Category: St. Clair Tourism

Jacob’s Ladder

A lifelong love of fishing has Springville’s Walker climbing in pro fishing circles

Story by Paul South
Submitted photos

Like most anglers, from weekenders to tournament champions, Jacob Walker’s love affair with fishing brings with it a creel full of family and friends who taught him the art and science of the sport.

Like a teenage boy smitten by the homecoming queen, Walker fell fast and hard for angling. Even as a small boy, from the Warrior River to Logan Martin Lake, fishing and family were his Alpha and Omega.

He and his friends even engaged in a little truancy to take to the outdoors. “We didn’t skip school to do bad things,” he said. “We skipped school to go fishing and hunting.”

After high school, he enrolled briefly at UAB. But boats and tackle, not books and tests, won out. While working at Mark’s Outdoors, a Vestavia store, Walker’s fire for fishing – sparked as a small boy by his grandfathers, father, Geoff Walker, stepfather, Dexter Laird, and friends – only grew.

One grandfather owned a place on Logan Martin Lake. “When I was little, my grandfather took me to Logan Martin all the time,” Walker said. “It seemed like we got up at 1 in the morning when we’d get up early and get out on the water.

“They would never see me from the time we got there until it was time to leave,” he recalled. “I was walking around, fishing. I’ve been doing it my whole life, man. It’s crazy.”

From those earliest days, Walker began to craft his own style of fishing. Now on the Major League Fishing Circuit, that style has served him well.

In 2024, he captured his first MLF tournament title in a weather-abbreviated event at Lake Champlain, N.Y. On the circuit, he carries counsel from his early teachers in his mind and heart: Find your own style – from water depth, to location, to lures – and strive to be the best.

“You can’t beat everybody at their technique. You can’t always be the best at every technique. So, when I was growing up fishing on the Warrior River, I spent a lot of time fishing in shallow water… around a lot of grass and logs and lily pads and stuff. What’s really got me (to the pros) is shallow fishing.”

What advice would he offer to someone dreaming of a pro career?

“Try to do it all. Try to learn everything. But do what fits you. Don’t try to copy someone else’s style. Try to find a style that’s going to work for you. Sometimes, that’s not going to work out. But when it does, it’ll pay off.”

That philosophy has worked in Walker’s brief tournament career. According to the MLF website, in 12 tournament appearances he has five top 10 finishes, including the Lake Champlain title, earning more than $150,000.

Tournament fishing, like the rest of society, is increasingly technology driven. But even at 26, Walker considers himself “old school.” Sure, he uses tech gadgetry, but his fishing is driven by attributes as old as fishing itself.

“There are a lot of younger guys coming out of high school and college, I would say 24 and under. Those guys are very, very good at technology … But the guys like me who are between 25 and 35, we grew up fishing the old-school techniques, not a lot of technology. The really good technology we have now, we go to watch it advance.”

He added, “A lot of guys like me, we grew up learning from the old school fishermen. No technology. They would just go off their eyes, their hearts, their instincts. (Younger tourney anglers) don’t really know the old-school techniques – fishing off your instincts and reading the water.”

So he holds fast to the old ways, even In these modern times. Shallow water. Fishing around cover and around docks. For Walker, style matters, but so do the old ways.

“Luckily, I’ve got the old-school instincts. But fortunately, I’ve been on board with the technology. So I can do both.”

He calls that period for fishermen between the mid-20’s and mid-30’s “the magic number.” And Alabama is loaded with talented anglers, buoyed in part by the state’s diverse waters with different depths and stains and currents.

“The Coosa River, all these rivers, there’s all kinds of styles of fishing you can learn. So I was very fortunate to grow up fishing here. It’s taught me everything.”

And that knowledge along with the support of his wife, Alyssa, and other family, friends and corporate sponsors have driven his dream. He knows his career will involve fishing. What form that professional life will take is the great unknown.

