Ratcheting up the fun factor at Seawane Country Club in Hewlett Harbor

Sitting socially distant at one of the Seawane Country Club’s circular tables on its spacious outdoor patio covered by a billowing white tent that keeps members cool with fans, owners Jared Brecher and Dan Klein enthusiastically spoke about the improvements they have made at the 93-year-old club in Hewlett Harbor since taking over last November.

Working under the philosophy “we are not going to do it unless it’s fun,” Brecher said, the youthful duo, both are in their early 30s, has opened the doors at a place considered stuffy by renovating the swimming pool area and instead of having a place once designed for a swim team and structured swimming, the pool area appears more like a resort with a diving board, a sliding pond, lounge chairs, a snack bar that also includes candy and lifeguards, including one for the kiddie pool.

Brecher and Klein remain in their jobs, a hedge fund investor and a real estate investor, respectively, and still are living in Manhattan, but have made renovating the Seawane Club a six-day per week job, the duo said. 

Adhering to the state mandated coronavirus pandemic guidelines, the club is operating at the allowable max capacity and now has a waiting list, Brecher said. Temperatures are taken upon entry; servers are wearing masks and gloves and the menus are paper. Brecher and Klein said that they decided not to use the inside dining room though they are permitted to in a way to ratchet up the safety.  

Families are catered to as during the summer there is a “camp” for children and along with the 18-hole, 6,725 par-72 golf course, the eight tennis courts there is now a full court basketball court and a pickleball court. On Aug. 12, basketball pro Kayhiem Chaplin was working on shooting with Annabelle Lusev and Ella Mintz.  

Brecher said that in line with increased fun “more families joined this club that ever before.” And with that Klein said the “dynamics have changed,” and it is just not parents bringing the kids but “grandparents with grandchildren for a day of fun.”

Veteran members were not forgotten as the golf course was upgraded and because of Covid-19 new golf carts were purchased to ensure the mandated social distancing of one person per cart.

In addition, the club will host the Women’s Metropolitan PGA Championship on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

Tucked into a 10,000-square-foot area off to the side of the golf course is the newest addition. A garden that is growing an assortment of vegetables and fruit ranging from cucumbers to watermelon that includes cherry tomatoes, corn and jalapeno peppers. When harvested there was enough cucumbers for two months, Brecher said.

Making good on their promise to create a more resort-style facility Brecher said: “We’re just taking what resorts do and applying it to the country club model. We’re not reinventing the wheel.”