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…
The routing for a ninth Pinehurst Resort golf course has been completed on the site of the former Pit Golf Links, but it’s unlikely construction on a new layout will begin within the next two years. Resort president Don Padgett II told Triangle Golf Today architect Bill Coore, part of the team along with Ben…
By Kurt Dusterberg Albin Choi grew up in Toronto – hockey country. And while he loves Canada’s native sport, he knew he wasn’t cut out for a career on the ice. “I wasn’t big enough to skate as well as the other guys did,” he said. So when other Canadian kids were lacing up skates,…
By David Droschak Mystical Golf president and CEO Claude Pardue insists there was no magical formula, no inside trade secrets, that allowed him to survive, heck, even prosper, during the recent golf course contraction in Myrtle Beach. As some noted courses disappeared into economic despair, Pardue’s three layouts, with their catchy names, memorable logos, unique…