He’s a brand ambassador for NSR Fishing, Coosa Cotton apparel, Phoenix Boats from Stateline Marine in Lanett, Mark’s Outdoors, Megabass, Deps lures and Dirty Jigs Tackle and other firms and individuals. Walker has a long list of supporters.

“Part of the reason I decided not to go to college was I knew I wanted to pursue fishing as a career. Whether it’s fishing in tournaments, or being in the industry, I still don’t really know 25 years from now what I’ll be doing. But I know I want it to be (fishing) industry related. Working at Mark’s Outdoors gave me that golden ticket.”

His tournament career began in the pandemic year2020 in the Bassmaster open series. He finished second in his first event at Lay Lake, winning more than $18,000. In the next year, he narrowly missed qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series.

“I was confident after that. I know I could do this.”

After moving to MLF in 2023, Walker, now the proud father of a new baby, fished closer to home, but managed to finish sixth overall.

He credits Alyssa for her support and keeping the waters steady at home. Thanks to his job and the support of corporate and personal sponsors, he’s been able to compete in tournaments that carry with them $5,000 entry fees.

“It’s been a great year,” he said. “I finished seventh overall. I fished in six tournaments. I got a check in five, including Lake Champlain.

“It’s crazy that a guy from way down in Alabama could go all the way up there close to the Canadian border and win,” he said. “That was such a cool experience.”

High winds that made waves treacherous on a lake that features an “inland sea” cut the tournament short. In the joy of winning, something gnawed at Jacob Walker’s heart. It didn’t feel like a full-fledged win. That led to an unusual victory celebration. There was no cracking open a bottle of champagne, no lighting a victory cigar. He had to settle his mind and know that had the tournament not been cut short, he still would have won.

But it seems his celebration would have been a hit with family and friends who stoked his passion for fishing when Walker wasn’t much bigger than his rod and reel.

“I went fishing,” he said. “After that, I got to prove to myself I would have won anyway. It was a ball.”

And if there is a takeaway from Jacob Walker’s story, it’s thankfulness, family and friends.

“I’m very thankful to the people who took me fishing when I was a kid. I’m very thankful to my sponsors and to my wife, too. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

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Brocks Gap Training Center

A range of the highest caliber

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free
Drone photos by Eric Love
Additional photos by Michael Goodman
Photos by Ed Tyler
Contributed photos

Like so many, they were looking for a new home. The group had a place they’d outgrown and needed more space, open concept, for sure, with room to breathe. Their dreams were realized when they found 877 acres for sale in St. Clair County.

The search committee for Brock’s Gap Training Center had been peppering the area with inquiries, targeting any large tracts within 30 minutes of their Hoover location. They zeroed in on the perfect location on Camp Creek Road in Pell City. They sold their 90 acres in Hoover and were able to purchase almost 10 times the acreage in St. Clair County for their shooting range and training facility.

Recently opened, the facility boasts one of the longest ranges in the southeast. “We’ll have a 1,400-yard range as one of our offerings,” says Michael Goodman, president of Brock’s Gap Training Center, a membership-based shooting club. “It’s uncommon to have a range of that length. People usually have to travel to Tennessee to practice shooting that distance.”

“There’s a community that really values those longer ranges,” adds Goodman. “We’re hoping to attract those shooters from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee to come to our range.” Additionally, the new center will have 100-yard, 50-yard and 30-yard ranges with covered shelters, along with pistol bays and two “plinking” ranges. (A plinking range is a shorter distance range with metal targets.) Ranges also offer either bench rest or positional shooting.

As you look out over the acreage, you see rows of uniformly sculpted berms, well-drained and seeded. In between those berms, the shooters are protected from ammunition from other ranges.

Range safety officers hold each group to strict code of hard and fast rules, including gun expert Jeff Cooper’s “Coopers 4” rules: 1) Treat every firearm as if it is loaded, 2) Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire, 3) Never point your firearm at anything you do not intend to shoot, and 4) Be sure of your target and what is in front of and behind it.

