HIGH PRAISE
We enjoyed your July/August 2004 issue. Thank you for all the good information that Private Clubs continues to bring us.

"High on the Low Country" was right on target. As members with Signature Gold benefits, we have played the three golf courses mentioned for several years now on our annual trip to Hilton Head Island [South Carolina]. The Country Club of Hilton Head, Golden Bear Golf Club, and the Golf Club at Indigo Run are among the best the island has to offer. Another enjoyable part of our visit is dining at the South Carolina Yacht Club, a ClubCorp affiliate in Windmill Harbour.

It was a pleasant surprise to read the excellent article and interview with U.S. Tennis Association executive director and chief operating officer Lee Hamilton, a friend and colleague of mine at Exxon [now Exxon Mobil Corp.], from where we both retired. The USTA has chosen a proven leader, great competitor, and true devotee of tennis to rekindle the interest and growth of the game.

Keep the good info coming!
Henry and Kaye Lartigue
Members, April Sound Country Club
Montgomery, Texas

ROYAL TREATMENT
With only four days in London, we could not have selected a better location. The St. James’s Club has the friendliest and most accommodating staff, gourmet food presented as if we were in a five-star restaurant, and pleasant, comfortable, clean rooms.

The St. James’s is a 20-minute walk from Buckingham Palace and it just so happened that we saw a parade with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as they welcomed the president of Poland.

What a great location for strolling around — and just a short taxi ride away from the theater district. Talking about the theater, the club’s concierge had some magical connections in getting us tickets to Bombay Dreams and Mamma Mia.
Sigurds O. Krolls
Member, University Club of Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Editor’s note: Readers also will be interested to know that the St. James’s Club recently opened as a boutique hotel to the public. Since 1857, the St. James’s has been a members-only club and hotel.

COZUMEL, COFFEE, CARING
I recently returned from Cancun and a visit to Cozumel in Mexico. I have an uplifting story that briefly includes the Melia Cozumel Golf & Beach Resort, an affiliate resort. The individual involved was not aware that I am a member, which makes his actions even more noble.

The following story recognizes an angel and a gentleman.

We took the ferry to Cozumel so my husband, Manny, could dive. I was going to shop and write on my book. One of the guys at the dive shop suggested I take a scooter to the other side of the island to see the better beaches. So I shopped for a while and then sat at a restaurant to write. After a few hours, I decided to rent the scooter and go to the other side of the island.

The road through the jungle area is approximately eight miles long. The bike died a few times and I was about to turn around. Then, as I finally got the bike going, it surged forward across the road. I knew I was going to lose control and I remembered going down, just not getting up. Andrea Falconieri saw the whole event, stopped, and took me to the hospital.

Andrea stayed until Manny arrived at the hospital. She later came back to check on me and then she went with us to the bike shop. She is an American and owns two Coffee Bean cafes on the island. If she had not seen me, no one would have found me because I was too far down into the brush/jungle area. She explained that many accidents with scooters occur each year and that she has fought to ban them.

While waiting for Manny to pay the bike shop, I was standing on the street corner near the pier. A man from the Melia resort, whom I assumed was waiting on a group to arrive, came up and asked if I was OK. My eye was swollen shut and the ice pack had melted. He ran to one restaurant, then another, to bring me more ice. He asked what happened and if I needed any help or a place to stay. I told him about the accident and he then asked how much damage the bike shop was claiming — and offered to pay for the damages. I thanked him and told him it was not necessary, but I still cannot believe how nice total strangers were to a dirty, bruised, bleeding woman. I never got his name, but I will always remember the resort. When I go back, I will try to find him.

As for Andrea, she does not have a Web site, but it appears that several sites recommend her coffee and claim her chocolate cake is the world’s best.

Well, that is the story. What it lacks in murder, sex, and mystery, it more than makes up for with heart.
Deborah Gagliardi
Member, Shady Valley Golf Club
Arlington, Texas

HORSING AROUND
I have enjoyed recent articles in Private Clubs about equine pursuits … polo in Las Colinas, Texas ["Playing With Passion," March/April 2004] and horse camp in Crosscut, Texas ["Horse Sense," July/August 2004]. Since you asked what equine activities other club members are involved in, I wanted to share my experiences in a unique, but fast-growing branch of equine activity.

This past year, I have been involved in carriage driving, a sport that involves either pleasure driving and showing, or the more rigorous Combined Driving Event (dressage, marathon, and obstacles). My instructor, Elizabeth Keathley of Cannon Carriage Driving Center in Woodbury, Tennessee is a member of the American Driving Society and one of the top-rated whips in the United States. Many of her students come from Huntsville, Alabama (Heritage Club); Atlanta (Buckhead Club, One Ninety One Club, and Ravinia Club); Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville City Club); and Memphis, Tennessee (Crescent Club).

We recently spent a weekend at her farm for horse camp. In addition to the carriage driving and horsemanship clinics, we dined at linen-covered tables on a tree-shaded riverbank, decorated hats for use in the pleasure show ring, took afternoon tea with confections created by a British chef, enjoyed a performance of their on-site Shakespeare in the Park, and met the editor of Driving Digest magazine. Gentility, grace, and Southern hospitality were in abundant display.

Carriage driving is becoming a fast-growing sport because of, in part, demographics — namely, the aging baby boomers. Many of us rode to hounds in former decades, still love horses, but careers and family interrupted those pursuits. Now, as leisure time becomes more abundant and we wish to return to equine pursuits, our spirit may be willing, but our athleticism has diminished.

Carriage driving provides a way to continue our love affair with horses in a manner that is fun, yet less physically demanding.
Lynn Boen
Member, Heritage Club
Huntsville, Alabama