Most people researching the benefits of joining a country club start with the obvious question: is it worth it? The honest answer depends entirely on which club, what you value, and how you plan to use it. But if you’re drawn to the mountains of Western North Carolina — the Cashiers and Highlands corridor, Sapphire Valley, the quiet ridgelines above Lake Toxaway — there’s a specific kind of answer waiting for you.
This guide walks through what private club membership actually delivers, why the mountain setting changes the equation, and why Burlingame Country Club in Sapphire Valley consistently earns its reputation as one of the most rewarding places to belong in the region.
What Are the Real Benefits of Joining a Country Club?
The benefits of joining a country club go well beyond a tee time. When people join Burlingame, they’re buying into a daily rhythm — morning rounds, lunch on the deck after tennis, an evening at Elevation 3042 with friends who’ve become family over a dozen seasons. The amenities are real, but the thing members talk about most is the community.
That said, the concrete benefits matter. Here’s what joining a private club in the mountains of Western North Carolina actually gets you.
1. Golf Access and Instruction at Elevation
For golfers, the benefits of joining a country club begin on the first tee. Burlingame’s 18-hole championship course was designed by Tom Jackson, whose creative vision plays out across mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and old-growth forests. At elevations ranging from 3,000 to 3,500 feet, the course plays differently than anything you’ll find at lower altitudes — the air is thinner, the ball travels farther, and every round presents conditions you simply can’t replicate elsewhere.
Members don’t wait for a tee time. They don’t share the course with the public. They play when they want, as often as they want, and they get to know every corner of one of the most memorable layouts in Western North Carolina.
The instruction side is just as strong. Golf Pro John Johnston brings a resume few club professionals can match — multiple MCPGA Player of the Year titles, more than 40 professional tournament wins, and early career experience at clubs like Seminole and Jupiter Hills. Members have direct access to that expertise through the club’s golf instruction programs, which cover everything from short game refinement to full swing analysis.
One of the less-discussed benefits of joining a country club in a mountain setting is what elevation does to your development as a golfer. You learn to read terrain, adjust for wind patterns that shift with ridgelines, and think more strategically about course management. Those skills transfer everywhere you play.
2. A Full Amenity Package, Not Just Golf
The benefits of joining a country club shrink considerably if the club is golf-only. Burlingame is built differently.
Lawn sports occupy a significant part of the member experience. Four Har-Tru tennis courts host interclub championships and regular member play. Four pickleball courts run constant action from morning through afternoon. The regulation USCA croquet lawn — recognized by Community Finder as among the top master-planned communities with this amenity — gives players a genuinely competitive surface for a sport that’s growing fast.
The Rejuvenate Spa, Wellness, and Fitness complex is a full wellness center, not just a weight room. Therapeutic massage, yoga classes, aqua fitness, private coaching, Bellanina Facelift Facial treatments, and personal training are all available year-round. The pool complex is the kind of place families return to every afternoon of the season.
Beyond the club facilities, the 1,450-acre property includes miles of hiking trails, fly fishing on the Horsepasture River, trout ponds, and a dog park. The benefits of joining a country club like Burlingame include access to a natural environment that most members would say rivals the amenities themselves.
3. Six Dining Venues That Make the Club a Daily Destination
Club dining is one of the most underappreciated benefits of joining a country club, and Burlingame takes it seriously. The newly renovated Clubhouse complex houses six distinct indoor and outdoor venues, each with its own personality.
Elevation 3042 handles breakfast, lunch, and dinner with grab-and-go options and a barista station — it’s the everyday casual option. The Overlook Lounge is perfect for meeting friends over a craft brew with panoramic mountain and course views. The Outdoor Dining Deck fills up after rounds and tennis matches. The Presidents’ Room handles private dinners and small gatherings of 8 to 14. Each venue serves a purpose, and together they give members a reason to be at the club most days.
Chef Gerry Fong — a Culinary Institute of America graduate who has won NC Competition Dining, appeared on Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and been recognized among Top 100 Chefs in NC — runs the kitchen with a farm-to-table approach rooted in local sourcing and seasonal menus. The culinary experience at Burlingame is one of the things prospective members consistently underestimate until they’ve eaten there.
The benefits of joining a country club in the dining category go beyond good food. It’s the wine society dinners, the Wednesday buffet, the Friday night social at the bar that becomes a standing tradition. Those experiences build the social fabric of membership.
4. Community That Builds Over Seasons
Every club has members. Not every club has community. The benefits of joining a country club feel most real when you walk into a place and feel like you belong.
Burlingame has more than 600 members who largely share the same values — a love of mountain living, outdoor activity, and the kind of friendship that comes from years of shared experience. Member testimonials consistently highlight the warmth of the community over the physical amenities. “Friends introduced us to Burlingame and we are still pinching ourselves at having found such a warm, welcoming, unpretentious and FUN place,” is how one couple put it.
