A Legacy of Excellence: Kerry Tharp Discusses the Darlington Country Club's Centennial

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you're ready, we'll get started.
Always ready with you, Barrett.
Now, if Zach was here, itmight be a different story.
Well, see, if Zach were here,we'd put him behind the table.
Put him behind that bush.
Maybe in a.
Maybe like in one of thosegreen suits.
Yes.
So that we could, we couldfill them up with whatever sponsorships
we wanted to.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.

(00:20):
The All About Nothing podcastmay have.
Language and content thatisn't appropriate for some listener.
Discretion is advised.
Welcome, welcome, welcome tothe All About Nothing podcast.
I am Barrett Gruber.
This is episode number 258.
And in just a minute we'regoing to be heading out to the Darlington
Country Club in Darlington,South Carolina to sit down with Kerry

(00:41):
Tharp, who is the co generalmanager of the Darlington Country
Club.
We're going to have adiscussion with him about the centennial
celebration that's coming upfor the Darlington Country Club as
well as a lot of thetournaments that they have that are
going to be going on.
We talk about the amenities.
It's a beautiful course.
We had a lovely time and I'm.
Very excited to share thatwith you.

(01:01):
And get you to check it out too.
So please subscribe and sharethe show.
That's how we get new listeners.
Please also considersupporting the show financially by
visitingtheallaboutnothing.com and becoming
an official member.
You can proudly call yourselfa true nothinger.
We'll have more details onthat at the end of the show.
If you can't do any of that,please give us a five star review,
a like and follow us acrossall of social media.

(01:22):
You can findlinks@theallaboutnothing.com also
we send out a semi regularnewsletter email out to all of our
listeners and if you haven'tyet, go to our webpage, theallaboutnothing.com,
scroll to the bottom.
There's a form where you canput your email address in and submit
it.
It'll get you added to the list.
Here's the caveat though.
There will be a verificationemail that will be sent to you that

(01:44):
may show up in your spam folder.
So you may have to go look inyour junk folder and whatnot to get
that.
But do that and you'll getnotified when we do things, special
things like going out to thecountry club yesterday.
So go ahead and do that for usand become a true nothinger that
way as well.
So I want to tell you, I havea bit of a confession to make.

(02:05):
I own not one but three shirtsfrom ZJZDesigns.com featuring Lenny
the Leprechaun and Tommy theTurkey as well as the Elf.
You can also do this.
I proudly wear them in public.
These shirts are hilarious.
They're super soft and waymore fun than anything that I've
seen at the mall.
If you want to stand out likebest dressed at the family dinner
kind of standout, head over tozjzdesigns.com they've got designs

(02:29):
for every season and trust me,wearing one is like starting your
own inside joke.
It's true.
Putt putt like a Pro at the10th Masters of Putt Putt Friday,
August 22nd at Frankie's Fun Park.
You can get your three teammembers signed up at August.
You need to sign them up byAugust 21st and don your best theme
outfits because the bestdressed team wins.
Cool prizes too.
Arrive before 6:45 becausethey tee off sharply at 6:45.

(02:54):
You can go toeverplaysocial.com to sign up.
You can find more detailsthere as well.
We are turning up the heat in Columbia.
Vote us best local podcast atthe link in our show notes or@theallaboutnothing.com
quick registration, then clickto vote.
It's easy as that.
So go do that.
All right, gonna turn it overto Barrett at the Darlington country

(03:14):
club in Darlington, SouthCarolina, sitting down with Mr.
Kerry Tharp.
All right, welcome to the AllAbout Nothing podcast, Ker.
We are here at the DarlingtonCountry Club.
It is the we're getting readyto celebrate the hundredth anniversary
of the country club.
So first of all, to remindeveryone, Carrie Tharp was the associate

(03:37):
athletic director for theUniversity of South Carolina for
how many years?
20 years.
20 years.
1985, 2005.
At the end of youradministration, essentially, was
the decision that you weregoing to retire or were you just
leaving and going to go?
Was the plan always to go dosomething else?

(03:59):
Well, when I left USC in 2005,it was to go work for NASCAR, okay?
And at the time, and I thinkwe might have talked about this previously,
I didn't even like nascar.
They called me and wanted meto come interview for a job, communications
job for nascar.

(04:19):
And I said, I'll be glad totalk to you, but when it comes on
tv, I turn it off.
But lo and behold, I worked 11years for NASCAR up in North Carolina,
but I still lived in South Carolina.
I lived in Fort Mill because Ilove the state of South Carolina.
And then I came to Darlingtonin 2016 as the track president and

(04:41):
retired at the Dec.
31, 11:59pm Stayed retiredabout seven or eight weeks and then
came out here to DarlingtonCountry Club and drive my golf cart
to work.
There's my golf cart over there.
Okay.
And help them out withmarketing and, you know, promotion

(05:03):
and member relations andthings like that.
And so, again, I love thestate of South Carolina and really
enjoy living in Darlington.
Yeah.
So just to give everyone anidea of the country club here, it's
the Darlington Country Club inDarlington, South Carolina, which
is pretty close to the raceway.

(05:25):
It's not far, about four orfive miles.
Yeah.
This club features an 18 holechampionship golf course that challenges
players at all skill levels.
Set against the picturesqueBlack Creek, the course oversees
scenic views, a variety ofterrains, and in recent years, you
all just had it renovated.
We did last summer.

(05:47):
We pretty much redid the 15th,16th and 17th holes, Barrett, and
really turned them intosomething special on our back nine.
And the architect that we useis a gentleman by the name of Rich
Mandel, and he's out ofPinehurst, North Carolina.

(06:08):
And if I'm not mistaken, theyknow a little bit about golf up in
Pinehurst.
And so he came and worked hismagic out here on the golf course
and is really, really, Ithink, enhanced this, this golf course
to become a very nice,enjoyable place to play.
And, and we're getting a greatresponse from the people that are

(06:30):
playing out here the lastcouple of years.
If, if someone had never beenhere before, what are three of the
best, the, the most enticingreasons to, to come to Darlington
to play here?
Well, I think first of all,the hospitality that you receive.
Yeah, I think is, is fantasticwhen people come into our golf shop

(06:51):
or people come into ourrestaurant or, or whatever.
I mean, we, we absolutely makethem feel at home.
Yeah.
And we want them to come back.
And so I always try to make ita point.
If I see someone that I don'tknow who they are, I'll always ask
them, you know, where are you from?
And so I have an opportunityto meet a lot of people out here.

(07:14):
But I think hospitality,Barrett, is our number one attribute.
And then, you know, we offer agreat social experience out here.
We got a wonderful golf course.
As you can tell back here,we're right on the backdrop of it.
We got Olympic size swimming pool.
It's really the best poolaround in these parts.

(07:38):
And then we've got a wonderfulrestaurant, a chef that we just brought
in back in February that isjust a outstanding chef.
And you know, we have events here.
We had a wedding here abouttwo weeks ago with about 300 people,
a wedding reception down onthe Black Creek.
And it's just, you know, it'sa unique place.

(08:01):
Obviously, it's in a smalltown, a small community, but I think
it's a very, very importantpart of this community, just like
the racetrack is.
And, and I encourage people tocome out because I think they'll
receive great treatment fromthe people that work here, and I
think they'll enjoy theexperience that they have as well.

