Some are classics straight out of the past. Others fly into modern, new design territory. Whatever the architecture, however, there is a common element: People. And all the ways mountain clubs make life sweeter for second home families and retirement living. Giving them a place to meet. To gather the clan. Celebrate important family occasions. And pack each day with so much fun, it’s hard to remember what the workaday world was like. 

For couples who relocate to the mountains, it’s the perfect introduction to a new life. That’s a big role of the sunup-to-wee-hours country club. In locations from Maryland to Georgia, this is the place new residents find fun, friends and a menu of activities to keep them busy, involved and loving life. Though activities vary with each location, one common denominator is the lure of golf, often at spectacularly beautiful courses. For others, it’s mixed tournaments, club cookouts and group-hosted dinner dances.

For everyone, it’s the chance to bond with those around them and establish the feeling of belonging. 

Jane Sullivan Horne, first permanent resident at Virginia’s The Water’s Edge, says, “The country club is one of the main reasons I moved to the community. The lifestyle is second to none. Activities like Meet Your Neighbor, for example, are held each month and they really bring our neighborhoods together. People get to know one another very well, which makes our community feel like family.”

Others echo the sentiment.

Says Ron Long, a Greenville, S.C. native and long-time Dallas, Texas resident, of The Cliffs at Glassy (S.C.): “Because most of our property owners are from other parts of the country, we are an extended family. We all come here with a blank slate and this beautiful facility allows us to bond together and forge strong relationships, actually, stronger relationships with our neighbors in four years than in 25 years in Dallas.” He and wife Beth enjoy more extras: world-class golf, “one of the nicest wellness programs in the country, fine dining and all sorts of outdoor activities.” 

It’s the same experience for Jake & Dink Boundy, who moved from Illinois to retire at Rarity Bay, Tenn. Today, they are avid golfers and involved in the property owners association.

“What the country club does is provide a very comfortable environment where we can socialize, build friendships and have fun,” she says. “That’s what retirement living is to me. We’re a bunch of folks from all over the country and we’re all looking to make friendship quickly because we’ve left family and friendships behind. The country club gives us a place to come together and get to know each other.” 

John and Sally Bailey of Brentwood, Tenn., bought a small condo at Mountain Air in Burnsville, N.C. and loved the lifestyle so much, they’re now full-time residents. 

“It’s certainly a plus to have a golf course,” he says, but notes that the club also offers a wide selection of things to do. “It’s more than just a place to eat. It’s all one big community and in the wintertime, there’s a small nucleus of members. We get together once a week for dinner and the club also gives us a place to have book clubs, games, bridge and mah jong. It’s very casual; the only time we’re required to wear ties is Feb. 30. That doesn’t exist and neither do the ties.”

Still, if golf isn’t king, it’s certainly the prince in waiting.

George Heddy has been a member of The Virginian in Bristol for seven years. He’s frank to explain why he chose to relocate there from Summit, N.J. 

“I’ve been an avid golfer all my life,” he says. “When I was looking for a retirement location, the golf facilities here were the best I could find in the Southeast. The course was designed by [famed golf architect] Tom Fazio and has some special features… Three practice holes you can play with your grandkids or people just starting out. A large driving range. Practice greens where you can practice chipping or getting out of sand bunkers. Also an extremely large putting green that can accommodate any number of golfers at one time. These are extremely rare features because they take so much land, and real estate developers don’t give up their land easily.” He also points to “a magnificent pool and tennis court. This is not strictly a retirement community; there are several families with young children who enjoy the pool.”

Golf wins again with former long-time Atlantans Stacy and Dan Guidice at northern Georgia’s Big Canoe. 

“The country club is the reason we live here,” she says. “We’re both golfers and this is a beautiful course. We’ve met some wonderful friends who play golf and we’ve become very close. We travel together, party together and have a good time together. Tennis has also been wonderful; it’s great having an active tennis program and playing with the other tennis girls. 

“The club is how we’ve met some of our best friends and people who’ve become closer to us than family.”

Like varied activities that range from land to water to equestrian sports, fees are just as mixed.

Club initiation fees can run as high as $75,000 for a full golf membership with monthly dues of $450. They can also hit $60,000 for an equity interest but be sold or refunded if the member leaves the community. Other charges can be far less and in some places, residents may play the neighborhood course without any membership, paying only a straight fee per round.

--Norma Lugar

• Big Canoe (GA)
• Linville Ridge (NC)
• Mountain Air (NC)
• Rarity Bay (TN)
• The Cliffs at Glassy (SC)
• The Virginian (VA)
• The Water's Edge (VA)