Brock’s Gap Training Center offers courses in gun safety, concealed carry, women’s personal safety, competitive shooting and training for security teams. They currently assist local law enforcement by providing facilities for their officers to practice for certifications. They also have had high school students preparing to enter the military come to their facility for training.

“Safety is number one,” emphasizes Goodman. “We hope to encourage and empower people to be responsible gun owners. We prioritize safety, gun maintenance and understanding of the responsibilities of gun ownership.”

Having the facilities to practice with their firearm keeps the gun owner familiar with it and establishes safe and responsible use and care habits. “It’s especially important, if you’re using your gun for self-defense,” explains Goodman. “You need to be introduced safely to your firearm and learn to establish safe handling practices.”

While Brock’s Gap is a private facility, membership is open to the public. The membership application process is overseen by an elected board. You do not have to be a member to participate in classes or to come to the matches. Those are all open to the public.

History of growth

In the 62-year history of Brock’s Gap Training Center, they’ve grown to 900 members and host shooting matches and competitive shooting events nearly every weekend.

They’ve already begun hosting their first matches at the new facility. Those matches are a boost for the local economy, with state-level matches drawing more than 100 people from out of the area into St. Clair County for food and lodging revenue. Brock’s Gap has hosted matches for the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) and the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA).

With the move, Brock’s Gap has been able to expand the number of shooting bays and stage areas for matches. Most matches are held in “berm-defined” bays, using 6-12 of these bays set as “stages.”

They play in a squad of 8-10 shooters. As in a golf match, those in the squad have handicaps and compete against those with similar handicaps. When each shooter has completed the targets in each stage, the group moves to the next stage in the next bay.

Some of the larger matches can use up to 20 stages. With more bays, they will be able to host larger matches and even have matches that overlap dates. The additional bays will give them the latitude to set up stages for incoming matches while current matches are concluding.

Facilities at Brock’s Gap Training Center include the Range Headquarters building, with restrooms, ice and water availability, and a training room. Future plans include the addition of a small RV park to accommodate out-of-town match participants and an EMS helipad. Current plans use just 250 acres of land, leaving plenty for future development and growth.

“There’s a large recreational shooting community in Alabama,” says Goodman. “We need facilities like this one to be able to participate safely in this sport.” There are those like Goodman who shoot every weekend and some who have specific seasonal needs. “We have people who use our facility to zero their rifles to get ready for hunting season,” he says.

The training facility also supports Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP), a national program that provides an environment for student athletes that supports learning through shooting sports activities. They have also been a resource for scouting groups through the years.

“A friend introduced me to competitive shooting,” says Goodman, “so I’d been shooting off and on my whole life. Once I joined Brock’s Gap, it became an every week kind of thing.”

If you’ve set your sights on shooting as a hobby or sport, you now have a neighbor in St. Clair County with a high caliber facility ready and waiting for you to take aim.

Editor’s Note: Visit brocksgap.com for more information about Brock’s Gap Training Center.

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Pell City’s 3 Rs

Rooftops, retail and restaurants

Story by Carol Pappas
Staff and submitted photos

ecember took action residents around these parts have anticipated for years.

The Council made it official – Longhorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden – are coming to Pell City. Leases are signed, and infrastructure work is expected to begin in February. Owned by the same company, Darden, the restaurants will be located next to each other on Veterans Parkway near Walgreen’s.

“It’s supremely located,” said City Manager Brian Muenger, noting that the sites are the last remaining quadrant along that section of interstate, which is prime property for developments like these.

To ensure that work moves at a good pace, the city invested $2.5 million in site preparation funding. The property had some challenges, requiring utilities to be relocated and other work to get it ready for construction.

The Council reasoned that the investment will yield dividends in tax revenue generation as well as being able to fulfill residents’ ‘wish list.’ “We are aggressively pursuing things people tell us they want,” Muenger said.

