During the month of October, McConnell Golf invites you to get involved and participate in fundraisers held throughout our properties. Members at each of our clubs can also give back with $1 from every Meyer Filet and McConnell Golf Salmon BLT sandwich order going toward our Susan G. Komen fundraiser. On Sunday, October 17, every McConnell Golf cart fee booked will also go towards our fundraising efforts. Click here to donate and to follow our progress throughout the month of October! Read on below to see how several of our properties are also contributing to Susan G. Komen.

The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation – Yoga for a Cause & Rosé Drink Specials

On October 5, the staff at The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation hosted an outdoor yoga class. Participants paid $15 to attend the class as proceeds benefited Susan G. Komen. They also wore pink and enjoyed a complimentary glass of rosé. Additionally, during the month of October, the main clubhouse and Breaker Bar & Grille will donate a portion of funds from their rosé sales to Susan G. Komen.

Country Club of Asheville – Family Fun Run, Yoga on the Lawn, Pink Cocktails, Pickleball Social & Tennis Clinic

On October 11, Country Club of Asheville is hosting their first Family Fun Run. Participants will meet at the driving range for drinks and snacks before taking off for the walk/run. They will have the option to walk or run along the back nine of the course, which is 2.3 miles, and the run will end at the range where a wall of foam awaits participants. There is a $10 minimum donation to participate.

Members also have the option to participate in a special evening yoga class on the lawn or a pickleball social on October 13. All proceeds will go toward our Susan G. Komen fundraiser. Afterwards, members will meet by the firepit for "pink" cocktails and watch the sunset over the mountains. There is a $20 minimum donation to participate in the yoga class and a $25 minimum to participate in the pickleball social. Finally, on October 14, the tennis staff will host a morning clinic followed by tennis play and a luncheon at the clubhouse. The cost to participate is a $20 minimum donation per person. 

Brook Valley Country Club – Drink & Entrée Specials, Tough Day Scramble, Closest to the Pin Contest & 50/50 Raffle

Every day during the month of October, Brook Valley Country Club has drink specials and two dinner entrée offerings will $1 going toward our Susan G. Komen fundraiser. On October 3, Brook Valley also hosted a Two Person Tough Day Scramble and Closest to the Pin Contest. The entry fee for the Tough Day Scramble was $50 with $25 going toward the event. Entry for the Closest to the Pin Contest was a wager of the participant's choice as they competed against the club staff on the 18th tee. 

Raleigh Country Club – Sunset Yoga & Cocktails

On October 20, Raleigh Country Club will host a sunset yoga session on the pool deck. The cost is $20 per person and all proceeds will benefit Susan G. Komen.

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Chocolate Pretzel Oatmeal Cookies

Two years ago, around Christmas time, I had a cookie very similar to this at a holiday party I attended with my sister’s family in Nashville. It was so good that I had to try to recreate it. I started with my grandmother's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, made a few changes and this was the result. My favorite cookie year-round is an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie, and adding the pretzel and flaky sea salt element just adds another layer of goodness to it. Fresh out of the oven with a glass of milk and you could easily eat the whole plate!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Salted Butter

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar           
2 Eggs, Whole

1 TBSP Vanilla Extract

1 ¾ Cup and 2 TBSP All Purpose Flour

1TSP Baking Soda

1/2 TSP Cinnamon

1/2 TSP Kosher Salt

1 ½ Cup Old Fashioned Oats

2 ½ Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Mini Pretzels, crushed

¼ Cup Flaky Sea Salt (for sprinkling)                                                                                                        

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugars until combined. Continue mixing, adding one egg at a time until combined. Add vanilla and continue mixing until creamy.

In a separate bowl add flour, cinnamon, baking soda and kosher salt. Slowly add flour mixture to egg sugar mixture while mixing on low speed. Add 1/4 of the mixture at a time, scraping down sides making sure to fully incorporate flour mixture.

After flour mixture is all combined, add oats and chocolate chips folding them in by hand.

Roll dough into two tablespoon size balls.

Gently push a few crushed pretzels into each ball and flatten with palm of hand to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake in oven at 350°F for nine to 11 minutes.

