Tompkins Weekly

RaNic building golf culture in Ithaca



The fairway of the sixth hole at RaNic. The course is still being improved ahead of RaNic’s planned opening later this month. Photo by Dan Doherty.

The Country Club of Ithaca and its accompanying golf course are getting a facelift. Longtime member Sean Whittaker and his wife Jennifer have purchased the club, which will be known as RaNic moving forward. They have many changes in mind to return the course to its heights.

Whittaker is bringing on well-known local golf figures Joey Sindelar, a seven-time PGA Tour champion and Lansing resident, and his son Jamie Sindelar, a current PGA Tour professional, to join the operations. Including that level of experience inherently adds to the allure of the course. For Whittaker, his love for the course and the country club has spanned many years.

“I started really appreciating the country club and the property and the golf course for what it really was,” Whittaker said. “I’ve been a member of the club for 23 years, and it’s near and dear to myself and my family. Being part of the club and being part of the Board of Directors over time, we saw issues with sustainability being a private club here in Ithaca, New York. We just weren’t churning enough new members into the operation or the organization to support it.”

One major change that will be made is that the club will no longer be exclusive to members, making it a potential destination in Ithaca.

“We’re still calling it semiprivate, which gives it a little bit of a flair,” Whittaker said. “There still is a group of members that will have a yearly membership. But we’re also opening it up to the public in what we call an unaccompanied guest scenario, which is kind of common today. But in doing that, we think we’re going to attract a lot of people to see the quality of the golf course, the quality of the staff and the experience and the setting and that will draw them in to become members.”

In recent years, Joey has been taking part in the PGA Champions Tour alongside other golf legends and that won’t stop. He was not going to pass up an opportunity to be a part of a project of this caliber.

“When word came out that someone might be buying the country club and wanted to inject some life into it and change it a bit and make it more accessible, I was like, ‘holy cow, that’s pretty awesome stuff,’” Joey said. “I just listened to Sean’s description of what’s going on, and it’s just so rare to have the chance to do what he’s doing. It’s not just about having the money to do it. It’s availability. It’s business sense. This club should be a fixture here.”

Joey was able to give the course his seal of approval after joining the operations as the PGA Pro at RaNic.

“Jamie and I have been very lucky to play lots of really cool golf courses,” Joey said. “I’ve done the [PGA] tour for however many years now, and this golf course struck me because golf courses are like artwork — everybody kind of likes something different. There are nine holes in the trees that give one feel, and then you get out in the back nine and you’re out in the open. There’s something for everybody. It literally shocked me when I went out there.”

Having longtime professional golfers backing a project is a big deal, and Whittaker discussed what it means to have the Sindelars on board at RaNic.

“There are very few people in southern New York that carry the reputation of the Sindelar family,” Whittaker said. “I’ve met Joey a few times over the years and always just thought he was a super person, very easy to talk to. Getting to know him here around the area, it was a terrific opportunity to reach out and see if there was a chance.”

Jamie’s primary role will be leading the youth golf program for the club. He discussed what the opportunity to teach the game means to him.

“The junior golf program is going to be a big thing,” Jamie said. “For me, I had such an awesome experience growing up here in central New York. Being able to play college golf and having some success on the amateur level, and then playing professional golf and all the lessons I learned and being able to translate back to the kids here in the area. Hopefully, I’ll be providing them a chance to learn through golf and view our world through golf. It’s just a tremendous opportunity.”

Whittaker added more details on how he plans to flesh out the youth and college programs at the course. He believes cultivating a culture of golf in Ithaca among the younger population will pay dividends for the club in the long run.

“We do have a junior membership, which is very attractively priced,” Whittaker said. “We do support the Ithaca College women’s golf team at RaNic, so they come and do their spring and fall events and have a tournament there. We have a new student membership, which is really geared towards the college students. We’re working on a partnership with the YMCA to get the kids over here as part of their summer camp rotation.”

For avid golfers, Whittaker gave his thoughts on what will make RaNic stand out among the many golf courses in central New York.

“It’s got to be the greens,” Whittaker said. “We have some terrific greens. When I joined the club … years ago, they were known as the best greens in central New York, and we’re going to get back to that. We’re really close right now. Another season and we’ll have the best greens. Then, we’ll work our way through the rest of the golf course.”

RaNic is in the finalization process of the ownership transfer and will be going live in the coming weeks. Whittaker and the Sindelars will be bringing more than a golf course to Ithaca. There will be an on-site restaurant along with member-exclusive tennis courts, a gym and a pool to complete the experience.

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