Newport Beach Country Club Magazine Winter 2020 | Page 21

fruition, the couple partnered with
architect Chris Brandon, who has
since hired Paige for other modern
interior design projects.
“We’re kind of pausing right now,
though, to crush life for awhile,” she
says, noting that they haven’t taken
on one of these projects in a little
over a year. “We’re just traveling,
golfing (for him more than me),
surfing, I’m taking Spanish lessons,
he’s taking guitar lessons, visiting
family—you know, just doing the
things that I don’t want to be too
old to do later.”
The topics of age and family are
pertinent to Paige, which makes
sense after hearing what she consid-
ers to be her greatest accomplish-
ment. “I gave a kidney to my dad and
it’s like the coolest thing I’ve ever
done,” she says, adding that, most of
the time, when people have cancer,
their loved ones can’t do anything to
help. “… I could do something, and
he lived another 13 years.”
Michael says that he is most
proud of taking a risk in his career:
“For me, it was leaving the security
of a trader at a corporate bank and
starting an entrepreneurial trad-
ing operation that we’re fortunate
worked out pretty well.”
After all that hustle and bustle
over the years, the couple now uti-
lizes the Newport Beach Country
Club as a place to relax and decom-
press, with Michael referring to it
as “a peaceful sanctuary.” This is
especially true when they take to
the golf course at sunset with a cou-
ple of cocktails and tunes playing
in their golf cart. “We go out at twi-
light, … there’s nobody out there
and we just stop sometimes and
look around and go, ‘Oh my god,
N E WP O R T B E A CHCC .CO M
During winter, the couple lives in Vail, Colorado (pictured above).
“I GAVE A KIDNEY TO MY DAD AND
IT’S LIKE THE COOLEST THING I’VE
EVER DONE,” PAIGE SAYS, ADDING
THAT, MOST OF THE TIME, WHEN
PEOPLE HAVE CANCER, THEIR LOVED
ONES CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO HELP.
“… I COULD DO SOMETHING, AND HE
LIVED ANOTHER 13 YEARS.”
we live here,’ ” Paige says. “… It’s
gorgeous, like, pinch me.”
They have been members for a
little over a decade,but what was it
that drew them to this property in
the first place? “The location and
quality of the golf course,” according
to Michael. “… [Plus,] if we’ve had
too many cocktails, we can walk
home. That was our rationality.”
Paige was convinced of country
club life through the couple’s mem-
bership at the Vail Mountain Club,
which is where Michael taught her
how to ski. “I thought, well, why
don’t we do that with golf? We’ll
join, I can walk down the street
… and play golf. You know, join a
club and that’s how I’ll get better at
golfing,” Paige says. “But I’m a really
good skier and a really bad golfer.”
Even Michael, who practices
on the driving range almost every
afternoon, says he is still honing his
golfing skills. “I try and surf in the
morning if there … [are] waves, and
then come and spend hours here
[at the club]. So, the amount of
hours I’ve spent golfing, relative to
how good I am, I should be better,”
he quips. Paige adds that it doesn’t
matter “how good my outfit looks,
I shoot 105.”
But the golf course isn’t the only
place you’ll find the Hills. “We
weren’t using the facilities much,
other than to golf, but then, once
the new clubhouse opened up,
we loved it,” Michael says, noting
that they regularly use the recre-
ational spaces like the gym, spa
and pool. They also eat at one of
the on-property restaurants at least
once a week, specifically the Little
Italy nights.
That being said, the biggest
culinary draw is one they are truly
grateful for. “My favorite event
here is Thanksgiving, hands down.
We make sure we’re here every
Thanksgiving because the spread
of food is incredible,” Paige says.
“… We do family Thanksgiving
on Wednesday so we can come
here with friends for actual
Thanksgiving Day.”
And spending this holiday at the
club makes sense, since they see the
staff as part of their family. “We’re
actually friends with more of the
staff around here than other mem-
bers because we didn’t grow up
around here, and I think the staff is
very personable,” Michael says.
“I mean, I’ve lived here [for]
25 years, I have plenty of friends,”
Paige adds, “but we always seem
to gravitate toward the staff. …
The staff definitely puts the mem-
bers first. More so than any club
I’ve ever been a part of; they’re all
killing it.”
NEWPORT BEACH COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE
21