[Tommy Williamsen]

I have a cabin in western Virginia at a little resort.  It is called Bryce Resort.  It has a little skiing and an Ed Ault course.  On the surface the course is not all that great.  But I love it.  Is there something about your own course that causes you to love it flaws and all?  Or am I as strange as most think I am? Or maybe both are true.

[Garland Bayley]

Yes to all questions.

[Scott Szabo]

Tommy,

I'm a member at a small local club here in Sterling, Colorado, of which most on this site have never heard of.  It's not a long, difficult course by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a course with much character.  It has a great patio overlooking the 18th hole and much of the course down below in the valley. 

Every year we hold a tournament over Labor Day in which many great players have competed, including a few that made it on the PGA Tour.  Most of the members and their families find a way out to the patio and gather while the players all come in.  By the time the last group comes up the 18th, there are usually a few hundred gathered around.  I know it doesn't seem like much, for those of you who may be used to playing in front of thousands, but it is very special to all who are there.

Many of our youngers members, myself included, made it a point to return to our hometown after going off to college simply to return to the club at which we grew up on.  We are a very close knit group of guys and their families, who truly enjoy what we have. 

For a small town club that not many have heard of, it's truly a special place, at least in my mind.  It may not be a Merion or Pine Valley, but it is home to me.

[tlavin]

Every good guy who loves his club should serve on the Board and then see how much he really still loves his club.  When you're on the Board, you are constantly reminded of the club's flaws and you hear nothing but the complaints.  It makes it hard to really love your club.  I've been on the Board of one club, very active on big committees at another, but my favorite is the Dunes Club.  No board, no restaurant, not much of anything except pure golf.

[Joe Hancock]

Scott Szabo,

I would like to know the name of your club. If you have a picture or two, or a website, that would be cool too.

I like those small town clubs.

Joe

[Bill_McBride]

Every good guy who loves his club should serve on the Board and then see how much he really still loves his club.  When you're on the Board, you are constantly reminded of the club's flaws and you hear nothing but the complaints.  It makes it hard to really love your club.  I've been on the Board of one club, very active on big committees at another, but my favorite is the Dunes Club.  No board, no restaurant, not much of anything except pure golf.

Terry, I was on the board of our club the year before, the year of, and the year after Hurricane Ivan that destroyed both course and clubhouse.  Now there was a challenge.

I miss the old soggy course, but the new one is vastly improved.  We earned it!

[Scott Szabo]

Joe,

My club is the Sterling Country Club.  We do have a website, but there aren't alot of pictures on it.  The web address is sterlingcountryclub.org.  As I said, it's not fancy by any means, but truly feels like home.  I've been considering doing a "My Home Course" with pictures, but I'm not the best with a camera or in posting pictures, and I wasn't sure there would be much interest in a small town club without a name.

Sadly, we lost our clubhouse in 2000 or 2001 to a fire, and many of the club's memorabilia was lost in the fire.  We had a trophy case containing trophies for each of our club tournaments (match play, club championship, member-guest, etc.) and it was something special to win one of those and get your name on those trophies for all to see.  It was very quaint and cozy, with the newer remodel much more up to date with its fixtures and furnishings.  But still, sadly, a great piece of the club was lost in that fire.

There was a small apartment atop the clubhouse where the green keeper stayed.  I remember a few times hitting balls from his porch onto the practice green below, normally after a few too many drinks at the end of the day. 

Alot of kids that grew up at the club have moved away, but seem to find their way back each Labor Day, with their families.  I think I speak for most of the membership when I say we couldn't be any more proud of our little club and our traditions. 

Scott

[Joe Hancock]

Scott,

I loved the photo's of all the kids during their tourney. Neat idea on having 3, 6, 9 and 18 hole brackets.

I think someone hacked the club website and entered a fictitious name for you Pro though....

Joe

[Scott Szabo]

Joe,

What you saw on the website is exactly what our club is all about.  We have many family-oriented events and try and include the youngsters in all that we do.  After all, they will be the ones to carry on the tradition when we are all enjoying our dues-free years!!!

Sadly, we do not update our website very often.  The pro you are referring to, Scott Rubottom, is no longer with us.  We are in the process of looking for a replacement, and have are considering a gentleman out of Denver who is younger, with a wife and kids.  From what I've been told, he and his family would fit in nicely with what our club stands for.

I'm not sure if you ever get out this way to play Ballyneal, but if you do and would like a game, please look me up.  When driving to Ballyneal from Denver, you pass right through Sterling.