While cookies are cooling sprinkle with flaky salt sea salt.

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PB&J Crumble Cookies

This cookie recipe comes from one of the first kitchens I ever worked in. The chef there bought a new bread maker and we tried out a couple of bread recipes. He found a peanut butter and jelly bread that turned out amazing. We put it on the menu after I made a grilled PB&J on the PB&J bread for lunch one day. The kids loved it and from there we tried just about every PB&J recipe we could. This cookie is one that stood out and was well liked.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray or butter, for coating the pan
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
½ TSP Baking Powder
½ TSP Fine Salt
12 TBSP Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/3 Cups Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (no sugar added), at room temperature
1 Large Egg
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Concord Grape Jelly, at room temperature
2/3 Cup Coarsely Chopped Salted, Roasted Peanuts (Optional)

Directions:

Arrange a rack in the middle of a convection oven and heat to 325°F on low fan. Line the sides and bottom of a half hotel pan with aluminum foil, then coat the foil with cooking spray or butter; set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until creamed. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and paddle with a rubber spatula.

Add the peanut butter and beat on medium-high speed until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until completely combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down again.

Return the mixer to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture, stopping when the flour is almost incorporated (do not over mix). Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the remaining flour by hand with the rubber spatula.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture in the baking pan and press into an even layer. Bake until the top is light golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Dollop the jelly over the crust and spread into an even layer as best as you can without disturbing the crust. (Don’t worry if the jelly doesn't spread much, it will melt in the oven.) Sprinkle evenly with the chopped peanuts, if using. Using your hands, crumble the remaining dough into pieces about the size of almonds and sprinkle evenly into the pan.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the top is golden-brown, about 20 minutes more. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. To serve, grasp the foil in the middle of the pan and lift the bar cookie slab out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into bars.

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The Wyndham Championship is one of the PGA Tour's most historic events. Now contested annually at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Wyndham was founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open. Eight decades of rich history later, the popular Triad tournament is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA Tour, excluding the major championships.

In its early years, the tournament alternated between two Greensboro-area clubs: Starmount Forest Country Club and the current home course at Sedgefield. In 2008 — after 31 years at Forest Oaks Country Club — it moved back to Sedgefield. The former GGO enjoys a storied history and an impressive list of winners such as Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros. A whopping 18 former champions are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 2010, the Wyndham Championship received a significant boost when McConnell Golf purchased Sedgefield Country Club, helping to spearhead a new decade of excellence during which the Wyndham has truly hit its stride. McConnell Golf acquired Sedgefield with the intention of restoring the club to its original glory. Several major upgrades were made prior to the 2011 Wyndham, while others have been made in subsequent years, including construction of the “Wall of Champions” overlooking the 9th green.

In 2011, for the 16th time in tournament history, the Wyndham produced a popular first-time winner in Raleigh native and Wake Forest University alumnus Webb Simpson, who would then go on to win the 2012 U.S. Open Championship. “There’s no way I would have won the U.S. Open if I hadn’t won at Sedgefield,” Simpson would later say. Following Simpson’s victory in 2011, McConnell Golf President/CEO John McConnell decided to convert Sedgefield’s green complexes to Bermuda grass, a significant investment and improvement. “With Bermuda greens, Sedgefield becomes one of the great golf courses on the PGA Tour,” according to Simpson.

Former champion Davis Love III was equally pleased about the decision.“Changing the Sedgefield greens to Bermuda grass is great news for the members at Sedgefield, but it’s also great for the Wyndham,” said Love. “The new greens allow the course to be played the way Donald Ross intended most of the year.”

Bobby Long, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation Board of Directors, agreed. “People tend to think the greens should be soft so a player can scream a low 3-iron into a green and have it stick, but that is not what Donald Ross had in mind when he designed this golf course.”

Every aspect of the club has been elevated in the past 10 years, according to Tournament Director Mark Brazil, from the golf course to the clubhouse to the “first-class” activities building.

“And all the little touches around the golf course — the tee boxes, the beautiful landscaping, the benches and the bridges — McConnell Golf’s just done it right,” Brazil said. “Bobby Long always talks about how we need an A++
course. Well, we’ve really got that now.”

