Rick Tibbetts on Building a Life at Bay Club

Anyone who has house hunted knows about compromises and the lingering sense that maybe the right place doesn't exist. For Rick and Sheri Tibbetts, that search stretched across months on the Cape, and none of it quite came together.

"We finally said, 'We'll take a break.' I was sitting at my computer, and oddly enough, an ad for Bay Club popped up, and it looked beautiful," Rick said.

Neither of them had spent time in Mattapoisett before that. "We knew about Wareham and New Bedford, but we didn't know about the South Coast. That was a pleasant surprise," Rick said.

Curious, they made the drive down.

A Moment at the Golf House

They arrived not long before dusk, in the middle of a property tour. Several homesites were still available, and Rick and Sheri found one they liked right away.

"We were able to pick a great site overlooking the sixth hole and the sixteenth. We're just thrilled to be where we are," Rick said.

After seeing some properties, they visited the Golf House, home to the club's main restaurant. "It was like walking into Cheers. The fire, the heaters were going, the food was smelling great, and our tour guide introduced us to everybody at the bar. They all turned and said hello and welcome to the Bay Club," Rick said.

"We both walked out and said, 'Geez, could we stay for dinner?'" Rick recalled.

Rick had belonged to another club for twenty years. But he never felt truly connected there.

"It wasn't until I came to the Bay Club that I felt welcomed in a way I can't really describe," he said.

Sheri, who isn't a golfer, found her own place in the community soon after. She now sits on the club's entertainment committee, helping plan events that fill the calendar year-round.

What an Average Week Looks Like

Rick fills his week with as much golf as he can. "During an average week, I'm playing in the Tuesday Men's Twilight," he said. Wednesday mornings, he'll often join the men's game, while Sheri plays in a separate ladies' game.

Wednesday nights, Rick swaps golf for Fire and Ice, the club's weekly pizza night.

"It's everything from steaks to seafood dishes in the outdoor pizza oven. That's just a summer staple," he said.

Fridays, he heads out for golf in the afternoon. By Saturday and most Sundays, he's on the course again, rounding out a week built almost entirely around golf and the people he plays it with.

Sheri has her own weekly fixture: bingo by the pool every two or three weeks. They usually end their weekends together at Salty's, where they meet up with friends after golf.

The entertainment committee books something almost monthly—including a live band once month, a comedy night the next, and a golf trick-shot performer after that.

"We made more friends in the first six months than we did in fifteen years," he said.

His Advice to Anyone Still Deciding

"Come and experience it, and I don't think you'll be hesitating. You'll say, this is the place to be," Rick said.

As a member of the club's membership committee, Rick helps coordinate the ambassador program, which pairs new members with a current member to help them settle in early on, whether their interest is golf, tennis, the pool, or the social side of the club.

He appreciates the people who call Bay Club home. Longtime members share the community with younger families who've joined more recently, some raising newborns, some with kids already in high school.

"We've got a bunch of guys — doctors, lawyers, finance folks," Rick said, "but we've also got guys who started a welding and metal fabrication business after the Navy."

Rick sees that mix as something the club is only building on, and as a new member, you'd help shape what it becomes next.