By DAVID DROSCHAK Lonnie Poole Golf Course opened to great fanfare in late 2009. The North Carolina State University community, which had waited so long for a golf course to call its own, flocked to the Arnold Palmer Design Co. layout. And Lonnie Poole was voted the Best New Public Course in North Carolina. All…
By David Droschak As we inch further away from the summer solstice, kids have returned to school and beach vacations are in the rear-view mirror, our attention turns to weekend golf getaways. Packing a lot into a little box is often difficult; or just finding a unique place to relax, somewhere distinct yet with variety,…
By David Droschak Here’s a quiz. Who is the greatest golfer to come out of the Pinehurst area? Or has there ever been one? Harvie Ward doesn’t count. He was born in Tarboro. If you guessed Billy Joe Patton, well, that would be wrong, too. Patton, who finished third in the 1954 Masters, was from…
By David Droschak If there’s a golf course development in the Triangle on the verge of something special it has to be The Club at 12 Oaks. The private club located in Holly Springs was opened just prior to the 2008 economic recession and had a difficult beginning, but has since re-launched its brand South…
By KEITH JARRETT The options for fun and entertainment at Rumbling Bald Resort on Lake Lure stretch as far and wide as the blue waters which surround this golf and vacation destination. Start with 36 holes: the Apple Valley and Bald Mountain championship courses that offer two distinctly different layouts but similar feels for challenge,…
By Kurt Dusterberg The University of North Carolina’s Finley Golf Course has had its makeover. Now it’s time for the clubhouse to receive a facelift. “It’s certainly showing its age at this time,” said Johnny Cake, the director of golf at UNC. The original clubhouse was built along with the course in 1949 by Raleigh…
By KURT DUSTERBERG Andrew Sapp could count on one repetitive question from recruits and their parents as golf coach at the University of Michigan. “What do you guys do in the winter?” Sapp recites. “I can’t tell you how many players I’ve lost out on at Michigan who wanted to go farther south.” Problem solved.…
By David Droschak Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is growing faster than a spinning slot machine reel. The resort destination bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a new luxury hotel that towers over the town of Cherokee, it recently opened a pair of 1,900-square-foot high roller suites on the 21st floor and a Ruth’s Chris…
Complete High School Coverage By David Droschak It’s understandable that Ben Griffin relates better to Justin Bieber than Justin Rose. North Carolina’s new 4-A individual golf champion turned 15 years old just five days before stunning a talented field at Pinehurst No. 6, a group of golfers that included Grayson Murray (who is headed to…
By Kurt Dusterberg For Angela Stewart, golf was a last-resort sport. “I got too old to play softball,” she said with a laugh. Year after year, Stewart was a regular on the rec league ball fields of Greenville, N.C. When she tore her ACL at 38, it was time to leave the diamond life behind.…