By DAVID DROSCHAK Certain victors and venues in sports are forever connected. There is Babe Ruth and The House That Ruth Built, Bobby Jones and Augusta National, and a legendary University of North Carolina hoops coach and the Dean Dome. As the U.S. Open Championship approaches this June – for the third time in the…
By Stuart Hall Dan Brooks arrived at Duke University in 1984 as a young coach taking over a 10-year-old program and knowing only one way to recruit. While the women’s golf landscape has evolved over the last 30 years, Brooks’ recruiting philosophy has not. Considering he is collegiate women’s golf’s winningest coach and has led…
Akshay Bhatia, Jack Massei only North Carolina qualifiers By DAVID DROSCHAK Sonny Bhatia made some recent promises to his son as incentive. One was a round with a caddie at Pinehurst No. 2. The other was a trip to The Masters. “I made him this stupid promise that I would get him to The Masters,…
The 105-year-old association was started in Charleston, S.C.; has been relatively nomadic: Pinehurst, N.C.; Clemmons, N.C.; Seven Lakes, N.C.; and, now, on the Pine Needles property in Southern Pines, N.C. The CGA purchased an existing building in the Seven Lakers village in 1991 and quickly outgrew out, expanding from a four-person staff to 14 in…
By DAVID DROSCHAK Golf course communities hit the accelerator button in the 1990s as North Carolina became a focal point for the booming retirement and second-home market. Couples flocked to these communities, lured by over-the-top promises of lavish amenities and lifestyles. When the economic crash came in 2008, however, many of these developer promises had…
By CHRISTIAN WORSTELL With nine holes to play in the 4-A state golf championship, Emilia Migliaccio found herself at a crossroads. She could’ve hung her head and just gone through the motions. Or she could’ve done what she did next. Proving that the moment was not too big for the 14-year-old freshman from Athens Drive,…
By EDDIE SOUTHARDS Coach Doc Snyder has struggled to find enough players for the girls’ golf program at Lee County High School. But he has found one gem, namely a pearl, in sophomore Siranon Shoomee, who won the 3-A state individual title at Foxfire Resort and Golf Club in late October. Shoomee goes by the…
By Jay Allred Most golfers walk into a golf shop, pick up a putter and start trying to see if they can make a few putts from 10 feet to decide if the flat stick fits their game. In a few months they are in search of another putter, but Edel Golf is trying to…
By STUART HALL Chip Watson hasn’t tired of listening to praise golfers have for Lonnie Poole Golf Course. At times, though, the general manager of the North Carolina State University layout became weary of the first impressions and last words. “When you rode up here, the first thing you saw was the trailer [as the…
By Kurt Dusterberg When PGA professional Doug Hodges created SwingPals four years ago he wanted to use the game of golf and all its virtues to help kids reach their potential. But he didn’t just test the tenets of the game on the sport’s usual clientele. Instead, he took golf where the values were needed…