On those new greens in 2012, with a fill-in caddie carrying his bag, future Masters champion Sergio Garcia claimed a two-stroke Monday win in a water-logged Wyndham Championship for his first victory on tour since the 2008 Players
Championship. The enigmatic Spanish sensation has always enjoyed Sedgefield and had staged some near-misses in years past — including squandered opportunities to win the Nike Greensboro Open there in 1998 and the Wyndham
Championship in 2009. Finally, it all came together for Garcia, who carved up Sedgefield with rounds of 67-63-66-66 to finish at 18 under.

Afterward, all anyone could talk about were Sedgefield’s new green complexes. “I was surprised how quick [the greens] were,” Garcia said. “Even after all the rain. My first three putts — I couldn’t believe it. They did an awesome job getting the course [ready]. The course looked better than it’s ever looked.”

Two-time major champion John Daly, who made his first trip to Greensboro in 1991, described the greens as perfect. “They’re beautiful, awesome,” he said. “The greens are perfect,” echoed future U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland. “They’re rolling great. You get above the hole, and they’re lightning fast. Keep it below the hole, you can make a putt.”

In 2013, a pair of future Masters champions, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, battled down the stretch, with Reed capturing a sudden-death playoff on the second extra hole. Both players parred the first playoff hole at No. 18 when Spieth rolled in a 30-foot effort for par while Reed missed his birdie putt. On the second playoff hole, No. 10, Reed played a miraculous second shot from the trees on the right side of the fairway to 7 feet with Spieth already safely on the green. Spieth narrowly missed his birdie putt and posted a par. Reed converted his uphill putt for birdie to earn his first PGA Tour victory at 23 years of age.

The Wyndham Championship celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2014. Former champions Rocco Mediate (1993 and 2002) and Davis Love III (1992 and 2006) played in the tournament, while Bob Goalby (1958), Dow Finsterwald (1959) and Lanny Wadkins (1983) made special appearances. Weldon Fields, a tournament volunteer at the inaugural Greater Greensboro Open in 1938, returned shortly after his 100th birthday to take part in the festivities.
The tournament field included 21 major championship winners and multiple international stars like World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els.

Colombian golfer Camilo Villegas captured that historic 2014 tournament, becoming the third international golfer in the previous five years to win the Wyndham.

More tournament history was made a year later, when Love won his third Sam Snead Cup — 28 years after his inaugural PGA Tour win in 1987.

Only the man for whom the trophy is named has more victories — eight — at the event.

“[Winning] means a lot here at Greensboro,” said an emotional Love.

In 2015 — the first time Tiger Woods played the Wyndham — the overall economic impact of the “Tiger Effect” on the Triad was staggering. When Woods committed to the event, organizers immediately printed 49,000 extra tickets. While a typical tournament would have, at best, 90,000 people for the week, in 2015 more than 143,000 spectators came
through the gates.

Woods told John McConnell — one of his partners during the Pro-Am, along with Los Angeles Clippers superstar Chris Paul — that Sedgefield’s greens were the best he played all year.

“The people are just absolutely incredible,” Woods said, after his final round 70 left him four strokes behind Love and tied for 10th. “The support that they showed, to come out in droves like this … it was very special playing in front of them.”

In 2017, Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson captured the Wyndham Championship and became the tournament’s 19th international winner. Stenson entered the tournament ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings and moved to sixth with the win — setting the tournament scoring mark at 22-under par.

Two years later, bolstered by a supportive throng of family, friends and fellow Western Carolina University alumni, Hickory born-and-bred J.T. Poston made some Wyndham history of his own, wrapping up a bogey-free week by firing a scorching, Sunday 62 to hold off Simpson by a stroke. Poston’s performance equaled the lowest mark for a final round in tournament history, set by Love at Forest Oaks Country Club in 1992. He became the fifth North Carolina native
to win the tournament in its 80-year history, joining Raymond Floyd, Scott Hoch, Love and Simpson.

“I haven’t had that many bogey-free rounds this year,” Poston said, following his final-round fireworks at Sedgefield. “To be able to do four in a row is pretty special, and finish it off with a 62 on Sunday is pretty awesome. To be able to do it here in North Carolina with a lot of friends and family, I don’t think I could have drawn it up any better.”

