Mt. Anthony club well decorated

         Some golf clubs -- and their members -- are content with a well-kept golf course, a decent clubhouse and restaurant, and a friendly efficient staff.  In my experience, most do just that.  If they don't, especially in this environment, their customers have plenty of other options.

         A few clubs add an extra touch that communicates seriousness of purpose as well as an extra dollop of welcome for members and guests.  I wandered into the Mt. Anthony Golf Club in Bennington, VT, on my way back from a weeklong Vermont trip on Friday.  The staff and owners, the Griffin family, had festooned the area around the clubhouse with the accoutrements of the season. This is the kind of touch that makes strangers who play the course for the first time, or those who just make a brief visit, as I did, want to come back again.

         I will.  The place must look great on July 4th weekend.