Scott

[Ed Oden]

My home course is Carolina GC in Charlotte.  Here is a quote from the consulting report Brad Klein prepared in connection with the restoration Kris Spence is currently doing on our Donald Ross course:

"As a glance at the clubhouse will attest, Carolina GC has long been the modest club in the neighborhood and has never invested too much in its buildings.  Because of that wisdom and frugality, it managed, intentionally or not, to avoid ruining its basic asset, the golf course." 

Now that statement is absolutely hilarious and one of the best backhanded compliments I've ever heard.  But it also sums up everything I love about our club.  No frills, just a good solid course the members are very proud of. 

Ed
 

[Bob_Huntley]

I loved the club where I learned to play. Nchanga G.C. in Northern Rhodesia, close to the Belgian Congo border. I became the Hon. Sec. soon after I joined. Anyone that complained about anything was in dire danger of being unemployed . The Captain (President) was also the General Mmanager of the mine, probably the richest copper mine in the world at that time and was like some African potentate.

When thinking of current club politics this was its antithesis. A benevolent dictator that kept our dues down to fifty cents a month. Such bliss.


Bob

[Norbert P]

 "Papa was a rolling stone.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home." The Temptations

(To be removed prior to entering the clubhouse.)   Hi Bob.

[Dan Herrmann]

Yes, I sure do love my club.

A day or even an hour out there is like vacation.  It rejuvinates the soul and brings joy.

[TEPaul]

"Do you love your home club?"

Aah, eer, hmmmm:

It depends...

Let me think about that for a couple of weeks and I'll get back to you.

[Matt Waterbury]

I can't imagine belonging to a club, particulalry the one I call "home", if I did not love it.

That said, love is a strange thing. You never know who you are going to fall in love with, and sometimes love takes work. For example, when I was a starving student, the local club (Hanover, NH) was not paricularly attractive: short, quirky, with a half dozen holes that at first pass look like they should be blown up. But it was ours, and we loved it.

Now that I'm grown up, I have trophy wives in wonderful locations, all of which I love. But at least 4 times a year I make the 150 mile treck back to that college girlfriend...my first love...

mjw

[KBanks]

There is a great line from MacKenzie about this, something like "every man's affection for the particular mudheap upon which he plays". From Spirit of St. Andrews, I think.

In addition to being a great architect, the guy had a flair for the piquant expression.

Ken

[John Kavanaugh]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

[JESII]

Spewing venom this morning John...and I didn't even have to figure out a riddle to make sense of your post...

[Joe Hancock]

I wonder how long you guys would stick around if your club got cancer.  I think you would bail on the first dues increase.

Why do you wonder that?

[John Kavanaugh]

Most golfers I know are bitch fidgets always looking for a way out. 

[Joe Hancock]

So you love your home club, but most golfers are incapable of such love?

 

[John Kavanaugh]

If I love anything it is the people.  I could give two shits about the dirt.

[Brent Hutto]

I like my club very much and would not want to play anywhere else. My 90-odd rounds per year there with my usual gang of miscreants are about as much fun as I'd care to have twice a week. That said, I'm not sure love is quite the word. Like and appreciate yes...but I'm not sure I'm capable of truly loving anything that isn't an individual person.

As for the club "getting cancer" I'm not sure what that's about but I suppose it's conceivable that something could happen to run me off. I can't imagine we would ever disallow walking but that's about the only thing I can think of that would render the course useless to me. My only other concern is that one day the social faction would somehow drive through a palatial clubhouse that would bankrupt us all but I think that is at worst a pipe dream of a tiny minority.

Anyway, as the song say life's too short to borrow sorrow. It's a great club, a great course that suits and challenges my game perfectly and I've not met a single member with whom I wouldn't want to share a round of golf or a dinner table or buy a drink. Hard to beat that!

[John Kavanaugh]

Here is a perfect real world example of why this type of thread gets my goat.  Look at this ten day forecast for Bandon with a perfect midweek coming up. http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USOR0023?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared Yesterday I suffered through hearing how expensive Bandon is becoming and how it is now for the corporate golfer.  If you love Bandon you make time and go next week.  If you don't send Huck a box of candy and have a conference call.

I have never met a bunch of privileged golfers like this bunch who bitch about every little thing that is not to their exact specifications and needs.  Love, I don't think so.

[Dan Herrmann]

John,
What does good weather in Bandon have to do with loving the place you hang your golf hat?

I'd love to fly out to Bandon next week, but I think my boss would have an issue with such short notice.    (Yes, I need to work for a living )

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