The Wyndham Championship has benefited from recent PGA Tour calendar changes. Three years ago, the tour unveiled a revamped tournament schedule highlighted by significant championships every month, all culminating with the FedExCup Playoffs in August.

The Wyndham Championship now holds an important position on the PGA Tour schedule, as it represents the final opportunity for some players to move into the top 125, thus securing exempt status for the following season and qualifying for the FedExCup, while those already qualified for the playoffs can improve their seeding.

If there’s any tournament on the PGA Tour where prize money takes a backseat, it’s the Wyndham. As the schedule’s final regular-season event, players aren’t as concerned about picking up a few extra grand coming down the Sunday stretch. Instead, they’re thinking about earning a few additional FedExCup points.

There’s also the recently implemented $10 million Wyndham Rewards payout awaiting the FedExCup Top 10 following the Wyndham Championship. Last year, Justin Thomas had already claimed the $2 million top payout, but Simpson and Sungjae Im entered the final week with a shot at the $1.5 million second-place bonus.

In 2020, with no paying spectators, no TV towers or grandstands lining Sedgefield’s greens and fairways, the 81st Wyndham Championship was a visibly different affair. Yet in many ways, the COVID-19 edition of the Triad’s long-running event ranked among its most memorable. Four former World No. 1s, including Brooks Koepka and Spieth, and plenty of impressive international talent arrived for the final week of the Tour’s regular season. As always, there was plenty of local representation. Three North Carolina natives — 2011 Wyndham champion Simpson, up-and-coming
talent Doc Redman and fan favorite Harold Varner III — all were in the mix late Sunday afternoon.

In the end, the 2020 Wyndham Championship teed up one of the most exciting duels in recent tournament memory. The dark-horse journeyman, a 42-year-old former club pro named Jim Herman, held off familiar Wyndham contender Billy Horschel and a host of others down the stretch in a thrill-a-minute finish. Herman and Horschel traded punches
throughout a gripping afternoon. Herman backed up a career-best 61 on Saturday with a final round 7-under 63. His weekend total of 124 matched the lowest final 36-hole score by a winner in PGA Tour history. 

Horschel closed with a 65 — the 23rd consecutive round of par or better at Sedgefield for the 2014 FedExCup champion. The tournament wasn’t decided until Horschel’s final chance to tie on the 72nd hole, an 8-foot birdie putt, slid left of the cup. Third-round leader and 2016 Wyndham champion Si Woo Kim shot 70 to tie for third at 18 under with Simpson (65), Redman (68) and Kevin Kisner (64).

More than anyone, Herman took advantage of Sedgefield’s flawless Bermuda green complexes, which have become among the most popular on Tour. He drained 444 feet of putts for the week, which equates to making a 6-footer on every hole. He gained a Herculean 6-plus strokes on the field by deftly employing his Bettinardi Inovai 5.0 Tour mallet
nicknamed “The Hermanator.”

So many golfers praise Sedgefield Country Club, the Wyndham Championship and the Triad in general.

“Greensboro will always be a special place to me,” said two-time Wyndham champ Brandt Snedeker, who shot 59 in winning the 2018 event. “I think most of the guys love coming here because it rewards good tee balls and gives you the opportunity to make birdies. And there’s only two par 5s. Everybody in the field can reach them, so distance here is not an overriding factor. It’s kind of nice to come to a place and know you can make some birdies and get some
good stuff going.”

Simpson, who hasn’t missed a weekend at Sedgefield since 2009, adores the Wyndham so much he named one of his daughters after the event. “I love the holes,” Simpson said of Ross’s old-school, rolling parkland layout. “I love the shot shapes … I’ve had some good finishes here. My first win here. I’m close to home where I grew up, close to where I live now and obviously a short drive to where I went to college, so I love being here.”

A sentiment that’s shared by many.