(08:22):
Yeah.
How long.
So in the hundred years ofDarlington Country Club being here,
how, how long has it been as popular?
It is, because if I do asearch of golf clubs, you know, country
clubs in South Carolina, itcomes up in the top five.
Well, anytime you're aroundfor almost 100 years, I think that

(08:45):
speaks volumes for howsuccessful and popular you've been.
And so to be able to celebrateOur centennial in 226, I think is
very, very special.
You know, this, this golfcourse in this country club has a
lot of history back when, whenthe race car drivers used to come

(09:05):
out here and play a lot.
David Pearson, Richard Petty,Dale Earnhardt, they used to come
here and play a lot, you know,back in the 80s and 90s when the
schedules were different thanthey are now when they come to Darlington
for a race.
And so this club has a lot of history.
It's, it's, it's got the BlackCreek that kind of snakes through

(09:27):
the, the, the, the course.
And I'm told that there was alot of times that people just kind
of snuck away back there andswam in the Black Creek.
Not sure if sometimes, if theyhad all their clothes on, but, you
know, that's okay.
That was way back in the back,and I don't think anybody paid, paid
attention.
But, you know, Darlington isa, is, is, is a unique little town

(09:54):
that, you know, probably is alittle underrated, to be honest with
you.
And I think this golf club,this country club is a little underrated.
And, and, you know, as Imentioned earlier, if you're around
for 100 years, you're doingsomething right.
Absolutely.
And, you know, we're gonna,we're gonna really celebrate our
100th year.

(10:15):
And really starting probablythe latter part of this year, we'll
start celebrating it.
And so I just think that it'san important part of the community,
as is this racetrack, obviously.
It's a huge, huge part of thiscommunity is Darlington Raceway.
And so, you know, we're justhappy that our club continues to

(10:37):
grow and we're excited about,you Know what the future holds, what
the second hundred years hold,what is.
Because you've been here atthe Country Club now for a few years
since your retirement from nascar.
I assume you played herebefore you started working here.
Right.

(10:58):
For you, what are some of themost challenging holes?
Well, for me, most of themare, to be honest with you.
If you've ever seen me play.
Tom has seen me play.
Tom Sliker, he's seen me play.
But, you know, I would have tosay I start off with a number 18
hole.
It's a hole that we redidabout two years ago, and if you play

(11:22):
it from all the way the backtees, it's about 630 yards.
And in fact, we have a markerout there on the T marker.
It's the hole too tough totame, obviously, connected with the
racetrack.
So that's, that's a, that's along day out there.
630 yards, to be honest with you.
But, you know, some of the parthrees here are very, very tricky.

(11:45):
That number nine hole out bythe road, I've played it for several
years.
I think I've hit the greenmaybe three times and all the times
that I've ever played here.
But.
And then hole 14 is a, is apar three.
That's a little tricky as well.
But, you know, as you, as yougo through this golf course and listen

(12:05):
to people that have, you know,not really ever played here, you
know, they look at thescorecard and they see, well, it's
not that long of a course, andit is not, but it's a, it's.
It's a tricky course.
Yeah.
You know, and the greens aresmall, the greens are fast, and so
if you miss the green and, youknow, you're in trouble.

(12:26):
And so I think the course,though, offers a challenge for all
levels, all skill levels.
But I think that it's probablya little bit more difficult course
than people give it credit for.
Any pros on, on staff that,that you all have come around fairly
often to, to play through?
Well, we do.

(12:46):
We have, in fact, Rich Mandel,whose I mentioned is our course architect,
he had a group of, of prosfrom Denmark that came in for the
Masters back in April, andthere was three or four Danish golfers
here that were professionalgolfers, and they played out here

(13:07):
and they came back and theysaid, you know what?
This is a, this was a very,very nice, challenging golf course.
Yeah.
And so, you know, and we'llget some, some, some pros come through
here.
You know, maybe on some of thelower tier professional tours.
And we get a lot of collegegolfers that are out here.

(13:28):
You know, we, we host a numberof high school tournaments here during
the course of the season.
And, and, you know, you get,you get a group of high school folks
that are out here, and, youknow, they have that limber back.
They can hit the ball pretty good.
And, and so it's, it'sexciting to see, to see them play.

(13:49):
And, and, but there's, there'senough good players in this, in this
region that when they come onthis golf course and play.
There's a player out ofHartsville who's been on the Korn
Ferry tour for quite a while,Tommy Two Gloves Gainey.
And in fact, he's won a coupleof professional tours before, and
he plays out here on occasion.

(14:10):
And so, you know, we attract apretty good skill set of golfers
out.
Yeah, I'm not one of those.
Me and you both joined a crowd.
Frequently.
When I was in high school, Ihad friends that did golf, and they
were on the golf team, and oneof the things that they would do
was as a pitcher, baseball.

(14:32):
They would encourage me tocome and play golf because they're
like every baseball playerplays golf.
Oh, yeah.
Baseball player and hockey player.
Hockey players are good.
Golfer.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, and not to plug, not toplug anything that's off topic, but
I'm looking forward to HappyGilmore, too.
I am, too.
That's going to be fantastic.
But the driving range wasalways something that they always

(14:53):
wanted to go out.
And I did decent on thedriving range, but, well, you know,
speaking of.
Driving range, I always was ofthe, of the, of the thought, why
go out and waste a good shot?
You know, and so I don'treally ever warm up a whole lot when
I play because, you know,somebody goes, have you want to go
out and hit some balls?
I said, well, if I hit a goodone, it won't count.
That's right.
You know, so sometimes I don'treally get on the driving range a

(15:16):
lot, but certainly that,that's probably tells you what kind
of golfer I am, too.
Well, you know, it's.
I think it's less about howgood you are and more about how much
you enjoy your time.
Exactly how often do you justget on your golf cart and just, just
scoot around?
I tell you what, I get on thisgolf course probably six days a week,

(15:38):
seven days a week.
I live right down the street.
And so most days I bring mygolf cart to work.
Yeah.
And usually when I leave the club.
I'll go home, and I'll get mydog, Kobe, who's part lab, part pit
bull.
And if I say to him, kobe, youwant to go on the golf cart?
He almost mauls me because hejust can't wait to get on the golf

(16:01):
cart, come out on the golf course.
We drive around the golfcourse, and if.
If no one's golfing, you know,I'll let him off.
Off the.
Off the cart, and he'll liketo explore, etc.
But I'm pretty much on thisgolf course.
I said six days a week,probably seven days a week, because
I just enjoy it.

(16:21):
I enjoy the beauty.
It's relaxing.
I don't play as much as I usedto, but I get out on this golf course
almost every day of the week.
Yeah.
So also here at the DarlingtonCountry Club, we have the Black Creek
Grill and Bar.
It's an upscale dining venueproviding a diverse menu.
On that menu, how many of thethings have you eaten in your time

(16:43):
here so far?
I say probably 90% of what'son there.
Like I said, we just broughtin a new chef.
His name's Charles Lyon, andCharles spent most of his professional
career in Chesapeake Bay areaoutside of Baltimore.
Last I checked, they're prettygood with seafood up there a little

(17:05):
bit.
He is an outstanding chef,really knows the business.
He's.
He's worked 13, 14 years at abig club out up there outside of
Baltimore that held a numberof LPGA championships.
He's worked at big hotels andresorts up there.
And.
And, you know, there isn'tanything on our menu that I don't

(17:28):
like.
Our lunch menu is fantastic.
We have a Reuben sandwichthat, you know, you can make two
meals out of it.
It is really, really delicious.
I tell you what we've startedup on Sunday nights that has become
very popular is Smash burgers.
Okay.
And he can.
He can cook up Smash burgersand a side.

