By David Droschak Pine Needles has a new look – and it’s quite stunning as the iconic resort located in the heart of the North Carolina Sandhills prepares to host its record-setting fourth U.S. Women’s Open. Just in the last 60-90 days alone, upwards of 30,000 native grasses have been planted by golf course architect…
From staff reports Rumbling Bald, the 36-hole golf retreat on North Carolina’s Lake Lure an hour east of Asheville, has announced its 2022 golf packages ahead of what promises to be an exciting year for the 3,000-acre golf destination. Hurry … if you want to still take advantage of the remaining week offering of the…
By David Droschak Kris Spence will stop you in your tracks if you try to label his recent work at Woodlake Country Club as an impending renovation or restoration. The Greensboro-based golf course architect has a much more fitting description of the project. “This is a resurrection from the dead, this thing was gone,” Spence…
By David Droschak The first lunch meeting in February 2012 between Pine Needles Resort president Kelly Miller and golf course architect Kyle Franz hit on a wide range of topics. At one point, Southern Pines Golf Club came up, and Franz sat up in his chair. Franz had played the 115-year-old course numerous times while…
By David Droschak So how has John McConnell systemically assembled a successful private golf course portfolio across four Southeastern states while many in the industry scoffed at his notion of a “regional golf network?” Already with more than a dozen top-notch layouts designed by the likes of Dye, Fazio, Palmer, Norman and Ross, McConnell has…
By David Droschak With no new golf course construction across North Carolina since 2016, those of us who like “fresh experiences” have been relegated to playing restorations, renovations or the re-imagining of some of the state’s top layouts in recent years, including Tanglewood, Raleigh Country Club, Jefferson Landing and Pine Needles Resort. The latest project…
By David Droschak John McConnell has spent upwards of $100 million over the years compiling one of the nation’s most impressive private club portfolios. A good portion of that cash has been spent on the company’s anchor facility – Raleigh Country Club – from its $7 million rescue from bankruptcy in 2003 to a bunker…
By David Droschak With dozens of Donald Ross-designed golf courses scattered across the state of North Carolina from Asheville to Wilmington, golf enthusiasts have debated for decades the best of the best. One Ross course that has often flown under the radar has been the Southern Pines Elks Golf Club, especially over the last decade…
By David Droschak There are a few certainties in life – death, taxes and frost — turning the bermudagrass fairways of North Carolina’s wonderful golf courses a sad shade of tan every winter. When I first came to the Tar Heel state from the Great White North I wondered why “all the grass had died.”…
ClubCorp, already a major player in the Triangle, has increased its presence dramatically by acquiring Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh and Hasentree in Wake Forest from Toll Golf. Brier Creek, an Arnold Palmer design, is located near Raleigh-Durham International Airport and features an 18-hole private golf course, tennis courts, pool with waterslide and kid-friendly…