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IN VINO VERITAS…

A Latin phrase that means “in wine, there is truth.” Well, I can’t agree more, and similar phrases exist across cultures and languages. Growing up in Europe, I had an early start in the “World of Wine.” Throughout my hospitality career, I have been fortunate to taste some of the finest wines from the world’s major viticultural regions. These include the Chateau Margaux 1990, Latour 1990, Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1982, Petrus vintages 1982, 1989 and 1990, the Joseph Phelps Insignia 1990, Dominus 1991 and 1994, Dunn Cabernets from Howell Mountain, the Mondavis, BVs and Berringer Private Reserves, the Penfolds Grange and many, many, many more.  

The few growers/producers who have continuously received 5-star ratings are indeed those who make the world’s finest wines and they have been selected because:
· They make the greatest wine of their particular viticultural
· They are remarkably consistent and reliable, even in mediocre and poor vintages  

Then, there is the Robert Parker Rating System, a scale from 50 to 100. Any wine that Parker rates above 85 is very good to excellent and any wine that Parker rates 90+ will be outstanding for its particular type. Parker uses specific standards for wines sold to consumers—standards that full-time wine professionals recognize, and these are benchmark wines to which others are judged.  

However, today’s wine rating systems found on labels are not any different from those found screening ratings from Amazon, Netflix, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Vudu. It is simply “Corky” and very dangerous. The rating systems are not only for marketing purposes, but also shape the consumers’ tastes as to what is to be considered good, excellent and outstanding.              

Wine has made major contributions to the quality of life in many societies of the world for millennia, and it continues to do so. It has always had its critics, some misinformed, others genuinely concerned. Cut through the noise; experience, keep an open mind and, most of all, enjoy! There is much to be enjoyed and appreciated. If wine and food combinations still perplex you, your best strategy may be to learn some of the greatest pairings, as well as some of the worst. Remember that in the final analysis, a good wine served with a good dish to good company is always a good taste—“à votre santé!”  

McConnell Fine Wine LLC was founded upon the simple principle of introducing single, small vineyards and innovative winemakers to our membership under one private label, presented as the M Signature Series. This private label is only offered through our clubs and the winemakers are selected for the following reasons:                 
· They produce some of the greatest wines from a particular region
· Their wines are remarkably consistent and reliable
· They are innovative—and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo  

This year, McConnell Fine Wine introduces exclusively from the following winemakers and vineyards:     
· Chris Corley, Knollwood Vineyards: Right Bank Red Blend
· Juslyn Vineyards: Pinot Grigio
· Kerr Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon

Our Right Bank Red Blend is nothing short of a perfected blend of Merlot/CabFranc/Cab that can only be experienced at Pomerol, Bordeaux. Although, nowadays Pomerols’ are 100 percent Merlot, Chris Corley remained a traditionalist and it paid off. My notes: Experience this wine with dinner (anything grilled with sautéed vegetables or rosemary roasted baby potatoes). You will be pleasantly surprised just how powerful this creation is with dinner, trust me.

In closing, there are many exceptional wines to experience; I mean truly exceptional ones. These resemble experiences such as playing at Pine Valley, Cypress Point, St. Andrews or Shinnecock Hills, but there are also many more varietals, blends and crafts that are part of our civilization. I encourage you to be bold and explore the beauty of Vino—it is truly rewarding!  

Christian Anastasiadis

Chief Operating Officer at McConnell Golf

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Peach Cobbler Cookie

When the Dog Days of summer are almost over, one thing is prevalent in the Carolinas as we near the return of school and football season. Peaches, peaches and more peaches! One of the classic dishes utilizing peaches around the house is peach cobbler. This cookie pays tribute to this locally-sourced and delicious stone fruit. Stop by a local produce stand, farmers market or co-op to purchase some. We feel they are best served warm out of the oven with a glass of milk or scoop of vanilla ice cream, you can’t go wrong! We hope you enjoy these sweet flavor packed favorites. 

Ingredients:
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg, room temperature
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
1/4 TSP Almond Extract
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ TSP Ground Cinnamon
1 TSP Cream of Tartar
1 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP Salt
1/4 TSP Ground Nutmeg
1 Cup Diced Peeled Fresh Peaches

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy for five to seven minutes. Beat in egg and extracts.

In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in peaches.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls two inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake until set, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool on pans for two minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

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Making new memories at North Carolina’s oldest country club

He spent his teenage years as a groundskeeper at a local golf club, and that’s where Matt Ostwalt developed not only respect for the game but also reverence for the beauty of a well-tended course.

