Jim Brunjak has lived on the 14th hole at Hampton on the Lake for the past decade and watched the changes at the Champions Club golf course and country club through the years.

Eager to restore and improve both the course and the club and its swimming pool, Brunjak and three of his neighbors — John McCormick, Bill Cronin and Derek Steele — decided last year to try to buy and upgrade the club and its course. Last month, the four investors — organized as Champions Club LLC — acquired the Champions Club from Henry Luken for $2.1 million and this month the new owners have already begun making upgrades to the 18-hole course and its clubhouse and swimming pool.

"This is all about the Ooltewah community," Brunjak said. "This club affects land values and really the whole synergy of the community. We live in this community and know that most of us bought into a golf course environment here as a place with a clubhouse and a pool where friends and family could gather. We wanted to do something to protect that."

The Champions Club, which grew out of the former Hampton Creek golf course originally developed by Phil Martin and Delwin Huggins, has had a series of owners through its 21-year history, including Toby McKenzie who filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and a couple of banks before Luken acquired the course nearly a decade ago.

"This was once one of the nicest courses in Chattanooga and unfortunately it's far from that right now," Brunjak said.

The barn-style clubhouse and the swimming pool needs repairs; the golf greens have never been redone, and the furniture and fixtures in the restaurant and clubhouse need to be replaced, Brunjak said.

Luken has acquired seven golf courses in the Chattanooga region over the past decade and created "seven-for-one" golf package that allows golfers to be able to play at Champions Club in Ooltewah, Eagle Bluff overlooking Harrison Bay, Montlake on Mowbry Mountain, Mount Airy in Dunlap, Valleybrook in Hixson and Battlefield in Ringgold, Georgia.

Champion Club, which was the most demanding of Luken's seven golf courses, was built in 1999 with rolling, tree-lined fairways and water hazards. The par-72 course includes a pro shop, swimming pool, tennis courts, bar and grill, driving ranger and practice greens.

Although Luken wasn't looking to necessarily sell the Ooltewah course, he said he was approached by a group of buyers from the neighborhood who wanted to see a more upscale operation.

"Some of the neighbors there wanted it to be a different, but more expensive kind of facility and that doesn't work with my program," said Luken, who has offered a golf package for golfers to play at all seven of his courses.

The 149-ace golf course weaves between three Ooltewah subdivisions — Hampton Creek with 200 homes, Hampton Cove with 99 homes and Hampton Lakes with 78 homes. Eventually, Brunjak says he hopes the home owners associations for the three neighborhoods may acquire Champions Club.

For now, he and his partners are willing to invest their own money to buy and upgrade the club to hopefully attract more members and more money. Aided by the support of Ellsworth McKee whose property fronts on part of the course, the new owners closed the purchase of the golf course four days before Christmas and have already begun to make improvements.

"We recognize that golf courses usually lose money and are bad investments, but on the other hand there is community and doing the right thing to be a good steward to help these neighborhoods," Brunjak said, noting that they had to pay nearly three times what the golf course property was initially appraised to be worth. "We decided to make this move as a leap of faith and go to the community and ask them for their support to help restore and upgrade this great facility. Ooltewah is a growing, vibrant community and we hope this can succeed."

The new owners are pumping at least $1 million to repair the club facilities, upgrade the swimming pool and improve the golf course. Already, the new owners have bought new golf carts with satellite tracking to help keep golfers on the right track and to allow delivery of food and drink items from the clubhouse and have put in new tee markers at each hole. The roof on the clubhouse is being repaired and the restaurant upgraded and a new outdoor 19th hole is being added at the club. Repairs will soon begin on the swimming pools.

Brunjak hired Andrew Uchytil, formerly general manager of J. Alexander's restaurant at Hamilton Place, to be the club general manager and to bring back fine dining to the club.

Derek Montecalvo, who played golf at Mississippi State University, interned at The Honors Course in Ooltewah and worked as an assistant pro at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club in the past, has been hired to serve as director of golf.

Steve Ray, owner of Steve Ray's gas station in Ooltewah and the president of the Hampton Creek homeowners association, applauds the new owners and their efforts.

"It will eventually be the social epicenter of Ooltewah," he said. "I think most of the community is certainly encouraged by their plans."

Along with the improvements, dues, cart fees and other charges are going up at the Champions Club, which Brunjak said will be more in line with what other courses such as Windstone, Black Creek and Council Fire courses charge.

Champions Club had 126 golf members and about 90 social club members among the 25 different club membership options in the past. The new owners are offering four different memberships.

A community meeting with members is planned for Jan. 20 for the new owners to explain their plans at the club.

Brunjak, who has built his Power Solutions business into a more than $300 million-a-year tubing, pipe and casing supplier to the oil and gas industry and also operates a growing pair of freight businesses, said he isn't trying to make money with the golf course investment. But he and other neighbors want to protect their homes and ensure the survival of the club and course.

"We just hope we don't lose too much before we get it in the shape for hopefully the HOAs (homeowner associations) or someone else can buy the club and protect for the future," he said. "I've always done well be investing in people and I hope that works out in this case. We recognize that a lot of country clubs and golf courses lose money. But I believe there is still a place for a country club community with the synergy of a pool, tennis course, a golf course and a dining facility in a close knit community like Ooltewah. It's about more than golf. It's about our community."

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340