The Shadow
It was 1922 when the “Cliftondale Country Club” first opened its doors to the public. “When it originally opened, it wasn’t a golf course then. It was a social club,” said manager, Courtney Lee Gunter. Gunter has been employed with Cliftondale Country Club for over a year alongside husband, Brandon Gunter.
Last year, Cliftondale Country Club grossed “more than it’s grossed in a decade,” Gunter said of the club’s sudden growth. Currently, they have over 100 members and that number continues to climb as they grow in popularity.
“Back in the ’60s, you had to know someone who had stock to become a member…You don’t really have to know anybody that’s here now [to become a member],” Gunter said. The Cliftondale Country Club is running a special of $100 off a single membership, which typically runs for $520. The current rate of $420 can be paid all at once or in two payments of $210.
Family plans are $560 annually, which can be billed quarterly or paid in two payments of $280. Members are also permitted to buy stock in the Cliftondale Country Club, which gives them “more of a say so during board meetings.” The club has, in fact, kept stock certificates from every member going back to when they first opened in 1922.
We asked C.J. Nicely —who first joined the club around 2005— what it was about Cliftondale Country Club that’s kept him coming back so many years. He stated, “The people. The wonderful people here; the superintendent of the grounds, Mr. Brandon Gunter. He does an excellent job, hard worker, and very pleasant to work with. And there’s excellent people on the board that care about the future of the course.”
The Cliftondale Country Club is located at 2707 Longdale Furnace Rd. in Clifton Forge, just behind the old Immanuel Baptist Church building, and their phone number is 540-862-2081. Their regular season begins on April 1st and they invite anyone who wishes to give them a call for any other membership questions or general information.
