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Golfers on Flight 1549 missed the chance to play the excellent Caledonia Golf Club in Pawleys Island, SC, this weekend, but thanks to the tremendous skill of a pilot and crew, they will be back.


    Dame Fortune works her magic in many ways.  The six golfers, good friends all, on the USAirways jet that landed in New York City's Hudson River on Thursday were headed south for their annual long weekend of golf.  It turns out, according to a column by Jeff Jacobs in the sports section of the Hartford Courant today, that their original flight on Spirit Airways was cancelled.  They considered renting a van and driving the 12 hours but checked with USAirways first and found six seats available. 

    That was the bad luck part.  The good luck was that an experienced, decisive and highly skilled pilot was at the helm of Flight 1549.
    The six were headed for a stay at the Legends Resort in Myrtle Beach and had plans to play four days of golf, including at three terrific courses I know well -- Caledonia, TPC Myrtle Beach and the Heritage Club.  Heritage and TPC are adjacent to residential communities, while part of Caledonia's great charm and high rating in golf magazines is that no homes encroach at all.
    Although their plans this year are canceled, next year's buddy golf trip to Myrtle Beach should be something positively special.  To read Jeff Jacobs' column in the Courant, please click here.

    In a move that is being repeated across the land, a famed country club in Asheville, NC, that includes a well-respected Donald Ross designed course, is attempting to attract new members with dramatically lower initiation fees.
    The Country Club of Asheville, whose golf course opened in 1928, is offering new memberships at $10,000 now through March 31, compared with the customary $25,000 initiation fee, a reduction of 60%.  In addition, after March, the club will continue its policy of "trial" memberships:  Pay a $1,000 initiation fee, plus monthly dues and assessments ($374.67 for full membership), and you will enjoy full membership for a year.  At the end of a year, you either walk away from the membership or pay an additional $24,000, in installments if you wish, and become a full-fledged member.  Other levels of membership are available, including a non-resident plan at a $6,500 initiation fee with annual dues of $1,763.
    The roots of the club go back to the 1890s when local businessmen formed the Swannanoa Country Club.  At one point in its storied history, the club was located on the current site of the famed Grove Park Inn, which sports its own Donald Ross course (there are four courses by the master designer in Asheville).  
    Today, the CC of Asheville includes a tennis complex of 10 courts and a pro shop, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a 35,000 square foot clubhouse, in addition to the 6,600-yard golf course.  If you are interested in membership, contact Membership Director Debbie Ponder at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  If you want information on the golf communities in the area of Asheville, please contact me .  I have visited a number of them and played their courses.  I will be happy to send you a copy of a newsletter that includes my reviews of the golf communities.