The Tryon Country Club has been the playground for numerous men and women who played golf in their youth at the Country Club. They attribute their time there as having a positive influence on their lives.

Beginning in 1918 when the course was ready for play, members would drop off their sons at the club on their way to work and pick them up at dusk. Their children improved their game and swam but also learned golf etiquette, sportsmanship, friendship, hard work and competition.

The McKaig’s have several family members who have excelled at the game of golf because of the opportunity to play at Tryon Country Club during their youth.  Franklin McKaig is one of these men. Little did he know that when he joined the Marines immediately after high school graduation, he’d be on the Camp Lejeune golf team. According to Sadie McKaig, “Franklin was outranked by the other team members but he was the best golfer on the team.”

Sean McKaig, son of Rodney McKaig, began playing golf at the Club when he was 11 years old. That year he and his father, Rodney, began the tradition of playing in the annual Father/Son tournament. At the beginning of his 16th summer, Sean’s handicap was 18, by the end of the summer it was seven.

Sean gives credit to his Dad. “My Dad was such a good golfer and PGA teaching professional that I’d often tell him what I was struggling with on the golf course, and he could tell me how to fix it, without even seeing me swing. Dad was the biggest influence in nurturing my passion for the game and encouraging me.”

In 2006, Sean McKaig won the S.C. Association of Christian Schools State Championship. He received a partial scholarship to play golf at Montreat College.

Sean has several personal memories of the Tryon Country Club that aren’t related to his game. He asked his wife to marry him on the first tee at the Club, and they held their rehearsal dinner and wedding reception in the Club’s Donald Ross room.

Trey Dusenbury is the third member of his family to belong to the Tryon Country Club. He began playing golf with his Dad when he was five years old. When Trey was 12 years old, Cecil Turner, the Club pro at that time, hired him to work at the club. At the end of the workday, Cecil and Rodney McKaig often played golf with Trey and other young men.

Trey remembers these two men often giving him tips on how to improve his game. “Playing with Cecil and Rodney is what made me a good golfer. They taught me how to win and how to compete.”

Trey has fond memories of the retired military personnel and retired businessmen with whom he played golf. “Not only did I learn golf tips from them. I learned about the military and about business transactions,” he said.

In 1987, Trey won the N.C. High School Athletic Association, 1A/2A State Golf Championship played in Chapel Hill, N.C. This provided him with the opportunity to play on the American Junior Golf Association Tour. During these golf tournaments, Trey competed with a number of future professional golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk. Trey played golf at N.C. State as an “invited walk-on” in the late 80s and early 90s.

Hub Arledge is the second of four generations in his family to play golf at Tryon Country Club. He began playing golf when he was 10 years old. “It was a safe place for kids to be without parents.  We’d play nine holes then run and jump in the pool, then play more golf.” When he wasn’t working at his uncle’s grocery store in Tryon or playing golf, Hub occasionally caddied for his mother and her friend, Mrs. Brady.

George Dusenbury, Sr., father of Philip Dusenbury, founded the Tryon Boys Club at the Country Club. Boys played soccer, golf and tennis.  Most of the boys’ parents were not members of the club.

Because golf carts weren’t invented when the club opened, caddies were used. The Caddy Program at the Club provided an employment opportunity to all boys and men in the county; they didn’t have to be members of the Club. The caddies arrived at the Club each morning or afternoon when school was out or when their workday ended. They walked the course carrying two bags at a time. At the end of the round, the members paid the caddies. Men and boys who worked as caddies were allowed to play the course after hours. When golf carts arrived at the Club in the late 50s, the Caddy Program phased out.

Gerald Weathers and Buddy Manson are experienced golf pros who are skilled in teaching the game of golf. Currently, they have two golf clinics that are open to non-members, as well as members of the Club.

If you’d like more information about these clinics or about joining Tryon Country Club, call 828-859-9561.

– article submitted by Robbie ter Kuile