(17:50):
And, you know, we're in here,we're watching golf, we're watching
nascar, and we've been drawingreally good crowds for that.
And our Thursday nights havebeen pretty good for.
For dinner here.
And we usually have music outhere on Michael's porch, but, you
know, his seafood, his crabcakes, top notch.

(18:10):
Yeah, yeah.
Best I've had.
And so, you know, when you.
When you bring in someone ofhis pedigree, it makes.
It makes the.
The dining experience all that better.
And, you know, as I mentioned,we had a wedding reception here a
couple weeks ago with almost300 people, and we did it down here

(18:33):
by the Black Creek.
And so all of the food had tobe transported down there and warmers
and things of that nature.
And we would have never pulledthat off if it hadn't been for his
expertise, being able to dosomething like that.
And so the restaurant here isa real godsend.
You know, it's open to thepublic, obviously, we do have members

(18:55):
here, but the restaurant'sopen to the public.
And we serve lunch in thereWednesday through to Saturday and
dinner on Thursday and Friday evenings.
It's delicious.
Yeah.
And I dare say you could finda better meal, you know, within 100
miles of here.
And I'm being serious.

(19:17):
And, you know, I like to eatand, you know, being able to eat
here in a nice environmentlike this is very, very special.
Yeah.
What's.
As far as the members?
Because just walking throughthe facility, the lobby here with
you, they all know you.
You are, you, you are a.

(19:40):
An ambassador.
I appreciate that.
And in fact, Timmy Huntley,one of the man that owns the club,
who's out on the putting greenright now, when he talked to me about
coming, he asked me rightafter I retired.
And Timmy and I have beenfriends for long as I've been in
Darlington.

(20:01):
He said, he said, are youreally going to stay retired?
I said, well, I don't know.
My, My wife didn't give me alist of things to do.
She gave me a notebook.
And so I said, you know, whatyou got in mind?
And he said, well, I need somebody.
And he used that word to be anambassador for the country club.
And I said, well, I said, I'vekind of been doing that most of my

(20:22):
life, whether, you know, insports, you know, me in college sports
or in nascar.
And so I just enjoy beingaround people.
And we had a group out heretoday of almost 50, I guess you would
call them senior citizens,guys from around the state that they
call themselves the hobos.

(20:43):
And I just enjoyed beingaround that group.
And several of them I actuallyknew from Columbia.
And, you know, it's, it's,it's just, you know, this is a country
club.
It's supposed to be a placewhere people come enjoy themselves,
they bring their families here.
It's.
It's a relaxing experience tohave great fellowship and, and camaraderie.

(21:09):
And so, you know, I try to dowhat I can to make sure that they
have a great experience.
And, and, you know, when theyleave Darlington Country Club, particularly
someone that maybe has neverbeen here before, they, they, they
say to themselves, you know what?
I might go back there BecauseI was treated very well.
Yeah.
And it's not that far a drivefrom Columbia.

(21:30):
No, no.
Florence.
Over an hour, hour and 15,hour and 20.
And Florence is 20 minutes away.
Hartsville's right down the street.
Myrtle beach, an hour and a half.
Yeah.
Conway, you know, so evenCharlotte, I mean, you can get your
Charlotte two hours from here.
So it's in a good area.
What we do get is a lot ofpeople that are going to the beach

(21:53):
to play golf stop by here ontheir way and play here, spend the
night in Florence, you know,because a lot of times when you go
to the beach, you can't checkin until like 2, 3 o' clock.
Right.
So they'll come here and playand then they'll go over to the beach
the next day.
And so that's, that's a goodselling point for us too.
Year round golf too.

(22:14):
Absolutely.
I mean, you know, there was afew days in maybe January and February
that was a little chilly andthe greens were at frost on them
and that type of thing.
But I can't remember hardly aday here other than, you know, when
it's raining and that type ofthing that you can't play here.
Yeah.
And you know, that's, that's areal selling point too.

(22:36):
You know, obviously you get,the people come down here, I guess
they call them snowbirds.
Right.
That come down from, from upeast and they come through here particularly
in January, February, March.
And you know, they love thatwarm weather.
And that's the thing aboutSouth Carolina, too.
I think the weather is fantastic.
This is, this is Michael's porch.

(22:57):
Who is Michael?
Michael is Michael DeanSigmund, who unfortunately passed
away about five years ago inan auto accident.
And his family, Diane and DeanSigmund wanted to do something in
his memory and so they starteda scholarship fund.
In fact, we just had hisannual golf tournament this past

(23:20):
weekend with almost 90 golfers here.
Wow.
Raising money for scholarships.
And so this porch was built inhis honor.
And so, you know, he was areal vibrant young man.
He was one of three tripletshere in the community.

(23:43):
And so this porch is named inhis honor and in his memory.
I see that we have somesponsored bricks.
Yes, there's still theavailability of sponsoring bricks.
There are.
And like I said, it's MichaelDean Sigmund Memorial Scholarship.
I think They've raised almost$40,000 scholarship money over the

(24:07):
past handful of years thatthey've had this tournament.
And again, I think that justkind of is a.
Goes to show you, you know, aCommunity, like Darlington is a tight
community, tight knit community.
And you know, when, when, whensomeone hurts, you know, you get,

(24:28):
you get people to wrap yourarm, their arms around you.
And so that's what thiscommunity has done for that family
and continues to do for that family.
And, and, you know, it's.
Every time we come out here,you know, we think of Michael.
Yeah, we passed the, the redbar zone.
Tell me about that.

(24:49):
Yeah, the red bar is, is kindof tucked over in the corner.
It's, I guess you could kindof call it our quote unquote cheers
bar.
Okay.
The golfers love going in there.
You know, that's when they goin there and they, they count up
their bets and they look attheir scorecards and maybe get their

(25:09):
erasers out and start figuringout, well, maybe I didn't get a five
on that hole, maybe I reallyhad a four and that type of thing.
But it's kind of a place whereyou can kind of, you know, say whatever
you want to say in there.
And, and there's, there's nota whole lot of filters in there,
if you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, so that's, that's.
That bar has, has a lot ofhistory here at the, at the country

(25:32):
club, and, and so we like tokeep it alive and well as well as
the bar we have here in theBlack Creek Grill.
Any, any.
Nobody has any specificmemories of Arnold Palmer walking
out of a shower?
No, I don't.
You very well could have.
I don't know who knows who'swalked through, through these hallways
or who's.
Who's had a libation in thatbar, but I'm sure there's been some

(25:54):
stories that, that could be told.
Maybe, maybe not over thispodcast, but, you know, we might
have to do that, take that offline.
Well, I got to imagineDarlington has, has been around since
it was established in 1836,and it has seen, it saw, it saw fighting
during the Civil War.
There was, it's, it's, it's gone.

(26:14):
The country club's been herethrough World War II and Korean War.
One of the things that I sawonline was just the number of retirees
that come to the Darlington area.
Former Fort Jackson.
Right.
Department of Defense, thatsort of thing.
There is, there's a lot ofveterans that live in this area.

