Contentment, a new private golf club off Absher Road and about two miles southwest of Stone Mountain State Park in Traphill, is nearing completion.
Owner Curt Sidden said Contentment pays tribute to his grandparents, the late Richard and Thelma Sidden, who lived on and farmed land that is part of the 900-acre project.
The Davidson resident often visited his grandparents while growing up in Easley, S.C., and was especially close to his grandfather. He said Richard Sidden, who lived to age 99, was the most contented person he ever knew.
Sidden said he learned the benefits of a calm and uncomplaining mindset from his grandfather and father, Dr. Curtis Sidden, thus inspiring his goal of making Contentment “a tranquil haven for the body, mind and soul.”
With noted golf course architect Lester George of Richmond, Va., designing the club’s 18 holes and plans for leaving most of the 900 acres undeveloped, Contentment has attracted substantial attention in golf publications.
Sidden said George shares the vision of having a minimalist, nature-integrated golf course at Contentment.
Sidden started working on the golf club around 2005 with banker friends as partners. Married and with children, he is CEO of an indirect auto finance company and graduated from Duke University.
Sidden bought out his partners when it became clear that their plans exceeded what he envisioned and then put the project on hold in 2008, said his father.
Dr. Curtis Sidden, active in the golf club venture, grew up in Traphill when the nearest paved road was over 10 miles away (U.S. 21), graduated from what then was Appalachian State Teachers College and was superintendent of schools in Pickens County, S.C., for 20 years. He is 93 and lives in Davidson.
After a recession and the pandemic, Curt Sidden decided the timing was better for a new golf club so work on Contentment, with a main entrance on Absher Road, resumed about two years ago.
The golf course occupies about 250 of the 900 acres, which stretch from western slopes of Greenstreet Mountain on the east to Absher Road on the west and come near Longbottom Road on the north.
Double and Harris creeks, which begin on the Blue Ridge escarpment, merge on the property before flowing into the Middle Prong of Roaring River. Piney Grove Church Road runs through the 900 acres.
Recent rain thwarted plans for Contentment’s grand opening with its first nine holes ready for play on Sept, 20, which is the 100th anniversary of Richard and Thelma Sidden’s wedding.
The golf course, comprehensive practice facility and a 26,160-square-foot clubhouse are about 80% complete. The clubhouse will include a full-service restaurant, under direction of a full-time executive chef.
Twenty rooms in the clubhouse and four cottages, each with four suites, will provide lodging for members instead of private residences. One of the cottages is nearing completion and another is a pre-existing modern home on the property.
Lincoln, Neb.-based Landscapes Unlimited was hired to oversee site planning, engineering, permitting, contractor hiring, project administration and budget planning. The company is building the golf course and directing development of the clubhouse and amenities and undertook membership strategies, business and operational planning and more.
Lester George, known for his understanding and use of topography in golf course design, created or restored more than 80 courses in the last three decades. He designed Ballyhack in Roanoke, Va., and Kinloch near Richmond, Va., and restored Greenbrier Resort’s Old White in Sulphur Springs, W. Va., and the Country Club of Florida in Boynton Beach, Fla.
George was heavily influenced by studying the works of partners C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, known for adapting strategic and aesthetic features of favorite golf courses in the British Isles and elsewhere in Europe in courses they designed in the U.S. in the early 1900s. Macdonald is often called the father of American golf architecture.
Seventeen of Contentment’s 18 holes are template holes of Macdonald/Raynor concepts, chosen because of how well they could be adapted to Contentment’s terrain.
George describes the holes in recordings on the Contentment website. They have the same names as original holes they emulate, such as Punchbowl Hole (#13) and Knoll Hole (#16).
The Punchbowl green is surrounded by higher land on all sides except the front. George said few holes with this design exist, but McDonald built them whenever terrain made it possible.
The Knoll “features a green perched perilously atop a very steep knoll…. If you miss this green, you’re going to be in dire straits,” said George.
He said the 18th hole, called the Channel, is designed so that the green looks closer and the fairway tighter than they really area.
Contentment’s website said the 18 holes incorporate modern golf innovations and showcase mountain terrain and views of the Blue Ridge escarpment and foothills.
Mike Mizelle, Contentment’s property manager and previous longtime superintendent at Oakwoods Country Club near Wilkesboro, said one word he would use to describe Contentment’s golf course is “big.”
Mizelle said the Oakwoods golf course has about 120,000 square feet of greens (areas immediately around the holes), but Contentment will have about 260,000 square feet with completion of the putting green.
Contentment average green size will be 12,000 to 13,000 square feet, which Mizelle said is considerably more than golf courses generally average — especially in western North Carolina.
He added, “Everything about this is big. The greens are big; the fairways are big…. It’s a relatively long course for western North Carolina — about 7,500 to 7,600 yards long,” which is about 1,000 feet longer than Oakwoods.
Contentment’s varied pin placements and a choice of six tee sets will encourage players to explore new strategies.
Chris Flick, golf greens superintendent at Contentment, said the different strategies and risk-reward options for playing holes on the course are notable. “We think that creates a more fun environment, unlike some courses where “you’re in a lot of trouble if you don’t hit the exact right shot.”
Contentment’s hole #10 (called Sahara) has a huge sand bunker and illustrates the risk-reward concept, said Flick, who came to Contentment from Midlothian Country Club near Chicago. Macdonald first used the Sahara template at National Golf Links of America on Long Island, N.Y.
“If you take on the hardest shot by going over the longest part of the bunker (on #10), you actually might get to the green” in one shot, said Flick. “Or you can elect to not take on the bunker and land in the fairway instead and have a much harder shot” to reach the green.
Nathaniel Graybeal, originally from Mountain City, Tenn., came from Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Westchester, N.Y., to join Contentment as the head golf pro.
Mizelle said Contentment will employ about 70 people, including for maintenance, housekeeping and restaurant staff. A large maintenance building was recently completed.
A small lake at Contentment has been stocked with bass, catfish and bream and will be seasonally stocked with trout. There also will be hiking trails and places for outdoor gatherings.
Dr. Curtis Sidden said that with 140 memberships sold, the only members being added at this point are friends of current members. He said most are from the Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greensboro areas, with a few also from Roaring Gap, Elkin and elsewhere in the area.
Mizelle said “Our members at Contentment are also members at clubs closer to where they live. This will serve as a second or third club. Most Contentment members will likely stay overnight at the club rather than come just for the day.”
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