READERS' POLL: AS YOU LIKE IT

We recently asked readers to high-five some of their favorite people, places, and things at their home clubs or Associate Clubs they have visited. We appreciated the many responses to our poll — and we had lots of fun reading your stories (even the tall tale or two). Here’s a sampling of your answers.

Oops. Almost forgot. We did promise a fabulous incentive for your time spent answering our survey: A chance to win a Donald Ross Package at Pinehurst. And the winner of the drawing is: Ron Batcho of the Tower Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of his favorite things about his club is Table No. 21. That’s because of the view and the personable service.

CHOICE DISHES
Ask members to select their favorite club entrée, and their choices are as diverse as they are. From lobster to prime rib to chicken quesadillas, the consensus is that our members like to eat!

SAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT
It seems a regional anomaly, but member Thomas Hawkes of the Boston College Club in Massachusetts says there’s no Kentucky Mud Pie better than on the 36th floor atop the Bank Boston Center.

THE GOLF HOLE THAT'S DONE THE MOST TO KEEP HANDICAPS HIGH
Al Parbury of Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, California, says his home course’s No. 6 par-3 bedevils many a round. There’s water, sand, and out-of-bounds to the left; and water on the right. And you’re O.B. if you go long. If that’s not enough to think about, there’s the challenge of the nearly 200-yard carry.

THE GOLF HOLE THAT'S DONE THE MOST TO LOWER HANDICAPS
There’s a secret to playing the par-4, 335-yard fourth hole at Silver Lake Country Club in Silver Lake, Ohio, according to S. David Worhatch. “While other guys use drivers, I just hit a 1-iron to keep it in play,” he says. He follows that with a short iron shot and reports that he birdies the hole as often as he bogeys it. It’s the big hitters who often get in trouble off the tee.

INTIMIDATING TRAPS
Bryan Hoffman of Oak Pointe Country Club in Brighton, Michigan, reports he donated “at least $30 worth of golf balls to the greenskeepers’ college fund” because of the marsh that daunts a golfer’s second shot on No. 16 at Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida.

DESTINATION WISH LIST
Dan Moisand of the University Center Club in Tallahassee, Florida, says he considers Pinehurst in North Carolina “heaven on Earth.” But he adds that a “trip to St. Andrews Golf Resort and Spa in Scotland is a dream of any self-respecting golfer.”

Jack Yost of Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, Louisiana, votes for The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia — where else is there such heritage, he asks. No answer needed.

HOLE-IN-ONE LORE
John O’Neill, a member of Pinehurst, was playing with his wife on the resort’s No. 1 course when he made his first ace on the fifth hole. His wife, however, did not see the ball flight and “didn’t believe me until she checked the hole herself.”

With three holes-in-one, Don Ferguson of Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield, Texas, is defying the odds. Bravo!

TENNIS PROS WITH POSITIVE SPINS
Rick Workman at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, California, gave Philip Cohen some tips regarding defensive lobs, which earned him and his partner some points “the first day out.”

CREATIVE KIDS STUFF
No trick to it, Richard and Paula Murdock agree the Halloween party at the University Club of Jacksonville in Florida is a treat for the young ones.

PARTY PICKS
Chef Stephen Semperger’s “wine tasters” dinners always wow members at Shadowridge Country Club in Vista, California. So says member Paul Lahr who credits the chef with “exceptional talent” in pairing food and wine for the members’ enjoyment and education. Andrew Hall’s answer: Derby Night. He’s a member, of course, of The Jefferson Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

BEHIND THE BAR
In the category of best bartender, Rosemary Codding of the Tower Club Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia, nominates the Tower Club’s Eman Jafari, who she says “stirs professionalism and empathy into a great mix.”

Glenn Crawshaw of Brookhaven Country Club near Dallas selects Frank Price from the club’s men’s card room. Frank’s been serving ’em up with a smile for more than 25 years.

WARM WELCOMES & MAGIC MOMENTS
There’s something about southern hospitality because Harry Tervalon Jr. of the City Energy Club in New Orleans commends the Bienville Club in Mobile, Alabama, for treating him “in such a way that I feel so much at home.”

And when golf pro Brian Thelan greets member Donald Stewart at Pebble Creek Country Club in Taylors, South Carolina, he is always “cordial and helpful,” Stewart says. “He is simply the best P.R. for our club.”

ON-THE-BALL MANAGER
Tom Cullins of Hearthstone Country Club in Houston offers kudos to his club’s manager, Richard Cook: “I cannot imagine being all things to all people and doing so with a ready smile, but Richard does it!”

HUMOR ON THE LINKS
OK, of all the jokes we received, here’s one we can print (perhaps the only one), thanks to David Hoffman of the Media Club in St. Louis, Missouri:

Four gentlemen are out for their usual Saturday morning round of golf, when over the loud speaker, a voice says, “Would the gentleman on the ladies’ tee box move back to the men’s.” The gentleman is taking his second practice swing when the voice repeats, “Would the gentleman on the ladies’ tee box please move back to the men’s.” Exasperated, the man says, “Would the announcer please shut up so I can hit my second shot!”