City leaders are confident that the growth trend will continue based on the successes of other projects locating in the city. “These brands are thriving, and they will do exactly the same here,” Muenger predicted. With names like Longhorn and Olive Garden, “more brands will look to locate here,” he said. “We’ve demonstrated success, which gives green lights for other developments.”

He has good reason to be confident. The announcement comes on the heels of the opening of Outback Steakhouse, just across the interstate near Pell City Square shopping center. Outback is expected to open in February.

The new shopping center saw over 1 million visitors over the past year. Wingstop just opened in the strip center anchored by The St. Clair, Tavern, Starbuck’s and Jersey Mike’s.

Just across the way, Whataburger opened on John Haynes Drive.

Kami Thai Sushi & Fusion has just announced that it, too, plans to make Pell City home, giving greater diversity to the restaurant scene. Its sights are set on the former Papa Murphy Pizza location near Publix.

“We’re a growing area with growing demand,” Muenger said. “It speaks to the area’s needs. I’m glad to see business succeeding here.”

Planet Fitness opened in January, and Mariott’s TownSuites hotel may be open by summer.

“There has been a lot of investment in the (interstate) corridor,” Meunger added, “and we’re happy to be able to meet the demand. We’re excited to see people enjoying it.”

Housing market continues upward trend

He cited rising population and strong community support as factors in swinging the latest deals. Pell City is seeing sizable increases in the housing market year over year.

The newest residential development on Florida Road, Oak Village, has completed the preliminary phase of roads and infrastructure and permits for construction should follow quickly. There are over 200 lots in the development.

Sumter Landing and Dickey Drive are in the final phase of building out. Meadowbrook on Hardwick Road is nearing full build out, as has Horizons on Logan Martin Lake. The fourth phase within Morningside should be “going vertical” soon, said Muenger.

Pell City has averaged adding over 100 new residences per year, sometimes much higher, over the past five years. In 2024, Pell City saw the same level of new construction as it saw the previous year – even in a higher interest rate environment. “We’ve seen steady growth since 2018. We don’t think it will stop in the near future.”

There also are housing developments just outside the city limits that should have an impact on the area’s growth.

He noted, “There is a lot of demand for people wanting to get into the area,” and multifamily rental property is a need, too. The planning commission has just approved plans for a new set of apartments on 19^th Street South. It has not gone to the council yet, but 60 units are planned in what is the first multifamily property planned since 2012.

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Martin Street Mercantile

Realtors expand horizons to retail

Just when you thought Realtors Nicole and Amanda Anderson-St. John’s schedule couldn’t get any fuller, they open a retail gift shop … at Christmas.

It follows their purchase in the Fall of The Realty Pros building at the corner of U.S. 231 South and John Haynes Drive on 12^th Avenue North to operate the The Anderson Group of Lake Homes Realty. Then, they bought the property management asset of Realty Pros, and Lake Homes Property Management now manages 40 rental properties and two homeowners associations.

One would think that was plenty for one year, but these two entrepreneurs weren’t quite finished. The realty building has two floors. On the top floor is the Nicole Anderson Group, and they expanded to include South Bend Land Solutions contractor, property management and Real Source Title and Closings. It gives them the ability to offer a range of real estate and property services all under one roof.

On the bottom floor, you’ll now find their newest venture, Martin Street Mercantile, a gift shop featuring specialty gifts and apparel for the whole family. It may seem like quite a leap from their real estate business, but the two had always wanted to open a retail store. They were out of town and saw a mercantile shop, and “we fell in love with it,” Nicole said. “Something hit us, and we said we should just do it.”

They already had the space, originally planned for office rentals, but the open floor plan lent itself well to the shop. They opened just as the Christmas shopping season began. “It has been so well received,” Nicole said. “It shows there was a need.”

The mercantile is filled with all sorts of products – from locally made to national brands, from cradle to special items for men and women. Men’s gifts were really popular this Christmas, she said.

Browse around the store, and you’ll find local vendors like Goodnight Moon Candle Co. and Yae’s Yae’s Soap Shop, coffee from Red Bike, a bamboo line of linens, pajamas and slippers from Face Plant Dreams.