That community shows up in specific ways: interclub tennis and pickleball competitions, croquet tournaments, member-guest golf events, wine tastings, seasonal celebrations. The club’s social calendar is built to give members regular reasons to connect.
For people new to the area — retirees settling in Sapphire Valley, families building second homes, couples who’ve been coming to the Cashiers-Highlands plateau for years and finally decided to commit — the benefits of joining a country club start with the people you meet in the first month.
5. Wellness and Fitness That Matches Your Life
The wellness program at Burlingame is built for the full range of what members need. Athletes use the fitness center for strength training, interval conditioning, and yoga. Members managing chronic conditions or recovering from surgery work one-on-one with therapists who know their history. The benefits of joining a country club that includes this kind of facility show up in quality of life, not just in recreation.
The Rejuvenate spa staff draws members who haven’t touched a golf club and may never. For them, access to therapeutic massage, private yoga coaching, and aqua fitness classes is the core of what membership delivers. The spa page gives a good sense of the range of services available year-round.
What’s true of mountain living generally is especially true at Burlingame: when nature itself surrounds you at 3,000 feet, wellness isn’t a program. It’s the air, the trails, the water, and the pace.
6. Real Estate and Community Ownership
For many members, the benefits of joining a country club connect directly to property. Burlingame is a member-owned club on 1,450 acres. The transfer of ownership to members completed in 2010 following a history that dates to the late 1800s and tracks with the development of Western North Carolina as a destination.
The Burlingame Property Owners Association (BPOA) manages roads, parks, hiking trails, and common areas for the community’s 600+ members. Membership in the club and ownership of property in the community are closely connected — many members see the club as inseparable from the lifestyle of living in Sapphire Valley.
For those considering properties in the Burlingame community, proximity to the club is a central consideration. Minutes from Cashiers and Lake Toxaway, the location combines mountain seclusion with access to everything that makes the plateau worth living on.
Why Mountain Clubs Offer Different Benefits Than City Clubs
People searching “benefits of joining the country club of Asheville” are often surprised to discover that the mountain clubs 90 minutes west offer something quite different from a city private club. The benefits of joining a country club in a setting like Sapphire Valley are rooted in space, nature, and pace of life that urban and suburban clubs can’t replicate.
You’re not competing for range time with commuters squeezing in a bucket of balls before work. You’re not eating in a dining room that shares a parking lot with a strip mall. You’re at 3,000 feet, on 1,450 acres, with the Horsepasture River running beside the second fairway and waterfalls reachable by trail from the clubhouse.
The mountain golf experience here is genuinely different from anything along the I-26 corridor near Asheville. For people who’ve discovered the Cashiers-Highlands plateau and want to put down roots, the benefits of joining a country club like Burlingame are inseparable from the landscape itself.
What to Expect When You Visit
The best way to understand the benefits of joining a country club at Burlingame is to come see it. Membership Director Jennifer Webb has guided hundreds of prospective members through the property — the course, the dining venues, the spa and fitness facilities, the lawn sports complex. Contact the club at 828.966.9200 to schedule a personal tour.
The question prospective members almost always leave with isn’t “is this worth it?” It’s “how do I get my name on the list?”
FAQ
What are the main benefits of joining a country club near Asheville?
The benefits of joining a country club in Western NC include private golf access on a championship course, tennis and pickleball facilities, a full spa and fitness complex, multiple dining venues, and a tight-knit community of like-minded members. Mountain clubs like Burlingame also add elevation golf, trail access, fishing, and a pace of life that Asheville-area city clubs don’t offer.
Do non-golfers get value from a private club membership?
Absolutely. Many Burlingame members rarely or never play golf. The lawn sports program, the spa, the dining venues, and the community events give non-golfers a full membership experience. The benefits of joining a country club extend well beyond the course.
How far is Burlingame from Asheville?
Burlingame Country Club is located in Sapphire Valley, approximately 90 minutes from Asheville via US-64. It’s minutes from Cashiers and Lake Toxaway, and close to Highlands.
Is Burlingame a private club or can guests play?
Burlingame is a private member club. The golf course and all facilities are reserved for members and their guests.
How do I start the membership process?
Contact Jennifer Webb, Membership Director, at 828.966.9200 or use the contact form on the website to schedule a personal tour and discuss membership options.
What makes Burlingame different from other private clubs in Western NC?
The combination of Tom Jackson’s championship course, a comprehensive amenity offering across golf, lawn sports, dining, and wellness, member ownership of the club, and the tight community that develops over multiple seasons sets Burlingame apart. The benefits of joining a country club here are broader and deeper than most alternatives in the region.