“Playing golf gives me a sense of peace,” says Matt, sharing his intimate appreciation of the grass, the lay of the land, the melding of sport with nature. “I always find joy out on the golf course.”

Matt and his family find that – and so much more – at the Country Club of Asheville.

“We are having an amazing experience as members,” he says. “When friends ask, we sing the praises of the family atmosphere.”

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, the Country Club of Asheville, established in 1894, is the second-oldest private club in the South and among the oldest clubs in continuous operation in the entire country. It is anchored today by a championship Donald Ross golf course. This historic club also features a recently updated clubhouse, Olympic-size swimming pool, new fitness center, indoor and outdoor tennis facilities, and dedicated recreation rooms for kids and teens.

A Family Affair

Matt and his wife, Amy – along with their children Charlotte, 10, and Birch, 7 – joined the Country Club of Asheville in 2017. However, the family’s own history here dates back to a decade earlier when, as a newly-engaged couple, they were seeking out wedding and reception venues.

“We fell in love with the location,” Amy recalls.

You could say Matt horsed around a bit in his pursuit of the love of his life. He proposed to Amy at The Carolina Cup on April Fools’ Day and they got married on Derby Day which, in 2007, coincided with Cinco de Mayo.

“Our wedding reception featured Mint juleps and mojitos!” he says. “Everything was fantastic – the club did an amazing job. We were so happy with how the reception turned out. That was our first introduction [to the Country Club of Asheville] and it made a huge impression.”

After settling into Montford, a historic district just north of downtown Asheville, the Ostwalts intended to join the country club once they completed renovations to their 1920s-era home. “We kept having numerous delays – like having babies,” Matt laughs, noting that Charlotte added to the family’s horsey tradition by being born on Derby Day in 2010. “But really, the kids were a big part of our decision to join – we wanted a place where they could meet friends, a place to make memories as they grow up.”

And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.

“Being members [at the Country Club of Asheville] has impacted our family in such a positive way,” says Amy. “It provides an outlet for the kids and also for us as a couple. Charlotte and Birch have a place to play, we can do things together as a family, and we can also enjoy time with our couple friends.”

Finding Joy

As new members, Matt and Amy were greeted with the same enthusiastic hospitality they enjoyed during their wedding reception 10 years earlier.  

“The staff embraced our children from Day 1,” Matt says. “They give them so much attention – our kids love coming here.”

Charlotte and Birch joined the Fins, the summer swim team, where there’s equal emphasis on technique and sportsmanship. They are also regulars at the club’s long roster of clinics and summer day camps, focusing on everything from sports to science, arts and crafts.

“The camps in the summer have been a saving grace,” Amy says, noting the sports programs ensure the kids come home happily exhausted. “They spend a lot of time up at the club. It’s fun, especially when it’s with friends.”

Since becoming members, Amy has fallen in love with tennis and Matt has rekindled his lifelong passion for golf. The entire Ostwalt family enjoys the culinary program, whether it’s a family meal or date night. 

“The kids really like the Sunday brunch – they ask to go all the time after church,” Matt says. And, adds Amy, “we like the wine tasting events; we have so much fun learning about and trying new wines.”

As a sales rep for an out-of-town manufacturing company, Matt spends a lot of time on the road. By playing golf with a rotating group of fellow members, he feels connected to the local community. 

His favorite people to play with, though, are Charlotte and Birch. “I’m glad the kids can enjoy this sport with me,” he says, noting the pleasure he takes in passing along all the traditions of the game.  “I love when they ask to go to the putting green.”

Matt also takes pleasure in a home golf course that’s a gem in the North Carolina mountains.

“It’s a unique place,” he says. “I’ve always enjoyed playing a lot of courses and I never really expected myself to ‘marry’ one golf course. But this one plays a little different every time you go out there. The course changes constantly – in ways that defy physics – and I don’t feel like I’m playing the same course over and over.”

The subtlety of the course challenges golfers at every level. “Whether you’re a skilled golfer or a novice,” Matt says, “you can find joy in playing here.”

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