Burlingame’s Year-Round Sports Calendar: Clinics, Tournaments, and Social Play in Cashiers, NC

At Burlingame Country Club, sports are not a seasonal add-on. They are central to how the community lives. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Cashiers and Sapphire, North Carolina, the club has built a year-round sports calendar that spans multiple disciplines, formats, and skill levels. Whether you are stepping onto a pickleball court for the first time or competing in a member golf tournament, the programming here reflects a community that takes its active lifestyle seriously without taking itself too seriously.

The tagline “Country. Club. We’re pretty good at both.” captures it well. Burlingame’s sports calendar is where that promise becomes tangible, structured around clinics that teach, tournaments that challenge, and social play formats that simply bring people together.

A Sports Program Built Around Every Season

Burlingame’s year-round sports calendar is designed so that no season goes unused. The Blue Ridge Mountain climate at 3,000 feet elevation delivers cooler summers ideal for outdoor activity and mild shoulder seasons that extend the programming window well beyond what most flatland clubs can offer.

Golf anchors the calendar. The 18-hole course, with its scenic mountain views, hosts a rotating series of member tournaments throughout the warmer months, from stroke play competitions to fun scramble formats that welcome golfers of all handicap levels. Junior golf lessons and adult clinics run alongside these events, creating a pipeline from casual weekend play to competitive participation. According to the National Golf Foundation (2023), participation in recreational golf has grown consistently since 2020, with private clubs reporting stronger programming demand than at any point in the previous decade.

Tennis and pickleball share dedicated court space and a growing share of the weekly programming schedule. Structured round robins, skills clinics, and interclub social matches fill weekday mornings and weekend afternoons. Pickleball, in particular, has attracted a broad cross-section of the membership. According to the USA Pickleball Association (2024), the sport now has over 13.6 million active players in the United States, with private club adoption accelerating rapidly. Burlingame’s facilities position the club to meet that demand directly.

Croquet adds a dimension that few clubs in the region can match. Far from a purely social pastime, structured croquet play at Burlingame follows recognized lawn sports formats, and casual instruction is available for members who want to build their game.

Fly fishing on the Horsepasture River rounds out the outdoor sports offering, with guided access and seasonal programming that reflects the club’s deep respect for its natural surroundings. Hiking trails woven through the 1,450-acre property also support organized group outings coordinated by the Friends of Burlingame Hiking Trails program.

Burlingame’s year-round sports calendar spans golf, tennis, pickleball, croquet, fly fishing, and hiking, structured across all four seasons at the club’s mountain campus near Cashiers, NC. The elevated setting and member-driven programming model allow for consistent participation regardless of the time of year. This breadth of sports options is what distinguishes Burlingame as an active lifestyle community rather than a single-sport facility.

Clinics and Instruction: Building Skills Across All Levels

Instruction sits at the core of Burlingame’s sports programming. Clinics are not filler content on the calendar — they are structured pathways for members to build real competency across disciplines, whether they are picking up a racquet for the first time or refining a golf swing they have been working on for years.

Golf clinics at Burlingame address the full range of the game, from short game fundamentals to course management strategy. Group formats keep the sessions social and accessible, while individual lesson options allow for more targeted development. Children’s golf lessons run during peak summer programming, connecting younger members to the game early and reinforcing the multi-generational character of the club’s sporting culture.

Tennis clinics follow a tiered approach, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced sessions available throughout the active season. The instructional model emphasizes stroke technique, match strategy, and footwork, giving participants tools they can apply directly in social play and tournament formats. Pickleball instruction follows a similarly structured path, with dedicated beginner sessions that have proven especially effective at drawing in members who had never previously considered racquet sports.

“When a club builds its instructional programming around progression rather than just participation, you see members stay engaged season after season. The sport becomes a real part of their identity within that community.”

Dr. Laura Misener, Professor of Sport Management, Western University, speaking on the role of structured programming in private club member retention.

Croquet instruction at Burlingame occupies a unique space in the calendar. Because the sport is unfamiliar to many new members, beginner sessions tend to generate strong turnout and serve as natural social entry points into the broader sports community. The low physical barrier makes it particularly well-suited for multi-generational play.

Swimming lessons for children run through the summer months at the resort-style pool, adding another dimension to the family sports programming. The fitness center supports members who want to cross-train between sporting seasons, and its availability year-round means athletic development does not pause when outdoor conditions shift.

Clinics and instructional programming at Burlingame Country Club cover golf, tennis, pickleball, croquet, and swimming across multiple skill tiers, making the sports calendar accessible to members of all backgrounds near Cashiers, NC. The emphasis on skill progression rather than passive participation supports long-term engagement and community building. Structured instruction is the mechanism through which casual interest becomes genuine sporting involvement at Burlingame.

Tournaments and Social Play: Competition With a Community Spirit

Burlingame’s sports calendar balances structured competition with the kind of casual, social formats that keep the atmosphere warm and inclusive. Tournaments are a fixture of the golf and tennis programs, but they are designed to feel like community events rather than purely competitive pursuits.

Golf tournaments at Burlingame range from member-guest events to themed scrambles tied to holiday weekends. The 4th of July and Labor Day calendars regularly feature golf formats that integrate with the broader club celebrations, turning a round of golf into part of a full day of community activity. According to the National Golf Course Owners Association (2022), clubs that integrate golf programming with broader social events report significantly higher member satisfaction scores than those operating golf in isolation from other amenities.

Tennis and pickleball tournaments follow a similar spirit. Round robin formats ensure that all participants get meaningful court time regardless of skill level, and mixed-ability draws create natural social connections across the membership. Interclub matches with neighboring clubs in the Cashiers and Highlands area occasionally appear on the calendar, adding a competitive dimension that extends the community’s reach into the broader mountain plateau region.

Social play formats fill the space between formal clinic and formal competition. Drop-in tennis and pickleball sessions, informal fishing outings on the Horsepasture River, and group hikes coordinated through the Friends of Burlingame Hiking Trails all contribute to a sports culture where showing up without a reservation is still a meaningful option. This low-barrier access is part of what makes Burlingame’s sports calendar work across generations and ability levels.

The club’s dog park and trail network also support informal active community, where social interaction happens in motion rather than at a table. These elements, while not competitive in format, belong to the same philosophy that shapes the sports calendar: activity is how this community connects.

Burlingame Country Club’s tournament and social play programming near Cashiers, NC blends structured competition with casual, inclusive formats that reflect the club’s community-first identity. Golf tournaments, tennis round robins, pickleball events, and informal trail outings all serve the same purpose: keeping members active and connected across the sporting year. The result is a sports culture where participation is the norm rather than the exception.