Especially popular have been the Capt. Rodney’s soups, dips and glazes, Mud Pie, towels and pillows.

There’s plenty for babies, teens and tweens – a little something for everyone, Nicole said, and they continue to add more lines and products. It was one of those leaps of faith that might not have worked. But judging by the response so far, Nicole said, “we did right.”

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Christmas in St. Clair

Special times at Howard Family Holiday Farm

Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Mandy Baughn

It’s somehow fitting that the Howard Family Holiday Farm in Moody has quickly become a go-to destination for folks hoping to create wonderful family memories. After all, the farm, which opened in September and was a celebration of all things fall before getting decked out for Christmas, is the culmination of a dream that grew from the childhood memories of owner David Howard.

“When I was 14, I told my grandmother I wanted to start a business,” Howard said. “She asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘I’m going to sell Christmas trees.’” He set up a stand at a gas station at Moody crossroads owned by a family friend, Clemons Macon, and got to work.

“He had an old produce truck that sat out front,” Howard said. “I would ride the bus there and sit inside that old produce truck and do my homework and sell Christmas trees until my parents (Charles and Mary Ann Howard) came to get me at 8. My dream was that I would become a Christmas tree farmer, and it stuck with me all my life.”

Forty years later, Howard has turned that boyhood job into a way of life. And the best part, he said, is that after living and working in other places for 25 years, his dream brought him back home.

“Moody helped create the foundation of who I am today,” he said. “To be able to come back and do this and bring something wholesome and family-centered to the community is amazing.”

All the holidays

Although Christmas trees, wreaths and garland are getting top billing now, Howard opened the farm as a pumpkin patch. More than 5,000 visitors came through between opening day on Sept. 20 and Oct. 26, when they closed for a few weeks to gear up for Christmas.

Fall visitors could pick their own pumpkins from the patch or choose from a variety of gourds offered in an assortment of sizes, colors and shapes. The hayride was a huge hit with the kids, and the cut-your-own-flowers field of zinnias and sunflowers was a big draw, as well.

The farm reopened for Christmas on November 22, and two days later, Santa Claus arrived in dramatic fashion. He landed at the farm in a helicopter just in time for “Ice Cream Sundaes with Santa,” something Howard plans to make an annual event.

Santa’s arrival by helicopter on November 24 is just one of many events planned

Guests had their pick of flavors, thanks to the Hershey’s Ice Cream bar located inside the farm’s country store. In addition to the 24 ice cream flavors, which Howard plans to expand to 36 next Spring, there is an array of toys, gifts and assorted jams, jellies, and other treats sold under the Howard Family Holiday Farm label, including pickled okra, candied jalapenos and peach halves.

“We have sold out of the apple butter so many times, it’s crazy,” Howard said. The peach butter, blackberry preserves and fig preserves are favorites, too, and the offerings also include muscadine grape jelly, red pepper jelly, green pepper jelly and peach preserves.

“We provide our family recipes, and a company produces it for us,” Howard said. “These are all flavors that I grew up on and helped can, pick or both.” They also offer GunRunner Gundog Honey, made by Howard’s cousin, Kenny Armstrong, a beekeeper.

The big draw now, though, is the Frasier Fir and Black Hills Spruce trees that were cut and shipped from farms in Michigan and N.C. Howard hasn’t given up on his dream of being a Christmas tree farmer, however, and he plans to plant a field of Murray Cypress trees so visitors can cut their own.

“It’s a variety of Cypress that’s specifically bred for Christmas trees,” he said. “We’re going to plant some real mature trees so we can speed up the process. We hope that in two years, we’ll be cutting 7-foot trees.”

The plans don’t stop there. They’ll take a break after Christmas and build an outdoor pavilion before reopening in March for the rest of the year. Howard said they’ll offer Alabama-grown produce, some of which will be grown at the farm. “Our first crop will be watermelons, cantaloupes, and various peppers, and then we’ll grow from there next year,” he said. “We’ll also plant Silver Queen corn, and ultimately, that will be a corn maze.”

