By Ellen Fortson

James Cunningham

The Centennial celebration at Columbia Country Club provides continuity to the community it serves. The members, the staff, and the community have all helped with the establishment of the club, but one employee stands out among all the celebrants. James Cunningham has earned a seniority placement among his coworkers. He has been serving the Columbia Country Club since the course opened up in Blythewood in 1962.

“I was a caddy when they first opened up,” Cunningham said. “That’s where I learned to play golf. My family lived where Blythewood Middle School is now located, and we used to have a muscadine orchard. I would walk home from the club, bringing old clubs home to repair, picking up golf balls on the way. I would practice hitting just beyond the orchard.”

Cunningham is still an avid golfer and his drive has been described by members as “a country mile long.” He can only devote one day a week to golf, now. “The Columbia Country Club is in the finest shape ever,” Cunningham said. “It has the distance and the quality of the greens and fairways are impeccable. I’ve seen some change in the quality of golfers who have played the course within the past years. It used to be all the golfers would be gone by 5 pm. Now, they stay and practice until dark. Also, the club has evolved into a country club with a social aspect. It has grown tremendously.”

With his job as a bartender, Cunningham has heard many family stories and many tall tales. He does have a favorite. “Back in the 60s, when we first opened, Big Bill Smith’s brother–in–law, Little Bill went on vacation to Florida. He returned to Blythewood with a seven–inch alligator that he had bought for a dollar from a Florida alligator farm. He dropped the gator in the lake, and it grew to be a full–size alligator. Nobody would have thought that it would have adapted to the SC winters, but it did. For years it cruised up and down the lake and it never bothered anybody, but eventually the Wildlife Commission came and got it.”

Today, Cunningham enjoys the stories of approximately 525 members. He and the staff make every attempt to fulfill the total country club experience for members and their guests.

“We’ve seen good times. We’ve seen bad times,” Cunningham said. “It’s amazing how much the club has given back to the community. The Centennial Celebration is special for us. I’d like to be around for another 100 years because I know the Columbia Country Club will still be here.”