(26:36):
There are, and we certainlysalute those men and women, without
a doubt, every single day.
And, you know, that's.
I'm glad you brought that upbecause I think Darlington, you know,
has, that has that aura aboutbeing you know, God, family, United
States.
I think those are very, veryimportant aspects and attributes

(27:01):
of the folks that live in this community.
And it's a very resilientcommunity, as is the state of South
Carolina.
Very.
You know, the people in thisstate have a lot of grit, I think,
and same thing holds true for Darlington.
And, you know, it's acommunity that, as you said, has

(27:23):
been around a long, long time,was, you know, here during the Civil
War and that type of thing.
And, you know, it's, it's,it's interesting when you think about,
you know, the history of this town.
And, and, you know, they callthis town the pearl of the pd.
And so I think that'ssomething that speaks a lot for the,

(27:46):
for the character of this townand how this town is kind of, you
know, been resilient over the years.
Yeah, because you've got, it'sbetween the two rivers.
You got water reed just overto the east or to the west, and then
we got the PD over to the, tothe east.
Significant things havehappened in Darlington.
There were, there were, therewere years of flooding.

(28:07):
Oh, yeah, it's, it's, it'sexperienced, it's experienced its
own issues.
The Depression was not greatin Darlington.
Even driving through the town, right.
Saw that there, there arestill storefronts that.
Oh, there are, there are difficult.
And, you know, I think that'ssomething that, that the leadership
in this community is very,very conscious of, to try to rebuild

(28:31):
that town square.
Because I'm told that, youknow, back in the day, the town square
was very vibrant.
It's beautiful.
It is.
And, you know, thankfully, wehave had some local business people
that have opened up some, somestores and shops down there.
And, you know, it's, it's alittle by little that it happens.
But, you know, you take a lookat around here and some of the industry

(28:53):
that we have in Darlingtoncounty is pretty impressive.
I mean, you have Sunoco.
Yeah.
Who is a Fortune 500 company.
You've got Nucor Steel, whichis a huge, huge manufacturer of steel.
You got Georgia Pacific, Ithink, who used to be called Dixie

(29:14):
Cup.
Right.
And so I went.
One of the biggest papercompanies in the world.
Unbelievable.
I went through their planthere last year, and it's right here
in Darlington.
It's three miles from here.
Yeah.
And they, they, theymanufacture, I think, all the Dixie
cup plates, paper plates inthe world.

(29:36):
And it's amazing how many theymanufacture here.
And so, you know, just in thislittle small community, you, you
have some, some pretty active industry.
I Think that's, that's, that'sdefinitely one of the things that
has really.
Because in the last 15, 20years, Darlington has, has obviously
made a comeback.
It's almost, you know,Columbia's had its own experience

(29:57):
with coming back.
Absolutely.
But, but Darlington is one ofthe towns that, that continues to
rank as places that mostpeople want to move.
I think so.
And I think Darlington county,you know, includes Garlington and
Hartsville is a quality placeto live.
I think the education isgetting better.

(30:18):
The cost of living here, Ithink is very reasonable.
Unemployment here is very low.
And so the location, I thinkis ideal.
So I think this is a greatplace to settle down, to retire or
even raise a family.
Yeah.
When it comes toentertainment, you talked about that.
The lunch is open.

(30:39):
Dinner's open Wednesdaythrough Saturdays.
What other sorts of activitiesdoes the Darlington Country Club
offer as far as potential?
Not just golf, obviously.
And I see there's, there'sseveral bird.
The, the bird houses and the nest.
Yeah, the Martin house.
I was going to say the.
How, how, how often do martinsplay a role in somebody's shank or

(31:02):
hook?
They're very.
Well, good.
We got a lot of geese out heretoo, on some of the ponds.
They kind of come and godepending upon the seasons.
But, you know, we've got awonderful pool over here.
Olympic sized pool that, as Isaid, I think it's probably one of
the better pools in this, inthis region, to be honest with you.

(31:23):
We got pickleball everyTuesday morning.
There's probably 20 to 25people out there playing pickleball.
Got tennis courts, lightedtennis courts that people, you know,
can come and play.
And we have line dancing everyThursday night.
We have shag lessons, youknow, if you, if you're, if you want
to, you know, become a greatshag dancer or I guess that's what

(31:46):
you call it shagger.
So we, we offer those types of things.
We had a group of about 30ladies in here today playing bridge.
I accuse them of gambling, butthey, they said that they're not
gambling.
So they're in there playingbridge and you know, it.
You know, there's alwayssomething going on up here.
And I know the month of May,we had, every weekend we had a wedding

(32:07):
here.
That's great.
And you look at this venuehere and what a pretty nice backdrop
for a wedding here, to behonest with you.
And so we have class reunions here.
And you know, this is, thisfacility can hold up to probably
close to 300 people.
Okay.
And so, you know, and it's gota good aura to it.

(32:30):
It's, it's, you know, not toofancy, but yet not too, too plain.
It's got a little bit of, Ithink, class to it.
And so it's a good place tohave a, have a function, have an
event and, you know, we'reproud of it.
Dana's Bar.
Right?
Another, that's another bar.
Well, it's Dana's Corner.
Dana's Corner.
Right out here.
Dana's Corner.

(32:50):
And it's a great place there.
We'll open that up for, youknow, like a little bit of a serving
station during the summer for,for folks to come in and get sandwiches,
get drinks, etc.
Off of the pool.
We've got some great outdoorgrills over here underneath that
shelter where people canbring, you know, some food in and

(33:12):
grill out.
I know this past Memorial Day,we had a big cookout over there late
in the day and our Fourth ofJuly event here that we have for
our members is really, really cool.
And we'll let members decoratetheir golf cart carts.
We'll have a golf cart paradethrough the neighborhood.
Okay.
And, and so that's pretty,pretty much fun and you know, just,

(33:35):
just an opportunity to comeout here and when, when, when, when
this, this Michael's porch is,is, you know, ready to roll and we
have music out here and so forth.
You get 50 or 60 people out here.
It's a really good time.
Yeah.
Zach would be upset if Ididn't at least ask you about the
Lou Holtz era at us.

(33:57):
What was your, I guess, yourparticipation in Lou Holtz's coming
to usc?
Well, I can tell you that, youknow, I was pretty, pretty heavily
involved with his hiring.
You know, the night before weactually hired Coach Holtz, we were

(34:18):
up in the legal department oncampus talking to coach and on the
phone and trying to workthrough the contract and things of
that nature.
And you know, we were up thereat about 2 o' clock in the morning
and finally got everythingsquared away.
And then I worked very closelywith him for six years as associate

(34:41):
ad and you know, he was a, hewas a one of a kind guy, to be honest
with you, and still keep intouch with him.
He, I don't think there was abetter coach in the country at building
a program up that had fallen down.
Yeah, you know, you look atthe places that he had been over

(35:02):
the years, whether it be NCState, Minnesota, Arkansas, Notre
Dame and then South Carolina.
Every one of those programsthat he took over was, was at the
bottom.
Yeah.
And by the time he left, itwas at the top.
And so, you know, he wasreally, really good at doing that.
And he, he was this, you know,he had some one liners.

(35:25):
He was just a uniqueindividual, being around him.
And I enjoyed those years, for sure.
Yeah.
One of, One of my experienceswhen I was still living in Atlanta
and dating a girl who was inthe marching band at University of
Georgia.
So we, after.

