By KURT DUSTERBERG Every few weeks, Brad Clayton gets his buddies together for a golf weekend. The men play some golf, then settle into an evening of corn hole and a cookout. When the sun sets, it’s time for a little “bucket golf” on a driving range, using glow balls. As the evening winds down,…
By DAVID DROSCHAK The ultimate gated communities – North Carolina’s six military golf courses – offer up quite a bucket list for those who would like to check off the box of unique golfing experiences. Ever start a round with an F-15 fighter jet taking off in clear sight? Now is your chance ……
By Robert KimballGolfers are special people. While they play an endlessly frustrating and sometimes seemingly hopeless game, they as a group always seem to believe in giving back. Not only to the game itself, but also via charitable giving to those in daily life who struggle and are in need of assistance. It would be…
By Marc Pruitt N.C. Junior Boys’ Championship Salisbury, June 23-26 • Jack Massei of Cary defeated Jonathan Brightwell of Mint Hill 3 and 2 to win the North Carolina Junior Boys’ Championship at the Country Club of Salisbury. The 15-year-old Massei, a rising sophomore at Green Hope High School, made birdies on the first and…
By DAVID DROSCHAK No telling what athletic path Carter Jenkins would have taken had he suited up behind home plate as an aspiring baseball youth a decade ago. “I wanted to catch, but the coach’s son also wanted to catch, so unfortunately that stuck me in left field. That wasn’t a whole lot of fun,”…
By HOWARD WARD John Derr couldn’t have planned it better. The 97-year-old Derr died at his home in Pinehurst on June 6, the victim of a heart attack while watching American Pharoah become the first thoroughbred in 37 years to win the Triple Crown. Derr’s daughter, Marguerite “Cricket” Gentry, found him in his chair, the…
By STUART HALL Golf course superintendents are a savvy lot, often able to adapt to the ever-changing variables that weather creates on course conditions. Even on the topic of winterkill, they are able to explain how and why it happens, but the mystery lies in when it will happen. “That’s the magical question,” said…
By DAVID DROSCHAK Golf has certainly gotten ultra complicated over the last decade, let alone the last century. From computerized swing analysis to oversized drivers to balls flying farther to signature architectural designs to extravagant maintenance budgets, the sport has taken its share of twists and turns – and hits from critics. But a humble…
By Kurt Dusterberg When Brandi Jackson began pursuing a college golf career, the recruiting landscape looked nothing like it does today. “I think every bit of our recruiting was handwritten, putting letters in the mail,” says Jackson, who enjoyed a successful career at Furman University. “After your (high school) junior year, college coaches would make…
By DAVID DROSCHAK Eric Bae’s golfing life has been somewhat complicated up to this point. Born in South Korea, he came to the United States as a 6-year-old, was later adopted by his uncle — a former PGA Tour caddie for Mr. 59 Al Geiberger — and then groomed to actively compete on the junior…