Howard said they’ll offer seasonal potted plants and three acres of flowers, including zinnias, sunflowers, dahlias and peonies. “Folks can come pick flowers for their special events and have photo shoots in the field,” he said.

“We’re going to do anything we can that’s community-driven,” Howard said. “We’ll just see what the community will support, and that’s what we’ll morph into.”

The road back home

Howard and his partner, Gary Perkins, are thrilled to be back to their rural roots. Perkins, a pharmacist, grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, and they both were ready to get back to a slower pace of life.

After graduating from Moody High School and then college, Howard worked in the RV industry, in marketing and advertising, and owned a martini and sushi bar. He’s also worked in the residential construction and real estate industries. For the past 15 years, he’s owned Panama City Beach Properties, a full-service real estate brokerage company that he recently sold. “I would build five houses, keep one in my inventory of rental properties and manage properties for other people,” he said.

David Howard and Gary Perkins have Christmas trees ready to sell

While he loved his career, having a heart attack three years ago at age 51 changed his perspective. “Being faced with the possibility of something catastrophic, I felt like there is so much more for me to do,” he said. “At the beach, there’s constant tourism and everything is always ‘on.’ You can’t just go out to dinner without waiting at least an hour. Something just clicked, and I said, ‘I’m done.’ We were both done. I didn’t have to convince Gary; he was ready to make the leap to farm life long before I could get the words out of my mouth.”

Although his new venture is a far cry from the fast-paced world of real estate, Howard said he and Perkins couldn’t be happier. “We’re here to stay,” he said. “I’m back home. I think about that, and I get emotional.”

Family has always been important to Howard. “My grandmother owned multiple restaurants, and she instilled that entrepreneurial drive in me,” he said. “My first job when I was 12 was washing dishes in the restaurant because I wanted a dirt bike. When I sold the Christmas trees, I got a taste of making a few bucks, turning that into more bucks, and I was hooked. I’ve been working for myself ever since.”

Now he’s thrilled to be doing just that back home. “Moody helped shape me,” he said. “I love this city, absolutely love it. I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up anywhere else, and our commitment here is community.

“When we did this, it was a leap of faith, and we didn’t know what would come of it,” Howard added. “Seeing all the families and the smiles makes it all worthwhile. Everybody comes in and says, ‘I hope you’re successful.’ We already are, and we’re having a blast.”

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Pell City Country Club

Old friends, new friends play golf, celebrate at newly renovated facility

Story by Paul South
Photos by David Smith
Submitted photos

The legendary South African golfer Gary Player may have said it best when it comes to golf and friendship: “In golf, as in life, it’s the friends we meet along the way that make the journey worthwhile.”

No place does Player’s words ring truer than at Pell City Country Club St Clair County’s only golf course. The 6,100-yard, semi-private layout has forged many friendships over the past 63 years.

Now, the club aims to make new friends by bolstering its membership and by promoting itself as an event venue for wedding receptions, birthday parties, baby showers, graduations, and holiday parties in its newly renovated clubhouse.

A rich history

PCCC was started in 1961 by a group of prominent local businessmen weary of driving to Talladega to play golf.

Dr. Raymond F. “Bam” Cox, Kenneth Tucker, Howell Henderson, Hank Harmon, Judge Edwin Holladay, Forest Walls, J.T. Holladay, Dr. John E. Haynes and Roy Coshatt started the club. Tucker sold the 85 acres where the golf course resides on Golf Course Road.

“It wasn’t like today when you bring in a prominent golf course designer such as Jerry Pate (a former U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open champion) to come in and design the course,” said PCCC board member Jeff Ingram who “grew up” on the golf course. This group of men came up with the idea to build a golf course they could play and be proud of. The golf course is basically the same course as it was when it was built in 1961.

