Fairlawn Country Club members approve $5.5 million in improvements: See the drawings

• Work should be done by spring of 2026 with minimal disruption to members.
• Improvements include new dining room, bar, lounge areas and covered porches.
• Two multipurpose simulators will offer year-round golf for members.

Fairlawn Country Club members have approved a $5.5 million renovation project that will expand year-round use of the facilities.

The work is expected to begin in the fall of 2025 and be completed by the spring of 2026 with minimal disruption to members.

The 108-year-old club at 200 N. Wheaton Road in Akron represents more than 500 families across Northeast Ohio. Members voted 89% in favor of the plan, club leaders announced.

“This is about investing in the spaces and experiences that bring us together,” Fairlawn Country Club President Joe Swiatkowski said in a prepared statement. “Enhancing the club today means enriching the moments, memories, and traditions we share with one another — now and for years to come.”

JBD JGA Design & Architecture, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, created the master plan. Perspectus Architecture of Cleveland and Akron will oversee the work.

Project highlights at Fairlawn Country Club

Highlights include:

• A new dining room and bar, with expanded seating, gathering lounge and covered porches complete with fire pits, lounge areas, a full-service outdoor bar and retractable glass walls.

• Two multipurpose simulators, offering year-round golf and interactive activities for members to use in any season.

• A golf shop with upgraded amenities and additional retail space.

• A new private dining room for intimate celebrations.

• Expanded and renovated member and associate restrooms.

• A dedicated bar for the men’s locker room.

• An upgraded racquet complex featuring an expanded kitchen, new dining area and social breezeway, updated pro shop, and renovated restrooms and locker rooms.

• A bunker renovation to enhance playability and course aesthetics.

• Youth activities rooms.

• Improved staff service areas.

• A new parking lot.

“This investment reflects the club’s commitment to exceptional member experiences, honors the club’s proud legacy, and reinforces our role as thoughtful stewards of Fairlawn’s future,” General Manager Dennis Courtney noted.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. co-founder F.A. Seiberling established the club with other Akron businessmen as a private retreat for families in Fairlawn Heights. Seiberling had purchased a 306-acre farm on West Market Street with plans to develop it for his family’s estate, but instead built Stan Hywet on North Portage Path.

The Fairlawn Heights Golf Club filed Ohio articles of incorporation April 20, 1917, with $50,000 in capital stock.

William B. Langford of Illinois designed the first nine-hole course at the resort. Goodrich President James D. Tew and Akron Development Co. GM Edward O. Handy played the first match in April 1919, but the formal opening for the club’s 200 members didn’t occur until August. 

Seiberling sold the course and property to the club in 1928. 

When the clubhouse burned down in 1929, stockholders approved plans to build a $157,000 complex near the 12th and 18th greens. Architect C.W. Frank designed the building, whose first social function was a dance Dec. 27, 1930.

Fairlawn Country Club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017. The 2025 renovation project coincides with Akron’s bicentennial celebration.

For more information, visit https://www.fairlawncountryclub.org/.

Mark J. Price can be reached at  mprice@thebeaconjournal.com