By David Droschak It’s an understatement to say Chris Jones is accustomed to starting golf programs from scratch. Within the last 15 years alone, Jones has launched Northern Guilford High School’s golf teams (2007) and the university programs at Johnson & Wales (2019) in Charlotte. And in late September, Jones took the head coaching job at Pfeiffer University…
By David Droschak In some ways, J.R. Smith’s life has come full circle. Once a teenager in a man’s world as a high school player drafted in the NBA first round, the two-time world champion now finds himself as a 30-something guy, surrounded by a group of much younger, college teammates. Smith, 36, who played…
By David Droschak Kris Spence will stop you in your tracks if you try to label his recent work at Woodlake Country Club as an impending renovation or restoration. The Greensboro-based golf course architect has a much more fitting description of the project. “This is a resurrection from the dead, this thing was gone,” Spence…
By David Droschak Harold Varner III has come close but has yet to win on the PGA Tour. He finished second this past season at the RBC Heritage and played in the final pairing at the 2019 PGA Championship before carding a disappointing 81. Varner, now 31, no longer dwells on the close calls, or pays much…
By David Droschak Macy Pate was seeking warmer weather and the ability to work on her golf game on a full-time basis when her family moved from the North Carolina mountains to Winston-Salem last August. The 15-year-old Pate, a fierce competitor, was also looking for players to push her and challenge a skill set that…
By David Droschak The first lunch meeting in February 2012 between Pine Needles Resort president Kelly Miller and golf course architect Kyle Franz hit on a wide range of topics. At one point, Southern Pines Golf Club came up, and Franz sat up in his chair. Franz had played the 115-year-old course numerous times while…
By Brad King Alex Smalley didn’t quite play his way into the six-man playoff to determine the 2021 Wyndham Championship, eventually won by Kevin Kisner. Nevertheless, the former Duke star captured plenty of attention along the way. Playing on his home course at Sedgefield Country Club, the 24-year-old Smalley carded three rounds in the 60s,…
By David Droschak Few golfers – outside of Tiger Woods – have had a more successful junior career than Jason Widener. The former Greensboro native won over 50 junior tournaments, including the U.S. Junior Amateur, was the No. 1 ranked junior player in the country for two years in the late 1980s and became one…
By David Droschak Going low has been the rule at the Wyndham Championship since moving to Sedgefield Country Club rather than the exception, with winning scores regularly at 20-under-par or better. The last five Greensboro winners have broken that barrier with Brandt Snedeker firing an opening round 59 in 2018 and last year’s champion Jim…
By David Droschak The list of champions from prestigious tournaments staged at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst dating to the early 1970s is beyond impressive. That list includes Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Hal Sutton and current club member and PGA Tour star Webb Simpson. Is the next winner at the 73rd U.S.…