"Camaraderie is what it's all about — mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together. That's why you join a club."
Dale Gorham watched the very first Bruno's Memorial Classic at Greystone in 1992 and joined the club that same year.
He saw the way the community came together around a shared event and a meaningful cause. More than three decades later, that tradition still carries on.
The Founders Course is where Greystone members play on a Saturday morning in February and where Steve Stricker has won The Tradition three times. Those two facts are connected in a way that matters.
Stricker set a new tournament scoring record at Greystone in 2022, then broke it himself the following year. After his third title, he talked about the course.
"I just love coming here," he said. "I don't know what it is about the course, but I enjoy playing here. And I've had some good rounds here over the years."
The Founders Course draws a field that typically includes seven World Golf Hall of Famers, players like Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh. Greystone members play it year-round. By the time the field arrives in May, members already know the slope on those greens, the decision a particular tee box demands, the way the course plays in Alabama heat versus an early spring morning.
Director of Golf Steve Smith described watching professionals on the practice range during tournament week as one of the most valuable things members can do — observing the thought process behind a shot on a course they already know by feel. That familiarity is something a tournament ticket doesn't provide.
Each spring, a waiting list builds among Greystone members who want to volunteer inside the ropes.
The maintenance team more than doubles for tournament week, and most of the new faces are the same crew who worked the course last year and came back. Members know them the way they know the rest of the grounds crew: by name, all year round. Players consistently praise the greens as among the best they play all season. Members know exactly who's responsible for that.
The Tradition Member Package reflects that insider relationship. The 9th Green Viewing Deck puts members close enough to hear the gallery react before they see why. The back patio at Ninety-One overlooks the 18th green, where the tournament is decided every year. Shuttle service runs from the Founders Front Circle, and member-only areas host private concerts the public never sees.
Members can bring guests into that world. It's meaningful access on its own, but it means more when the event is already yours.
Members can bring guests into spaces and experiences the general public never sees. That access is meaningful on its own, but it means more when the event is yours to begin with.
The Tradition (and its predecessors) have raised tens of millions for Children's of Alabama since 1992.
The Celebrity Pro-Am draws Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson, and Nick Saban each year. Children's of Alabama patients come to the course during Pro-Am week. The lemonade stand that Greystone children set up overlooking the 9th hole raises thousands of dollars each year from fans and Greystone families, a tradition within the Tradition, built entirely by the membership community.
Year-round fundraising by the tournament team forms the financial backbone of the event long before the first tent goes up. Members are part of that.
The Tradition ends every May, but The Founders Course remains.
The tournament has been at Greystone since 2016, and the PGA Tour has extended that partnership through at least 2032. Membership here means carrying that history into every round.