(35:47):
I can't remember whose defeatit was that Georgia, that Georgia
faced that defeat, but it was.
It was Donnan's, DonovanDonan's last game.
Okay.
And he was replaced by Mark Rick.
Mark Rick.
Yep.
Well, we were sitting at theIHOP in Athens, and the loss was

(36:09):
still.
You know, I was.
I'm a Georgia Tech fan.
I was recruited at Georgia Tech.
But.
We were sitting at the IHOP atAthens, and while we're sitting there,
I'm looking across therestaurant and I recognize Mark Rich.
And I told my girlfriend atthe time and her brother, we were

(36:29):
sitting there eating.
I said, that's Mark Richt over there.
I said, I said, I bet you theyfired Donan.
I said, I said, I said, I'mjust gonna walk over there and ask
him.
I walked over.
It was a Sunday morning.
I walked over to the tablethat Mark Richt and his wife and
his kids were sitting at, andI said, I said, hey, my name is Barrett
Gruber and I just want to.
I just want to say hello.
I said, I think.

(36:50):
I think you're a great coach.
I said, I said, are you hereto take over at Georgia?
He just, he looked up at me,he just grinned at me.
And he said.
He said, I can't say anything yet.
Exactly.
Because it was three dayslater they announced that.
They announced it.
So he was probably in townthat day talking to the athletics
director and the president andthe board of trustees and trying
to get things worked out, etc.

(37:11):
But yeah, I mean, we spentmany a times over at Georgia, you
know, gets coach done and RayGoff, Vince Dooley, Mark Richt.
I'd already left before KirbySmart got there.
But that's a great rivalry.
And you know, those twostates, South Carolina and Georgia
recruit against one another,but yeah, you know, we actually beat

(37:33):
them a few times when I was atSouth Carolina, and that was always
a good win.
When you beat Georgia, youknew you'd played a very, very good
game.
There are very few games thatI don't root for South Carolina to
win that.
Very rarely do they playGeorgia Tech, right?
Very rarely.
Haven't Played them recently.
Played them a couple timeswhen I was there and beat them once

(37:54):
or twice.
And then they.
They beat us a couple times, too.
So I say.
You can say.
You can say Georgia Tech gotbeat a lot.
Well, you know, but I don't know.
Out of.
Out of all the schools, Georgia.
Georgia Tech, Florida, GeorgiaTech still has the most national
championships out of them.
And that's something.
I agree with you.
They do.
And some of them date back fora ways.
But, I mean, you can.
You can always say, look at the.

(38:16):
Look at the trophy.
Exactly, exactly.
It's the rings.
That's right.
Rings.
You got.
One of the other things thatwe got to discuss last time was about
the Southern 500 invitation.
And that is a yearly event, right?
It's.
That has not taken place thisyear yet, has it?
No, it's August 22nd throughthe 24th.

(38:37):
Okay, so tell me a little bitabout how that came about.
What was.
I mean, I assume it was alittle bit before your time they
started doing it, but.
Yeah, this will be the 61styear for our tournament.
It's.
I think it's one of.
The longest.
One of the longest runningamateur golf tournaments in the state.
Yeah.
And, you know, obviously thename Southern 500 is tied in with

(39:01):
the race that's happened somany years over at Darlington over
Labor Day.
Yeah.
And so our tournament was always.
Is always the week before that race.
And, you know, they say thatback in the day that when the driver
schedules were a lot differentthan they are now, that the drivers

(39:24):
would actually come in andplay in this tournament.
And they said it wasn'tunusual for some of the drivers to,
you know, come and participate.
Yeah, of course, theirschedules are a lot different now.
40 races a year now.
Yeah.
And, you know, their time atthe track is not what it used to
be.
They usually come in the daybefore the race now and, you know,

(39:44):
and that type of thing.
So.
But, you know, it's atournament that has a lot of history.
Like I said, there's a lot ofconnection with the racetrack.
And, you know, I think it's atournament that people want to come
and play.
We get people from all overthe state to come in and play, and
a lot of them are some of thebest golfers in the state.
And so, you know, we'reexcited once again to host it again

(40:07):
here.
August 22nd, 23rd and 24th.
Going back to the centennialof the Country Club, what do you
think has allowed the CountryClub to really be a part of the Darlington
community for so Long.
Well, I just think that, youknow, it's the people, you know,

(40:29):
whether it be the people that,you know, formed the club back in
1926, there's always been thatkind of common bond that this club
must succeed.
And I'll be honest with you,there was a time when I first moved
to Darlington about nine yearsago that this club wasn't in very

(40:50):
good shape.
Sure.
You know, it was struggling.
There's a lot of those.
So it was, it was, you know, atough time for this club.
And then when our currentowners, Timmy and Nancy Huntley,
took over the club a littleover five years ago, close to six
now, they really breathe newlife into this country club.
And so people that have notbeen here before.

(41:13):
There was a gentleman thatplayed in this hobos tournament that
we had here today.
He said he had not played atthis club in 40 years.
Wow.
40 years since he'd been toDarlington Country Club.
He said, unbelievable, the transformation.
He said the last time heplayed here was a nine hole course
and one of the holes wentacross the road over here.

(41:36):
And so, you know, again, Ijust go back, I say, I think it's
the people, I think it's theresolve to make sure that this club
made it.
Because, you know, even in asmall community like this, to have
a club like this that offers,you know, the different forms of
entertainment and, and socialopportunities that it does, I think

(42:01):
it's important.
And so I think those peoplethat, you know, were, were, I think
they were invested in the cluband to make sure that it succeeded
no matter what.
Yeah.
Cleaning, getting a golfcourse back up is, is not a, is not
an easy thing to do.
No, it's not.

(42:22):
My.
So my godparents, my godmothernow lives across the street from
Eastlake Country Club in Decatur.
And when we grew up, when I,when I was a child, one of the things
that my parents and then mygodparents also did was that they,
they were part of arevitalization of the Eastlake Country
Club.

(42:42):
And now it hosts thechampionship, right?
It does.
TGA Tour Championship.
Yeah.
Excuse me.
At the end of the year.
Yeah.
It's one of those things thatit's not just about putting money
into a place, but it's aboutreally driving the community to invest
themselves into it as well.
And this is an amazing course.

(43:03):
I mean, fortunately.
And thank you tobroadstreet.net for setting this
up for us.
No doubt.
But they provided me withdrone footage that, that it's pretty
good.
I, I put on a Loop for some of them.
Yeah.
And, and there's a, except forthe ones where I can clearly see
the guy operate.
I can, I can see him standing there.
Right.

(43:24):
I, I, I'm, we're gonna, and,and in the footage of this, you're
probably seeing some of it onYouTube, but it is, it is really
a substantially beautiful course.
It is the creek.
I, I like the footage of the creek.
It's, it's, it's, it's really,really pretty.
It is.
And, and, you know, that addsso much to it.
And it's, and when Timmy tookover the club, like I said, years

(43:48):
ago, he did a lot of work outthere, cleared a lot of trees out.
And as you can see, you canlook through there and see 15, 16,
and most of 17.
And, you know, beforehand, you couldn't.
All that was, was trees.
And so I think he reallyopened up the course, added a lot
of character to the course.

(44:10):
And so it's, it's, it is, it'sa very, very scenic golf course that,
you know, if you've never beenhere before and you, and you, you
know, you come and play, Ithink you'll be, you'll come away
very, very happy.
There is, there's nothingabout the distance to here or the

(44:31):
drive that should preventanyone from coming out and visiting.
Right.
I agree.
We had a gentleman here thatwas here last week, lived over in
Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach.
He'd never been here before.
He joined with some of hisfriends that were from Florence,
and he said, I am so glad Imade the drive from Myrtle beach

(44:52):
over here.
He said it wasn't that far.
He said, had a wonderful time.
And he said, I plan on coming back.
Yeah.
What's some of the feedbackthat you get from other members or
just visitors?
Well, 99.9% of the time, it'spositive that, you know, I really
enjoy your course.
It gave me, you know, justenough challenge for what I needed.

