Member Clubs member families . That included mowing , weeding , gathering stray rocks and downed tree limbs and keeping the sand in the bunkers .
The current membership is diverse — farmers , horse trainers , school teachers , shopkeepers , doctors , lawyers and retirees , among others . Nick Dunning , now 73 , a member most of his life , said there have been some big names who played the course , as well , including Bing Crosby , Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones .
Dunning laughed out loud when he remembered being suspended from using the facilities for six months at age 16 , when he and a few buddies disrupted a party by throwing cherry bombs down the clubhouse chimney . He also recalled that as recently as the 1980s and ’ 90s , two members — one a horseman , the other a veterinarian — would play 18 holes together , throw their clubs in their
pickup trucks and pull weed-eaters out of the back for a little course maintenance .
Over the past 10 years , course superintendent Steve Colvin has been responsible for what Stifler described as “ the amazing quality of fairways and greens .” The course began adding an irrigation system at about the same time Colvin arrived , and that ’ s made a major difference in keeping the premises lush and green .
Utilizing different tee boxes strategically placed at various locations on every hole dramatically changes the dimensions of each one . The ninth , for example , plays as a 270-yard par 4 , with most players opting to lay up in front of a stream that guards the front of the green . When that same green is used as the 18th hole , a tee box is located about 215 yards from the putting surface , and it ’ s a long , tough par-3 , necessitating a 200-yard carry over that same stream in front for an attempt at a birdie putt .
The sixth hole plays as a 315-yard par 4 on the front nine , and on the back nine , at No . 15 , it ’ s a 460-yard par 5 . In recent years , a shorter par-3 course also has been set up aiming at those very same nine greens , with no hole longer than about 120 yards . A black disc on the fairway marks the spot that turns the hole into a par 3 .
The price is also right . There ’ s a $ 5,000 initiation fee , and family memberships are in the range of $ 1,500 a year , even less for a single . There are about 240 members , including a handful of social and out-oftown members . It ’ s $ 11 to ride nine holes in a cart and $ 20 for 18 .
“ In my mind ,” Stifler said , “ Millwood represents the epitome of what a country club means . It ’ s laid back , it ’ s comfortable , social and no one puts on any airs . Everyone is respectful and enjoys each other ’ s company .”
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