Former Green Hope golfer on professional fast track By Stuart Hall At an early-season practice in 2006, Green Hope High School golf coach David Allen dismissed his players for the evening by suggesting they work on putting at least once a week. A suggested drill was making 100 consecutive 4-footers. With that advice Ben Kohles…
Renowned PGA Tour teaching professional Patrick Kelley is making the move from instruction full time on the PGA Tour to having his players come to him at Old Chatham Golf Club. Kelley has taught several professional clients, including David Mathis, Brad Fritsch, Michael Putnam, Andrew Putnam and Justin Walters, who have won a combined eight…
Pinehurst Resort announced that it is converting the greens on Pinehurst No. 1 to heat-resistant Bermuda grass, which will enhance play throughout the year and particularly during the heat of summer. The project, which began in July and is scheduled to be finished in September 2012, also includes construction of a new par-3 and small…
By David Droschak Two wins, both groundbreaking in the PGA Tour career of one James Frederick Webb Simpson. But in terms of confidence, what a difference a year makes. Last August at Sedgefield Country Club, the former Wake Forest University All-American was grinding on Tour, and in his own words, “pressing” for that initial victory.…
By DAVID DROSCHAK The population of Santee in the South Carolina Lowcountry has grown by 30 percent in the last decade, but still doesn’t top 1,000 folks. You won’t find a Ruth’s Chris Steak House or Grand Hyatt Hotel, or any swank resorts to rival those in well-known Palmetto State golfing destinations Charleston, Hilton Head…
By DAVID DROSCHAK The 75th anniversary of the Country Club of Johnston County was met with little fanfare in 2011. The Smithfield club was in the process of being sold, a search was on for a new general manager and membership had dipped to alarming lows. In short, the 1936 Ellis Maples classic was at…
MORGANTON – Courtney McKim, a member of the University of Alabama golf team that won the NCAA Championship in May, added an individual title to her 2012 collection when she won the North Carolina Women’s Amateur on June 14. McKim, who was a state high school champion at Wakefield High School in Raleigh, won the…
By KURT DUSTERBERG As the director of golf at Hillandale Golf Course, Karl Kimball often surveys the course and asks: “What will this look like 20 years from now?” In recent years, he didn’t like the answers. With that in mind, the Durham landmark is taking a break this summer. The 101-year old course is…
Simpson’s Open victory resonates across Tar Heel state Webb Simpson may have claimed his U.S. Open victory in California — three time zones away — but his first major championship was ultra popular across the state of North Carolina. In particular, longtime Wyndham Championship tournament director Mark Brazil was rooting for the Raleigh native since…
By DAVID DROSCHAK High school golf at inner city school Raleigh Broughton comes with a bit of added pressure since alumni include PGA Tour star Webb Simpson and former two-time Ryder Cup player Scott Hoch, along with nine state championships for the school off of St. Mary’s Street. The Purple and Gold has also watched…