(45:18):
You know, we have a good groupof members that are faithful and
play, as I say, some of themplay eight days a week, you know,
out here at the golf course.
And, and so they're the kindof the, the, the lifeblood of the
club, I guess you would say.
Yeah, the men and women thatcome out here and play all the time.

(45:41):
And so, but it's, to me, it's,it's really rewarding when you get
a group of people, whetherthey come in from West Virginia or
Tennessee or Alabama, and ifthey're on a golf trip, they'll come
in and Play and not reallyknowing a whole lot about the country
club they play, and they, theycome in the golf shop or in the restaurant

(46:04):
or the bar afterwards and theygo, man, I had no idea that this
course was like this.
And so I think that that is,you know, makes you, makes you proud
that people are enjoying whatyou have to offer.
And yet I also think that thebest is yet to come.

(46:24):
I really, I really believethat, that, you know, we've kind
of just scratched the surface.
And like I said, it's, and asyou mentioned, Barrett, it's, it's,
it's, it's a slow process toget a club turned around.
Right.
But I think this, this, thisclub is definitely heading in the
right direction.
That.01 negative feedback.

(46:47):
How much fun do you have withthe negative feedback?
Oh, I do.
You know, I always try to, tocounter any type of negativity with
humor.
Sometimes.
Yeah, I'm the same.
You know, somebody might say,well, you know, my golf cart, you
know, didn't go as fast as Iwanted to.
I said, well, if you wanted togo fast, you gone down to the racetrack

(47:08):
or something like.
Right.
You know, or something like that.
There's not a whole lot oftimes where they, where they aren't
satisfied with something.
And, and even if there is thatone little time, obviously, in my
mind, they are always right.
Sure.
Right.
The patron is always right.
And so you just try to makesure that whatever, maybe something

(47:31):
that didn't go exactly howthey wanted it to, you try to correct
it and make sure that, thatthey feel good about it once they,
they've brought that to your attention.
And I think that's winds upbeing the most important part, is
taking that negative feedbackand turning it into a potential that,
that makes it another click.
That makes it the, the, the,the, the course better or the club

(47:52):
better.
Absolutely.
Obviously, you know, thefeedback that you receive from members,
the Facebook page is almostall gleaming.
So I, I assume that no one'sever gone in there and deleted comments.
No, I don't think so.
I, I, I think, you know,obviously we get, it's interesting,
you know, the thing that inBroad street does such a great job.

(48:16):
Yeah.
Their staff is second to none.
But it's interesting to seethe comments that we get on certain
posts, particularly when itinvolves members or personalities
at the club, whether it be ahole in one or someone, you know,

(48:39):
having a special experiencehere or reuniting with someone or
that type of thing.
It's very, very, you know,refreshing to know.
In fact, here recently we hada young, young boy about 3 years
old.
His favorite NASCAR driver isRoss Chastain.

(49:01):
Okay.
And when Ross Chastain wins arace, his family are watermelon farmers
from Florida.
And so when he wins a race, hegets a watermelon and smashes the
watermelon in victory lane.
Right?
Yep.
So he won the Coca Cola 600 here.
Recently we had a little boynamed Daniel Hannaford, and his dad

(49:24):
sent me a video the next dayof his little three year old getting
up on top of his little carand smashing a watermelon.
Right.
And so I sent that to thefolks at Broad street and we got
a lot of great, a lot of greatresponse off of that.
That's awesome.

(49:44):
You know, it's, it's, it'ssometimes it's the human nature or
human interest aspects thatyou get that people really like to,
to engage with.
And the owners are obviouslyvery accessible.
They are, they are very accessible.
They're born and raised in Darlington.
I mean, they absolutely love Darlington.

(50:06):
Both of them grew up in Darlington.
And, you know, this is very,very important place for them.
And so for them to, you know,take that leap of faith and, you
know, take on this countryclub, I think, is a big commitment
and, and something that, youknow, they're very, very invested

(50:29):
in.
Yeah, they're also.
I read a lot online about someof the community outreach that the
club does.
I see that they're sponsors orthey're involved in a lot of what
goes on as far as, like, celebrations.

(50:51):
I assume that that's going to continue.
Absolutely, it's going to continue.
In fact, we are in the processcurrently of establishing a nonprofit
entity for our Southern 500Golf Invitational.
And our plan is to transitionthat to be Friends of the Southern

(51:17):
500 Junior Golf.
Okay.
And so we want to, to be ableto provide and give things back,
give scholarships back toyoung people in this, in this community
that can help further theirgolf careers.
And, you know, some peopledon't have the opportunity or the,
or the wherewithal maybe to,to play golf.

(51:39):
Yeah.
You know, there's a costinvolved when you play.
Sure.
You know, and so we want to beable to do that.
And our owner, Timmy, hasalready been doing that on his own
over the last several years.
But we're going to make thisSouthern 500 a nonprofit, a 501C3,
where people who contributeand sponsor, whether it be the Southern

(52:03):
500 Golf Invitational or otherevents that we have here, that, that
will funnel into the Friendsof the Southern 500 Junior Golf and
will be, you know, tax exemptfunds and.
And be able to go help buildscholarships for.
For young people.
Greatest cost of golf for mewas pride.

(52:23):
Yeah, I understand.
What.
Are there any specificcelebrations that will be happening
as far as the hundredth.
The centennial celebration?
I mean, do you have.
Do you have events plannedaround that?
We do.
We've already been havingcentennial planning committee meetings.
In fact, we have our next onenext week.
But probably our biggest eventthat we have on the Horizon, Barrett,

(52:47):
is December 31st of this year.
Okay.
Is going to be our centennialgala ball here at the country club.
It will be a, you know, veryformal event for our members.
Bow ties.
Yeah.
You know, bow ties, tuxes, youknow, shorts.

(53:07):
Whatever you think.
But no, it'll be a very niceevent that we'll have here at the
club.
We have lined up the band, theBand of Oz, which is a very, very
popular band here in the Carolinas.
They've been around many, manyyears, and they're going to come
entertain us that night, andit's going to be a special evening

(53:29):
that will, I think, you know,serve as kind of the kickoff for
our centennial.
And then the entire 2026,we'll have a series of.
Of events and milestones thatwe'll celebrate for our centennial.
So as someone who led theDarlington Raceway and now you lead

(53:50):
this club.
Well, I don't lead this club.
Okay.
Let's say.
Let's say I'm an ambassador.
You're an ambassador for the club.
Yes, sir.
I want you to brag on yourselfa little bit.
What do you feel youcontribute to this club?
Well, I think, you know, frommy standpoint, I've been blessed
with the ability to communicate.

(54:11):
Yeah.
I've been blessed with theability to build relationships.
And, you know, I think that'simportant to build relationships
when you're.
When you're working withpeople, you know, I enjoy that.
Just like when I worked insports and worked in nascar, people
always said, man, you mustreally love cars.

