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…
Former Payne Stewart caddie Mike Hicks is six months into his new venture for Cary-based Caddies on Course – and loving every second. Hosted by top Tour caddies such as Hicks and providing a unique peek into the world of professional golf, Caddies on Course offers a variety of programs to help plan a perfect…
By Kurt Dusterberg If you’ve played a round of golf over Labor Day weekend in recent years you’ve probably come across a charitable cause that is close to the heart of the Carolinas PGA. With more than 175 clubs and courses participating, the Carolinas’ section led the United States in fundraising for the Folds of…
By DAVID DROSCHAK All of John McConnell’s previous private club purchases across the Carolinas came as “financial saves,” but Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville added a different twist to that equation. The late Carlton Taylor was an original Brook Valley investor who McConnell knew from working together at Burroughs Corp. Taylor (who died in 2010) bought the club…
By STUART HALL As Page Marsh played her way through the golfing ranks, her father always said, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” Those words still resonate with Marsh, who is in her 15th season as N.C. State’s women’s golf coach. The process of building the Wolfpack into a nationally-competitive program has not…