Eagles Ridge finishing up new restaurant, kitchen

Club house rebuilt after 2024 fire

By Andy Stine

astine@altoonamirror.com

In January 2024, James Skinner showed up in the morning for his usual offseason work at Eagles Ridge Golf Course. There were a couple contractors already doing some work on the inside of the clubhouse.

Skinner, who owns the golf course along with his wife, Teresa, noticed something unusual in the clubhouse. He still remembers the morning vividly.

“It snowed a little bit the night before and it was really miserable out,” Skinner said. “I got inside, and (the contractor and I) looked at the same time and he said, ‘What is that?’ I said, ‘It’s on fire.’

“We had scaffolding right underneath it. He jumped up there and I threw him a fire extinguisher. It looked like we got it.”

After Skinner asked the contractor to pull a few boards down from the ceiling, that was when he realized the fire was much bigger than he realized.

“That was it. I had to call 911,” Skinner said. “I could tell right there we weren’t getting it out.”

According to local news reports, the damage to the clubhouse totaled up to $200,000.

The Skinners, who bought Eagles Ridge just on the outskirts of Curwensville in 2018, decided to completely tear down the building and start new. They opened up a new clubhouse last fall.

“The old building was just so outdated, and we wanted (the new building) as ours,” Skinner said. “We opted to tear the whole thing down. Everything was outdated. The wiring was messed up. They just added on and added on. We decided to rebuild the whole thing.”

While the new clubhouse is open and in use for golf, the new restaurant and kitchen is still being worked on. Skinner was hoping to open the new restaurant by the end of May, but said it probably won’t officially open until the middle of June.

Eagles Ridge, which is a public golf course, has new changes on the links this year, as well. They built a new tee box on the course’s third hole, which added about 50 yards onto the hole. There are also new tee signs and tee markers coming.

“We’re kind of giving everything a facelift,” Skinner said.

For more information or to book a round at Eagles Ridge, visit the club’s Facebook page or their website at eaglesridgegolf.com.