(54:32):
I said, not really.
I just love being aroundpeople and, you know, and the relationships
that I was able to develop incollege sports and in NASCAR and
now here at the country club,to me, that's my.
If I can.
If I can do one thing, andthat is just cultivate relationships
that help this club getbigger, better, and a better place

(54:56):
for people to enjoy themselves.
Yeah.
This is.
Obviously, this isn't just aretirement job, though.
I mean, it's.
But it's got to be one of thegreatest retirement jobs.
Well, I tell you I don'treally even feel like I've been retired.
There was about a month inthere where, you know, I was at the
house before I started workingout here, maybe about six, six or

(55:20):
seven weeks.
But, you know, I enjoy this.
Like I said, it's.
I'll be honest with you, Barrett.
I've never really had a job Ididn't like.
Okay.
And so.
And this is obviously, youknow, along those lines, this is.
This is a job that I enjoy,and, you know, I enjoy getting up

(55:42):
in the morning and coming overhere and being a part of the.
Of the.
Of the team and, you know,making sure that everyone is enjoying
themselves.
And whether it be a tournamentor just a night at the.
At the restaurant or any kindof the events that we're having,
I like being a part of that.
And so, you know, when you.

(56:05):
When you're.
When you're able to dosomething like that, you feel blessed,
and I certainly feel blessed.
What would you consider a badday here at the club when it rains?
Just.
Just the rain?
Yeah, rains.
I mean, you know, obviouslywhen it rains, you can't play golf,
you can't swim, and you can'tplay tennis, and you can't play pickleball.
So, you know, we don't have awhole lot of rain here.

(56:27):
Now, some days we need rainfor that golf course to grow and
flourish, but really, thatwould be the only time I would say
that.
And it's not a bad day.
It's just that, you know, itputs a little damper on it, but it.
Allows you to clean.
Do some office work.
Oh, yeah.
Do some office work, you know,being there and, you know, do some
things inside, etc.
But that would be the onlytime that I would say is, you know,

(56:51):
maybe not someday you want todo cartwheels or something.
If.
If someone were looking foryou and they couldn't find you here
at the clubhouse or theycouldn't find you in your office,
where would they most likelyfind Or.
You don't have to tell us ifyou don't want to.
If you don't want them to find you.
But what's.
What's the most likely placehere on the course they'd find you?
I just out here on the courseon my golf cart.

(57:12):
So whether it be takingpictures, you know, our owner came.
Came to me back in April andsaid, you know, those Isaiahs down
there around 10 and 11 are gorgeous.
And so they.
I mean, they really were.
This was the week of theMasters, okay.
And so I went down there andgot some photos and sent them over

(57:33):
to the good people at Broad street.
And, you know, something like,you know, hey, if you think you're
Augusta, blink twice, butyou're really at Darlington Country
Club, you know, So I go out onthe course a lot just to kind of
see how things are going.
I like going out and.
And, you know, interactingwith the members as they play.

(57:56):
Particularly like being outhere on this putting green with a.
When a group comes in and, youknow, I start giving them a hard
time about, hey, I heard youlost 10 bucks last week and maybe,
you know, you need to go takesome more lessons or things like
that.
But I just enjoy, you know,the putting green.
I'm out here a good bit, andsometimes in the afternoon when things
a little slow, I might go hita few balls or something, but.

(58:19):
Or even putt around here alittle bit.
But I enjoy just kind ofhanging out here in the putting green.
Any fishing to be done on the black?
There is some fishing to bedone well there.
We've got a couple littlesmall ponds out there.
Okay.
And I'm not a big fisherman,but I have seen a lot of young people
out there fish, and I've seensome fish caught out of there.
And, you know, I'm not sureabout the Black Creek.
I'm sure there's fish in there too.

(58:40):
But we do have two or threeponds out here, I think, that have
some fish in them.
Okay.
Yeah, it's an amazing facility.
I absolutely look forward toat least doing two or three holes
with you one day.
I'd love for you to come outand play and bring the group from
Broad street and, you know,we'll have lunch and it would be.

(59:04):
It would be my pleasure foryou all to do that.
Oh, yeah.
What.
As far as.
As far as.
One of the things thateverybody talks about with the masters
is the fact that they have their.
Their pimento cheesesandwiches, their egg salad sandwiches.
Is there a signature dish thatyou can think of that.
That.
That people ought to.

(59:24):
First thing they ought to order?
Well, I can tell you that offof our lunch menu, there's two or
three really go to's.
We have a fantastic chicken quesadilla.
Like, as I mentioned earlierin our talk here, we have a Reuben
sandwich.
It's best Reuben sandwich I'veever had.

(59:46):
Chicken salad is.
This is pretty spectacular.
And then we have somethingcalled a hole in one burger.
Okay.
Which is really, really good too.
So, you know, if you comeSunday for our lunch buffet, you
get some of the best friedchicken you'd ever had, too.
Okay.
And I tell our guy back there,Big John, his nickname is Heavy.

(01:00:11):
I say, john, I said, listen, Isaid, that fried chicken that you
make is right up there with my mom's.
And so anytime I think that Ican tell one of our people in the
kitchen that what they'recooking is as good as my mom's is
the ultimate compliment.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
Well, very excited for the100th anniversary centennial celebration.

(01:00:34):
I know December 31, the galathat's going to be members only,
though, right?
Right.
But a lot of celebration to come.
Southern 500 is coming up in August.
It's a week before theDarlington Feedback.
Right.
August 22nd, 23rd, 24th.
And we're going to get on ourwebsite where you can enter, you

(01:00:55):
know, sign up for it or evensign up for a sponsorship.
And so we'll have that up onour website here in the next couple
of days.
But that's a, that's a funtournament for people in this area
to play in, and we lookforward to that.
And we've got a couple otherbig tournaments coming up.
We've got a tournament June30th here that is a Champions of

(01:01:17):
Charity Golf tournament.
The Dexter Davis, who's formerClemson and NFL standout from Sumter,
is kind of being a part of.
And so we expect around 18 or20 former college and NFL greats
to be here, and they'reorganizing teams to play with that
group.
So that's on June 30th.
I think that'll be a lot offun for people to come and hang out

(01:01:38):
with some of those celebrities.
If there's one last closingthing that you could potentially
say about the DarlingtonCountry Club that maybe we haven't
said yet.
What is, what is that?
What is that one thing thatunderlies just the club itself?
Well, I would tell people, ifyou haven't been here, come check
us out.
Yeah.
And it's a, it's anopportunity to, you know, join a

(01:02:03):
smaller community of folksfrom around this area.
It's a great place to come andsocialize, fellowship and, and, you
know, so many opportunitiesfor you to come and do things that
you might not have that opportunity.
So I would tell people that,you know, sometimes country clubs

(01:02:26):
have a kind of a bad stigma, too.
You know, it's nothing but abunch of stuffy people that, you
know, that type of thing.
But this country club is, Ithink, full of good people that have
great values and are family oriented.
So I would encourage people tocome give us a look and, and we'd
love to have you become partof our family.

(01:02:46):
Well, you had the hobos outhere earlier, so, I mean, we did.
And I think I saw one of themon the golf cart coming through just
a little while ago.
His, his gray was his beard orhis beard was as gray as mine.
Oh, yeah.
Last question I wanted to askyou about the, the course.
What is, what is some of the most.
I, I cannot imagine that thisis easy to maintain.

