By Stuart Hall When Peggy Kirk Bell first met golf at age 17, how the wondrous, intertwining 78-year journey would unfold must have been unfathomable. In 1938, the idea of a young woman becoming a golf instructor or a touring professional or even a savvy business negotiator was likely as much wishful thinking as practical because…
Emily Hawkins of Lexington was at her best with the pressure on in 2016. Hawkins won the Carolinas Golf Association’s two biggest girls’ titles, claiming the North Carolina Junior Girls’ Championship and the Carolinas Junior Girls. In September, she beat a national field in the AJGA Girls’ Championship at Furman University Golf Club. “I had…
–By David Droschak Paul Simson will turn 66 years old in May yet shows no signs of hanging the golf clubs in the garage quite yet. The Raleigh native accepted his eighth Senior Men’s Player of the Year award in February from the Carolinas Golf Association after winning two CGA championships in 2016 to push…
By Kurt Dusterberg Willie McRae sits comfortably on the veranda at Pinehurst Resort, looking out over a golf course he knows better than anyone who has ever lived. That might sound like an overstatement, until you consider that he is in his 73rd year caddying at Pinehurst No. 2. When a man’s career endures longer…
By STUART HALL Ten days is all Mike Thompson needed to receive the first return from his investment in a new SkyTrak launch monitor. Playing in a Virginia State Golf Association’s Senior Open qualifier, on a Meadowbrook Country Club course he had never seen before last year, Thompson, of Richmond, Va., fired a 67 to…
Pinecrest matches men’s team; finally breaks through with women’s title By David Droschak The comparisons are natural, since Triangle-area prep stars Jenny Chang and Gina Kim have parents of Asian descent, are high school juniors, each have multiple state championships – and each spends hours upon hours practicing ball striking, putting and their short games.…
By Eddie Southards Gina Kim is a nationally ranked junior golfer who follows a different path than many of her contemporaries. The Chapel Hill junior still enjoys playing high school golf. Kim proved it by winning the women’s 3-A state individual title for the second straight year. She shot 69-72 for a 3-under total at Longleaf…
By David Droschak Under normal circumstances, it would have been a major downer for the re-opening of the Dogwood Course at the Country Club of North Carolina to transpire in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. But with a major directive to transform the Ellis Maples classic into a firmer playing experience for the private…
Southwestern Pennsylvania resort perfect fall getaway By David Droschak Joe Hardy turns 94 years old in January, and God willing, the founder and CEO of 84 Lumber will get to witness another remarkable accomplishment at his 2,000-acre resort in the scenic mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania. What’s the ageless Hardy have up his sleeve this time…
By Kurt Dusterberg Ryan Gerard’s earliest golf memories aren’t actually his own recollections. His father, Bob, tells the story of how Ryan, not yet 2 years old, used to tool around the practice green with a toddler-size putter at Wildwood Green Golf Club. Ryan would putt for a while, and then watch the golfers tee…