By David Droschak Predicting real estate growth is far from an exact science. With the Research Triangle Park situated virtually equal distance from Durham and Raleigh, who knew more than 25 years ago that Wake County would become the king of bedroom communities and that its counterpart to the west would be playing catch-up ever…
Wake Forest signee rallies team with “dream finish” Few high school golfers will ever get to live a script like the one that played out over the final few holes of the North Carolina Men’s 4-A Golf Championship. It was truly a dream finish for Pinecrest senior Eric Bae, who will play college golf at…
Resort’s Centennial Course celebrates 20th anniversary By DAVID DROSCHAK A lot has happened since Pinehurst Resort honored its 100th anniversary two decades ago with the opening of its eighth golf layout – also known as the Centennial Course. Pinehurst brass Robert Dedman Sr. and Don Padgett Sr. are no longer with us, neither is golfing…
By Kurt Dusterberg Emily Brooks would like to become a household name in golf circles. In the meantime, she has the most famous silhouette in the sport. Brooks is a senior at Elon University, and much to her surprise, her image adorns the 2016 United States Golf Association rule book. “My dad and my grandfather…
By BRAD KING Despite having already captured two previous Rex Hospital Opens, Kyle Thompson admitted he was a desperate man fighting for survival as he headed into last year’s Web.com Tour event at Raleigh’s TPC Wakefield Plantation. Thompson entered the 2015 tournament on a past champion’s exemption. His name was nowhere to be found on…
By DAVID DROSCHAK Dan Brooks chuckles some when asked about his early days as Duke’s women’s golf coach. “I actually came into this not wanting to be a coach, I wanted to be a teacher, and my ego was huge and I wanted to be THE teacher,” said Brooks, who has now coached the ultra…
By DAVID DROSCHAK With more than 300 private clubs scattered across the world – and its fair share in the Triangle and the state of North Carolina (and still growing each year) – tackling a story on the far-reaching affect of ClubCorp’s network can be a bit overwhelming. Sure, the firm has golf clubs in…
By STUART HALL Last summer, as Jordan Spieth turned his attention toward preparation for the Open Championship, the third leg of his Grand Slam pursuit, his approach raised a few eyebrows. Though Spieth had played St. Andrews’ Old Course only once — in 2011 prior to the Walker Cup as an amateur — he chose not to…
Part 1 of 2 part series on the Carolinas PGA By DAVID DROSCHAK Golf has a way of pulling you back in. Ron Schmid, a former golf pro at Duke University Golf Club for more than a decade, believed the game was in his rear view mirror heading into the 1990s. He was sailing along…
By BRAD KING When he was contemplating converting the green complexes at historic Pine Needles resort in Southern Pines from bentgrass to an ultra-dwarf strand of bermudagrass, Kelly Miller didn’t have to look far for a good sampling — just across Midland Road, in fact, to the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club. Miller, the longtime…