(01:03:08):
You have to have a great staff.
We have a fantastic staff.
And you know, Jim Vernon isour general manager and director
of golf and Jim has been inthe business for well over three
decades.
Does a fantastic job.
David Strickland is our coursesuperintendent and I would tell you

(01:03:31):
I think he's one of the bestin the area.
Does a great job, has a great staff.
As I mentioned already,Charles Lyon is our executive chef
and he has a good, good groupof people with him in the kitchen.
And then Val Vance is ourevents coordinator and we hired her
back in January and she's gotgreat experience from the state of

(01:03:51):
Florida and a lot of nonprofits.
And so, you know, and then wehave a group of young people that
work in the pro shop or, youknow, work in the restaurant and
that type of thing.
So it's a good group, a veryhard working group, a very talented
group and a group that, youknow, our main goal is just to make

(01:04:13):
this country club great.
But yeah, it's about a 365 daya year task to keep this place maintained.
And so when they like to sayno rest for the weary.
When do the sprinklers turn on?
The sprinklers are turned onright after we're done with this
podcast.

(01:04:33):
But actually our coursesuperintendent, David can do, do
everything from his phone.
Yeah.
And so all I would have to dois call him right now and say, hey,
I want to get Barrett and thefolks from Broad street wet.
And probably within a matterof minutes we'd be drenched.
Oh, I imagine so.
Yeah.
It's just the joke you hearabout golf courses.

(01:04:53):
The ninth at nine or whatever.
So I wasn't sure if there wasa schedule as to when you wanted.
To get the newbies.
He has it, but I don't thinkwe're to going, going to get wet
anytime soon.
That's great.
Well, Kerry, I want to thankyou for having us out here.
Thank you for being here.
I appreciate the opportunityand appreciate all my friends from
Broad street being here.
And you know, again, I'm Goingto take this opportunity.

(01:05:14):
Give me 15 seconds.
Yeah, no, please do.
Just to comment on them andthe great work that they do for us.
And, you know, when you.
When you.
When you work with people likethem, you consider them family.
And I had the opportunity togo here a few weeks ago.
They opened up a new officethere in Camden.
It's a wonderful office.
Tom and his team are just terrific.

(01:05:36):
They do such a good job forus, and, you know, we're blessed
to have them.
But I appreciate you allcoming out.
And, you know, I miss Zach.
Tell Zach he's probably ondiaper duty or something today, right.
He celebrated a birthday onMay 18, so if you want to, you could
tell him a happy birthday.
It was recent.
Hey, zach.
Happy birthday.

(01:05:57):
May 18th.
You only beat me by five days.
Mine was on the 23rd.
Great people born in the monthof May, but I imagine I'm a little
older than you.
But I hope, Zach, you can comeback next time.
And, you know, we'll.
We'll.
We'll take real good care of you.
Well, please thank the ownersfor us also.
Absolutely.
Timmy and Nancy Huntley aregreat owners and they appreciate

(01:06:20):
everything thing that you alldo as well.
They were very friendly and ofcourse, thanks to the broad street.net
team, because if not for them,we wouldn't have had this opportunity.
And truly appreciate it.
So.
Absolutely.
Carrie, really great to seeyou, Barry.
It was very good to see you.
I want you to come back now.
I mean, I mean that now.
As I like to tell people, micasa es su casa.
Well, this is a beautiful house.

(01:06:41):
That means my house is your house.
Yeah, this is a beautifulhouse, too.
So everybody please make sureto come out and visit Darlington
Country Club.
You can check their websitefor hours, rates and things like
that.
To become.
Be able to come out and playis do you have to bring your own
golf court?
Cart?
Don't bring your own golf cart.
We've got 50 golf carts in there.

(01:07:01):
So I bring mine because it'sconvenient and, you know, I like
riding around on it.
Yeah, that's lovely.
Well, absolutely, we willdefinitely come out.
I will bring the kids.
We'll do some pool time or something.
Love for you guys to come out.
Love for you guys to come out.
So thank you again for beingon the show.
Thank you.
We're going to turn it backover to the studio.
All right.
Welcome back to the studio again.

(01:07:23):
Just a big thanks to KerryTharp and everybody at the Darlington
Country Club.
The owners as well as thestaff absolutely had a wonderful
time there.
Thank you to broadstreet.netfor the opportunity to go out and
do this with them.
It's going to be a huge celebration.
I hope that everyone partakesin visiting the Darlington Country
Club in Darlington, South Carolina.

(01:07:46):
While it's going on.
There are going to be plentyof tournaments.
Go ahead and follow on theirFacebook as well as their social
media of all sorts and their webpage.
So there will be links in theshow notes.
You can go check those out.
Thank you again to theDarlington Country Club and Carrie
Tharp had a absolutelyfantastic time.
Real quick, help us win BestLocal Podcast.
It's simple.

(01:08:06):
Hit the show notes or visitVisit the all about nothing.com for
voting link.
You'll need to register sothey know you're human.
But hey, we all prefer thatyou be human.
I mean I'm not saying that we.
Wouldn'T like a few morehundred thousand.
Bots to listen to the show, but.
You know, post and courierfree times.
They'd prefer you be human ifyou're voting.
So it's gonna do it forepisode number 258.

(01:08:27):
Again, thank you Carrie Tharpfor being on the show with me and
having us out.
Links to all of our pastepisodes, podcast platforms, merchandise
and social media are availableat our page, theallaboutnothing.com
and if you think our financialmodel of giving away this free content
and entertainment is silly andyou're in the giving mood, please
become an official nothingerand support the show.
Members get early access tothis episode as well as exclusive

(01:08:48):
content.
You can visitmembers.theallaboutnothing.com or
you can find a link on our webpage.
You can also give us a onetime donation through the same link.
If you'd like to be a part ofthe show, you can call and leave
us a message 803-672-0533 oryou can email the show at the All
About Nothing.
You can join our Discordserver as well.
There are links on our webpageespecially for people that want to

(01:09:09):
be guests on the show.
Just go check out our webpage,email us, call us, we'll get back
in touch with you.
I've got.
I've got interviews lined upof people that have reached out via
phone or text or whatever.
So do that.
Thank you again for listening everybody.
You all stay safe, be kind andkeep your hands to yourself.
The All About Nothing podcastis a product of Big Media and produced

(01:09:29):
and engineered by me, Barrett Gruber.
Thanks to Cake for our intro music.
Sick of you.
You can follow everything Cakethe band at Cake.
Thanks to Muff, the producerfor our Outro Music.
You can follow muff onInstagram ufftheproducer.
You can follow me acrosssocial media by visiting linktree
barrettgruber and you canfollow Zach King on linktree aanzak.
Wanna support the show?
Visit our webpagetheallaboutnothing.com and become

(01:09:52):
a member.
There are several tiersavailable that give you early access
to episodes as well asexclusive content.
To find links to our socialmedia, podcast platforms and merchandise
to support the show as well aspast episodes, visit theallaboutnothing.com
if you'd like to be a part ofthe show, you can email theshow theallaboutnothing.com
or you can call our number andleave a message.
Dial 803-672-0533.

(01:10:14):
If the time between theseepisodes is more than you can handle,
check out our sister showswhat the Pod Was that?
With Carrie, Zach and myself.
Welcome to Wonderland withAmie, Politically Speaking with Erica
Kirsten and Emily and Black,White and Blue in the south with
Dr.
Jamil Brooks and Bill Kimler.
Please subscribe and sharethis show.
If you're on YouTube, pleasesubscribe and punch that notification
bell.
Thank you for listening andhear us next week.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

United States of Kennedy

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}A Legacy of Excellence: Kerry Tharp Discusses the Darlington Country Club's Centennial

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}United States of Kennedy

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

All Episodes

A Legacy of Excellence: Kerry Tharp Discusses the Darlington Country Club's Centennial

United States of Kennedy