brynwood has made its banquet facilities more available to the public to rent for special occasions such as weddings, bar mitzvahs and meetings. Lappin said that this effort has also been successful.
“Through a series of moves, which include our agreement with the Marcus Corporation, the support of the membership, and the hard work of the board of directors, and some creative marketing plans, the club has grown dramatically.”
Lappin said that some members have expressed their concerns since the robbery and that those concerns have been addressed. Two members of Brynwood who spoke to The Chronicle said they see the robbery as an isolated incident and have not changed their attitudes about the club.
“I feel safe there,” said Jimmy Lurie, 55, a Brynwood member since he was about 10 years old. “I don’t feel any differently because of this odd occurrence. If there were a rash, or something that you could really pinpoint, then I would say that could create a problem, but I don’t think a one-time occurrence [should cause] people to overreact.”
Both Lurie and Lappin recalled an incident several years ago in which a group of kids attempted to rob some golfers, but they were not armed.
Only one week after the robbery at Brynwood, on the morning of Friday, July 4, an armed robbery took place at Tripoli Country Club, which is less than two miles away from Brynwood. Both incidents are under investigation by their respective police departments.
Steve Sadek, who was one of the four golfers held up by the assailant, stated that he has not changed his attitude about the club. He said that he lives and operates businesses in the area and attested to his comfort with it.
“I still don’t feel unsafe there,” he said. Sadek said that about six police officers arrived within 15 minutes of the robbery, and that he and his golf mates finished their round after the incident.
“We figured lightning probably doesn’t strike in the same spot twice,” he said.
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