(Editor’s Note: With one of the nation’s richest golfing histories, North Carolina’s portfolio of courses from the mountains to the coast is unmatched in its variety, topography and strategy. So, who do we credit for some of these golfing jewels? Well, the golf course architects, of course. The first in a series of insights on…
By David Droschak Officially located within the Durham city limits, Lakeshore has always been known as the golf course of Research Triangle Park. But there was really nothing high-tech about the public layout built from scratch in the early 1960s by Marvin Utley, his father and grandfather. The 18-hole course measured just 5,719 yards from…
By Dave Droschak Pinehurst Resort’s new 9-hole short course – measuring a total of 789 yards — has opened. Designed by golf architect Gil Hanse, The Cradle features holes ranging from 56 to 127 yards each. Mere steps from the resort clubhouse, it is the same area where, in 1898, Dr. Leroy Culver carved the…
By Brad King Golf course architect Gil Hanse and partner Jim Wagner are performing design work at Pinehurst No. 4, along with the resort’s new short course, which opened Sept. 30. Hanse’s firm was selected in 2011 to design the golf course in Brazil that hosted the return of golf in last summer’s Olympic Games.…
By David Droschak Whether you subscribe to the theory of global warming or just the luck of the summer weather draw, the dog days of August across central North Carolina have been getting hotter and hotter much of the last decade. The intense heat and accompanying humidity have played havoc on bent grass greens…
By David Droschak Under normal circumstances, it would have been a major downer for the re-opening of the Dogwood Course at the Country Club of North Carolina to transpire in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. But with a major directive to transform the Ellis Maples classic into a firmer playing experience for the private…
Private clubs across Triangle embracing shifting trends By Brad King A challenging economy, along with fierce competition and changing lifestyles have made attracting and retaining members at private clubs around the Triangle and the country increasingly difficult. As social institutions operating in the lifestyle industry, private clubs require facilities and programs suited to the times.…
By David Droschak If there was any place ripe for a new golf course in North Carolina it’s the Brunswick County town of Leland. Ten miles south of Wilmington, Leland’s population has grown from 1,938 in the year 2000 to an estimated 17,924, making it the nation’s fastest growing area in terms of percentage of…
By STUART HALL Little about Wildwood Green Golf Club is outwardly remarkable. The clubhouse has the look of a two-story home built in the mid-1980s. The 6,473-yard course is stitched tightly through an adjoining neighborhood. The no-frills practice range is a narrow swath of land that features high-rise netting along the right side to keep…
A tiny mountain hamlet in an Allegheny County gap packs plenty of punch with a trio of world-class golf courses By Brad King The hamlet of Roaring Gap in Allegheny County consists of a gas station, a post office … and a trio of heralded golf developments with unique, centerpiece mountain layouts all within a…