Warsaw's Stonehenge Golf Club bought by North Manchester family

Jen Gibson, Times-Union Staff Writer

A North Manchester family has purchased Stonehenge Golf Club in Warsaw.

The Kirti Shah family recently purchased the business and plan to be involved owners.

"We won't be absentee owners at Stonehenge," Shah said. "My son Ravi will be splitting his time between the golf course and our Wakarusa factory."

The family owns several companies.

"We manufacture electronic components in North Manchester, Chicago and India," said Kirti Shah, who has been a business man since 1974. "We manufacture furniture for the RV industry in Wakarusa and Elkhart, and import chairs from Malaysia. We also manufacture custom commercial cabinetry in Indianapolis. We're in the residential rental business in North Manchester. We are involved with the lumber and firewood industry in Indiana as well as the dairy and ice cream business in India."

However, Kirti Shah is no stranger to the golf business. For the past 10 years, Kirti Shah also has been a partner in HG Golf Properties that manages eight golf courses, including Stonehenge.

"Over the years, my family has golfed at Stonehenge, dined there, enjoyed the special events and held my eldest son's wedding reception there," Kirti Shah said. "It has been a place we have enjoyed using and a place where we've been proud to entertain our guests."

The Shahs decided to purchase Stonehenge Golf Club to keep it in business.

"Because Stonehenge has not been profitable and the previous owner was getting tired of supporting it, I thought there was a very real danger it would cease to exist in its present form," Kirti Shah said. "That's why we decided to step in and purchase Stonehenge. We hope to turn it around so that it can continue to function as a private club.

"I have turned other businesses around, and I believe I can draw on my experience in other enterprises to solve the problems at Stonehenge. Needless to say, the support and participation of the membership will be crucial to our success."

Kirtis Shah said the personnel at Stonehenge should remain the same.

"We are lucky to have some of the most dedicated people in the golf club industry working for us," Kirti Shah said.

While the staff will remain the same, there will be some changes at Stonehenge in the long run.

"We are looking to increase the seating capacity of the main dining room from about 220 to 300 in order to accommodate larger wedding receptions and other big functions."

The family also has short-term goals for the business as well.

"Repair and maintenance issues will be addressed immediately," Kirti Shah said. "We have already begun work on the 11 clubhouse rooftop air conditioning units, which will all be either repaired or replaced in the next few weeks."