MUDDYCREEK TWP — Only the name has changed.

Lake Arthur Golf Club — formerly known as Lake Arthur Country Club — is being run the same way it has for years.

“When the facility first opened, it was a private club,” course general manager Scott Choura said. “But it’s been a public golf course for 40 or 50 years now.

“Even recently, we’ve gotten calls from people asking if they can play here. The name ‘Lake Arthur Country Club’ does imply private play, so that name was changed.”

Choura has been the general manager for 18 months, but the course is still owned by siblings Hank, Kathleen and Marie Bartony. The Bartony family bought the course in 1974.

Marie Bartony Uncapher and her husband, Tim, ran the facility before retiring and entering into another private business.

Choura, from Evans City, had been general manager of Dubois Country Club for four years before coming to Lake Arthur.

“This was a chance to come home for me,” he said. “Dubois was a nice place, buy you’re so far away from everything.”

Choura said the condition of the course is “always green” and he credits the quality of it to course superintendent Mike Masterson.

Masterson has been on the job since 2008.

“He previously worked in a private sector of golf in New York State,” Choura said. “He is extremely polished in taking care of a golf course.

“Sometimes, you may work at a course where you have to make excuses for the dried-out conditions, like we’ve had that heat wave or something ... not here.

“We’ve got five big ponds to draw from here and the course is always fully irrigated,” Choura added.

Lake Arthur hosts numerous charitable outings, such as Miles For Melanoma’s (out of Pittsburgh) Sunscreen Open, Senior Olympics, Butler County Chamber of Commerce and Butler Catholic events.

“We get a lot of travel business here,” Choura said. “We’re not that far from I-79 and it’s easy access. Golfers come down for weekends or vacations from Canada and play here.

“Golf courses north of Pittsburgh have to maintain competitive rates with each other. If we were 20 miles south, we might get away with charging another $20 per round — not up here.”

Choura pointed out that “more golf courses have closed than opened in the past 10 years. It’s a pretty saturated industry.”

Still, Lake Arthur is home to 15 leagues and more than 100 of the aforementioned traveling groups.

Weekday rates for 18 holes and a cart are $31, $38 on weekends. A seniors (62 and over) rate of $25 is available Monday through Friday.

Golfers may walk 18 holes for $18 during the week.

“This course is easy to walk and we still get a lot of walkers,” Choura said. “That’s how the sport of golf originally was. Golf was around long before carts.”

The course’s signature hole is No. 18, a 442-yard par-4 that plays over two ponds. Choura likes the 414-yard par-4 No. 14, which tees off over water.

“That’s a challenging hole,” he said. “But we have tee boxes moved around to make it fair for seniors and ladies to clear the water.

The 303-yard No. 10 hole has a long pomd of water to the right of the fairway, with a tree to the left of the green.

“It’s a narrow fairway, which makes the hole play tricky,” Choura said.

Fridays are Family Nights at Lake Arthur. Adults can walk nine holes for $7, their children can walk for $5 each. That offer begins at 5 p.m.

“It’s been a very successful program here and it’s a nice way for parents to introduce their kids to golf,” Choura said.

Lake Arthur Golf Club extends well beyond golf.

The facility also has a banquet hall suitable for wedding receptions and weddings have taken place on the course.

“We’ve probably had 10 to 15 weddings and/or receptions here over the past two years,” Choura said. “It’s very scenic here, so couples have had their wedding ceremony, pictures and reception all right here.”