Through the years, the course and clubhouse have weathered numerous storms and a declining membership. Pell City officials even fought off an effort by the City of Birmingham to take over the course to create a satellite airport to what is now the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport.

The golf course was opened to public play approximately 15 years ago. “That’s one thing that helped us survive,” Club President Derrol D. Luker said. “There weren’t enough younger people joining the club to replace the older members who had quit playing or passed away. The public play has really helped things out.”

According to unofficial club historian Roger Pate, retired principal of Pell City High School, PCCC has attracted more than its share of champions, including UAB standout and 2012 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, 3-time PGA tour winner Boo Weekley, and former local PGA tour player Will Wilcox.

PCCC also is home to Chris Spivey, who has won numerous women’s state amateur titles over her career, and it has hosted football standouts Jay Barker and Bobby Humphrey and NBA star Charles Oakley. Those are some big personalities for a small-town course, especially a “nine holer,” said Pate.

The club has a pro shop as well as a small practice area and putting green. It is a nine-hole course with two sets of tees. Each hole has a set of white and blue tees for men less than 60 years old, yellow tees for men from 60 to 70 years of age, red tees for men over 70 years of age and women of all ages. Greem tees are for players 75 years of age and older. The club currently has 80 members.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the course hosts an 18-hole “dogfight,” basically a mini tournament filled with fun and fellowship. In past years, when Pell City shut down at noon on Wednesday afternoons, as many as 50 golfers played in the dogfight.

“As far as the course, I think the reason people like it is it’s a shorter course, and it doesn’t take a long time to play. I think that’s what makes it a little special. You’re there to play golf with your friends,” Ingram said. “It provides something for the town that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the county.”

But it’s the people, not pars that make the club special. Many of the members were born and raised in Pell City and learned the game as kids on the course.

“The camaraderie and growing up with the members,” Ingram said. “As you get older, you’re playing with the same people you were playing with many years ago. It’s a smaller club. You don’t have as many members. You can put a name with a face. You’re not a number like you might be at a larger club.”

Pate agreed. He’s been a member since 1971 and serves as course superintendent. “It’s the people,” he said. “We have a lot of fun.”

Small country clubs like Pell City have struggled in recent years to keep members amid stiff competition for the entertainment dollar. But the coronavirus pandemic and the raging cabin fever that came with it sparked renewed interest and attracted new members to the club.

“The numbers of rounds have definitely gone up since COVID first came around, and the number of rounds played have increased every year since COVID came,” Ingram said.

“Before COVID, we were really hurting,” Pate said. “It’s grown since then. A lot of people didn’t know this golf course was here. It’s kind of off the beaten path.”

As with Pate and Ingram, the club’s warm, welcoming membership makes PCCC a special place to belong.

“You can go down there almost anytime and find a game,” Luker said. “There are just good people down there.”

Precious memories

Any discussion of PCCC would not be complete without mentioning the late Ray Cox. While Ingram has fond memories of winning numerous tournaments with Ray over the years, the deeper memories are of Cox, the son of one of the co-founders and also a past president of the club until his death in 2007. The founder of Metro Bank, Ray Cox played at PCCC “from day one,” Ingram said.

Golf buddies celebrate hole in one by Drew Alexander

“He played golf all over the world, but PCCC was his favorite course,” Ingram said of his late friend. “I promised Ray before he died that as long as I was able, I would do my best to keep the doors open. So far so good.”

Luker was one of those kids who grew up at PCCC. A third-generation member of the club, he holds fond memories of playing with his Dad. But he, too, remembers Cox.

“Before I was even 16, we lived in Mays Bend, and my Dad would let me drive over to the golf course by myself on Sunday mornings to take golf lessons from Mr. Cox.”

Cox taught young Luker, now a land surveyor, a valuable lesson. “Patience,” Luker said.

“He was a role model to Jeff and myself,” Luker said. “We want to keep his memory going because he meant so much to the club and to Pell City.”

The longevity of the club is based upon the people, the friendships and chance to compete..”

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