Apr 12, 2006 By Josh Krysak 6 min read

Three years ago area economic and business officials were hopeful that the then newly dubbed 84 Lumber Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa would become a boon for area businesses across the region. Now, after three successful tournaments and a fourth scheduled for early September, many area officials were astounded to learn that the tournament, held at Nemacolin’s Mystic Rock golf course in Farmington, will be discontinued after this year due to financial concerns.

“It is something that the area has really worked hard at. But this was a business decision and a very tough decision,” Tom Baxter, tournament director, said Tuesday.

Baxter said that he didn’t want to make a lengthy statement until “the dust settled” from the decision, but said he will miss the tournament should this year’s edition be the final one for the resort.

“Once we find more out, we will be talking more, but for now it was a business decision that had to be made and I know it was a hard one for the Hardys. But everybody here is fine and we are still looking forward to this year’s event. And, if it is the last one, we are going to make it the best one,” Baxter said.

In 2005, dozens of the world’s best golfers entertained massive crowds during the four-day event that saw the likes of world-renowned golfers Phil Michelson and Vijay Singh grace the lush greens at the resort.

Now that 2006 will be the final tournament for area officials to capitalize on the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors, some are expressing their sadness to see the tournament come to such an abrupt end.

Clara Pascoe, executive director of the Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC,) said she was shocked to learn of 84 Lumber’s decision.

“I just can’t believe it,” Pascoe said. “It is something that we became very involved in because it was such a great thing in the community. We made a tremendous amount of money from this.”

Last year, Bob Wetzel, then executive director of CFFC, said that the PGA and the Hardy family had presented the foundation with a wonderful opportunity.

Wetzel said through donations garnered at the tournament, the CFFC was able to give gifts to the Uniontown YMCA and the State Theatre (Center for the Arts.)

Wetzel said the money that the tournament helped generate for charities is in “real dollars,” noting that in 2004 through the CFFC about $50,000 in gifts were distributed. In 2005, the foundation had more than tripled that figure, with more than $150,000 donated to area charities.

Marlene Baker, executive director of United Way of South Fayette Inc., said she was also shocked to hear of the tournament’s discontinuation.

“Wow, that is really unexpected,” Baker said Tuesday. “We were planning on selling tickets there every year.”

Baker said that while the tournament did not benefit the United Way as much as some other local charities, “it always added toward our charitable donations.”

“We will miss it for a revenue stream,” Baker said.

Last year, Hardy, the lumber magnate who turned Nemacolin Woodlands into a four-star resort after purchasing it in 1986, bragged about the early success of the tournament in comparison to other venues across the country.

“Some of these places have had the Tour for 62 years and they have weaker fields than us,” Hardy said last August. “I think we have proven to them (the PGA) that we sort of know what we are doing or that we are fast learners. We have brought creative ideas to them.”

Now, after shaping and molding the course into a difficult monster, Hardy and company have decided to end their PGA run and focus on their wholesale contractor supply company, 84 Lumber.

“Last week we announced a three year growth plan for the lumber company that looked at all of our assets from the company,” Jeff Nobers, vice president of corporate communications for 84 Lumber, said. “As we analyzed the stores we found 67 that were not getting a return on assets. And, like any good company would do if they have under performing assets, we closed the stores, moved our employees and are going to sell the stores and reinvest the funds.’

With signs across the region ticking off the days until the 2006 tournament and advertisements on billboards and television promoting the event, other area officials were concerned how the decision will affect programs already under way.

Bob Garrett, one of eight area charity officials sitting on a charity board created specifically for the tournament, said the Community Foundation has undertaken several projects that had combined the efforts of charities with some other small non-profits and now will need to make up the lost anticipated revenue from the tournament to be able to continue.

“We will just have to scramble and look to the community to make up the difference,” Garrett said. “We had pretty much worked in organizing and trying to get more charities to continue on.”

Garrett, director of marketing for the foundation said the organization sold 14,505 tickets in 2005 through a combination of direct sales from their office and pass-through nonprofit partnership sales where the small-lot sales were kept by the partners, such as youth soccer boosters, parent-teacher organizations, youth recreation centers, hospital auxiliaries, schools, churches and friends of community parks.

“It is too soon to tell how much of a change this will be,” Garrett said. “We will step back and regroup and see what we will do. It is a shame, more so for community at large. It was a growing tourism attraction. And it was an excellent opportunity for us.”

And other area charities like the American Red Cross were able to gain enough funds to build their own greenhouse from the money collected through the tournament.

Last year Hardy waxed sentimental about the tournament, which came to embody the brash and boisterous county commissioner, just as much as his trademark cigar or his downtown Uniontown revitalization project.

“Nobody has ever told me what to do in 50 years. No one has ever told me. And that’s why I have enjoyed it so much. I don’t like to get into anything that I could lose. I don’t just hobby. I want to be profitable. Business is my hobby.”

Tuesday, Nobers said it is that business sense that led Hardy to make the decision to discontinue the event.

“Nothing is ever going to be done by Maggie and Mr. Hardy that isn’t the best it can be,” Nobers said. “If you take that money and time and commitment and funnel it into new store development you can create a lot of new growth. This was a very difficult and emotional decisions for Maggie and especially for Mr. Hardy. While it is not something we necessarily want to do, we are in agreement that it was the right business decision.”