What’s new at Ayden Golf and Country Club

Ayden Golf and Country Club Assistant Manager Wyatt Russell and General Manager Ryan Baker, from le , check out clubs in the pro shop.

Cool pool, green fairways

New manager takes reins at Ayden Golf and Country Club

By Emily Bronson

As locals welcome the returning summer months, the Ayden Golf and Country Club looks forward to the best time of year with a new general manager, Ryan Baker.

A staple to Ayden residents and golfers since 1958, the country club has undergone much change over the course of half a decade. While working there in the past, Baker said just in his time as an employee, he has seen the country club and golf course grow tremendously.

Baker said in May he has only held the general manager’s post for about month, but he can tell the best part of the job is interacting with community members. He said the previous general manager le Ayden to serve another country club in Greensboro.

“You get to meet everybody,” Baker said. “Everyone knows who you are, you know who everybody else is. It’s really nice.” e busiest time of year at the country club is the summer months, Baker said. e golf course is open all year, but summer is when the club’s pool opens and most golfers take to the green, he said.

Ayden Golf and Country club hosts a summer swim league called the Wahoos, Baker said. Although the swim league practices at the club’s pool, he said they operate separately from Ayden Golf and Country Club.

“In the summer months, all of our golf carts are full by noon,” Baker said. “Every weekend, the pool is absolutely full of kids. Everybody seems to be here. It’s just a really really rocking good time.”

A part of the Eastern North Carolina Junior League, the club hosts a golf league for kids from 5 to 18 to participate in over the summer, Baker said.

As the director of this, Baker said he coaches the participants for them to eventually compete in junior tournaments all throughout the summer with other leagues in eastern North Carolina.

“A whole bunch of kids come out, even if they have never played golf before, I give them coaching instruction. Every golf course in eastern North Carolina does this,” Baker said. e Ayden Golf and Country Club is not a private club, Baker said. Individuals who aren’t members can still use the club’s amenities with higher-priced fees.

Baker said the best way to place a membership with the club is via email. e club’s email address can be found on their website, he said.

“We have two di erent types of membership,” Baker said. “One is executive. at’s our allround membership. It includes golf, it waves your green fees and it gives you access to the pool and tennis courts. You get 15 percent o in the pro-shop. e second one is like the social membership. at’s just access to the pool and tennis courts.”

Ayden Golf and Country Club is more than a golf course, Baker said. Along with the facilities that o er a wide array of activities, the club also serves as a venue for weddings, retirement parties and other group events, he said. e ballroom in the country club is available to rent out for special occasions, Baker said. e venue for the month of May does not have any availability and June is starting to ll up as well, he said.

“We are very family-oriented here,” Baker said. “We have

Golfers Lynwood Small and Duane Gwyn, from le , putt on the course during an outing in May. Membership at the club has grown since 2020. Baker said the facility is oriented toward families.

pool for mom and the kids. We have the golf course for dad. e whole family can come and enjoy their time here.” Wyatt Russell, the assistant manager and Ayden native, said he has worked at the club for about a year and a half and, during his time, the club has gained lots of new members “Just last year alone, I believe we picked up 65 members,” Russell said. “It was like a 32 percent increase in growth just in that one year.” e country club usually sees steady growth, Russell said. However, since the March of 2020, it saw a spike in membership and overall use. e gol ng community seemed to be the only community and business that bene ted from the shutdowns that were implemented due to COVID-19 precautions, Russell said.

“We actually grew exponentially,” Russell said. “Golf was really one of the only things you could do because it is outside. We did have to shut down the pro-shop, you couldn’t come inside. We had to sanitize carts and we’re still going over stu like that now. Last year was actually one of our best years.”

Russell said he hopes to see the growth of last year again this summer season. With this time of year being the best for the club, he said he really enjoys working when the club is bustling with people. e golf course superintendent since October of 2005, Je rey Gaylor said he has seen the club go through “ups-and-downs” but despite the low points, the golf course is thriving now. Almost closing in 2008 during the recession, Gaylor said the club and golf as a sport has made a huge comeback since then.

A er last year’s success in growth, Russell, even with autumn being his favorite time to golf, said he’s looking forward to the hot weather and the people it usually brings to the golf course.

“October is when I think it (the course) plays the best,” Russell said. “ e grass has slowed down from growing and the cool crisp mornings, and we’ve had the whole summer season to improve.”