MEMBERABILIA: LAND OF OZ

DOWN UNDER ADVENTURES
The account of your Australian adventures ["Oz Rocks," March/April 2003] was great. It appears that your crowning achievement was your climbing to the top of the "coat hanger" bridge. What a photograph.

Australia is a wonderful place. My husband Tom and I once went to Melbourne and then drove to Canberra and Sydney and really enjoyed every bit of this trip. Subsequently, we cruised along the east coast to Cairns, visited the Great Barrier Reef, and then sailed along the north side to Darwin, a charming stop on a terrific trip.

We continue to travel and recently visited the St. James’s Club in London. It is grand. On the domestic front, we returned last night from Orlando, Florida, where we took Tom’s mother to the Citrus Club to celebrate her 90th birthday.

We have experienced a number of Associate Clubs and have found them delightful and the many and varied staff members most welcoming and helpful.
Jane Russell
Member, Capital City Club
Raleigh, North Carolina

BRAGGIN’ RIGHTS
Every spring, we have a golf tournament comprised of Oak Pointe Country Club members. Six couples who vacation on the west coast of Florida compete against six couples from the east coast of Florida. There is a little money exchanged, but the real prize is "bragging rights" for a year.

This year, it was the East’s turn to host and our first day of lunch, golf, and dinner was spent at Monarch Country Club in Palm City, Florida. We had been telling our west coast friends what a wonderful club Monarch is, and how lucky we are to be able to play there when we visit that area. The day of the tournament, they saw it for themselves, firsthand. Of course, the clubhouse is lovely, and the golf course is always a challenge and in top-notch condition; but, more important, every staff member involved in our tournament went absolutely out of their way to be sure our day at Monarch was a success. We want to say thank you.

By the way, the East Coasters did not win the tournament, but we have bragging rights on the best Associate Club in Florida.
Jan Bayley
Member, Oak Pointe Country Club
Brighton, Michigan

AMERICAN TRADITION
Rod Smith’s article about Kentucky bourbon ["Sippin’ Small," May/June 2003] really captured the essence of a great American drink and tradition. Next time, include some of the great stories, history, and traditions of Kentucky bourbon. Your readers can get a literary taste of this great drink.

Irving H. Shaw
Member, The Jefferson Club
Louisville, Kentucky

STORY OF AN ACE
My wife and I like to stop at ClubCorp Associate Clubs on our travels around the country. So far, we have visited 30 golf courses. Recently, on our way home to Florida from a trip to New Jersey, we decided to detour off Interstate 95 and play at Devils Ridge Golf Club in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

We teed off on the back nine, made the turn, and stood on the tee of the second hole, a 130-yard par-3. I knew when I hit my 8-iron that it was right at the flag, and I watched it bounce twice and roll in the hole — for the second hole-in-one of my life.

We have fond memories from ClubCorp courses from California to Texas, Hilton Head to Virginia, but none will be remembered as fondly as that par-3 at Devils Ridge.

Ken and Loretta Smith
Members, Deercreek Country Club
Jacksonville, Florida