Former club presidents reminisce on “Wildcat Way” of life
In 1961, Wildcat Cliff’s Country Club was founded; now 60 years later, it is still known by its members for its “Wildcat Way.”
Former president Geoff Nixon said the Wildcat Way are the core values that keep Wildcat Cliffs the most unique country club on the plateau.
“We are generous of heart; we are surrounded by and appreciate a great group of people; we do things together; and we cultivate a warm, welcoming atmosphere that members treasure and take time to sustain,” Nixon said. “The friendliness here is a culture. It’s what makes Wildcat Cliff’s, Wildcat Cliff’s.”
In its early beginnings, Wildcat Cliff’s Country Club started when Dr. William A. “Bill” Matthews and his wife Beverly began purchasing land on Whiteside Mountain in 1948. In 1961, the Matthews purchased two large tracts of land from Till Powell, making it possible to construct a golf course.
On March 1, 1961, Articles of Incorporation for Wildcat Cliffs Country Club were filed with the Secretary of State of North Carolina, and the first meeting of The CLIFFS Country Club was held in Cashiers, May 20, 1961.
Golf at Wildcat Cliffs
Matthews was a radiologist in Atlanta, who later moved to Highlands in 1947. He was an avid golfer, taking interest in the Highlands Country Club, where he eventually worked for several seasons. In one of the minutes compiled from its first meeting, Matthews described the golf course haven of The Plateau that he envisioned.
“It is envisioned that the four 18-hole courses in the Highlands-Cashiers-Sapphire section will compose a golfer’s mountain paradise, central to the Southeast and unequaled in the Southern Appalachians.”
Nixon describes Wildcat Cliff’s golf course as the most fun golf course on the Plateau.
“It is really enjoyable,” Nixon said. “It was renovated in 2008 under the supervision of Bill Bergin. He is a great architect. He has worked with Sky Valley’s golf course, Highlands Falls and is about to start working on Cullasaja’s. The views from the golf course are just spectacular.”
In 2006, the Town of Highlands approved the two-part renovation plan that included the $3.5 million renovation of the golf course. The plan also included $1.5 million to be spent on expanding the fitness center.
“As a property, Wildcat Cliffs offers all that mountain golf can deliver,” Bill Bergin said, describing his plan for the golf course. “Carved through native vegetation, with water features and rock outcroppings, playing through relatively flat valley land on the front nine, then climbing through hills on the back nine – the course presents a full variety of shot values on diverse terrain. The best golf courses offer this kind of ever-changing flow between challenge and opportunity. Wildcat manages all that in a beautiful mountain setting.”
Croquet at Wildcat Cliffs
Two years later, more than $87,000 were raised for construction of a golf croquet lawn at Wildcat Cliffs. In 2012, the lawn was constructed.
“We have a great croquet program here,” Nixon said. “We have more than 200 people involved.”
In anticipation of the new lawn, 35 Wildcat members went to the United States Croquet Association headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla., for two days of lessons during the winter of 2012.
Jeff Soo, one of the top professional instructors in the game, spent a week giving lessons, and the first WCCA board was elected consisting of Jeff Nixon, Patty Gassner, Jill Wiemer, Ellen Nagel, Sylvia Dorough and Bill Rethorst. The new board put together rules, ran clinics, and conducted a number of special events, highlighted by the first Club Championship. The success of the Club’s first season was topped off by Wildcat Cliffs being selected for the USCA’s 2012 Outstanding New Club of the Year award.
Bringing in new members
During 2019-2020 former president Tom Fuller and his wife held monthly cocktails with new members to introduce them to the Wildcat culture.
“Just listening to their testimonies was amazing,” Fuller said. “A while back we introduced preview memberships. We knew that we wanted people to be able to experience the Wildcat Way before they joined. The conversion rate this year was over 60 percent. I think that if we had on campus housing, it would be even higher.”
According to Fuller, just being friendly is not the reason why people stay at Wildcat Cliffs.
“If people are sick, other members take them to the doctor,” Fuller said. “One of our older members was sick over the winter and every week, a younger member would take her sick. I don’t think they have any connection other than them both being members. It just all goes back to the Wildcat Way.”
Looking towards the future
Current president Rosemary Milton said there are four projects the club is working on.
“We are adding a covered dining area right now,” Milton said. “We are also adding a Tent Tea House, which I think will be nice for our members. We are going to improve our fitness center and expand it so we will have a nice big patio.”
New housing for employees is another addition that Milton said they will be adding soon.
“I think that is important, especially when we are all competing for help,” Milton said. “We had old employee housing, but over the last three years, we have replaced it all.”
In 2020, the club iterated Vision 2030, the club’s long-range plan.
“This is something that we wanted to provide, because we want to make sure that the Wildcat Way is preserved for the next 10 years,” Fuller said. “It is a way for us to be organized and prepared for things that may happen.”
This article included excerpts and photos from “A History of Wildcat Cliffs Country Club.” The fifth edition of the club’s history.
- By Christopher Smith