Reagan High School edges out Pinecrest for 4A state championship By David Droschak Sasha Hayes was a multi-sport star growing up in the Triad area, with figure skating and golf emerging as her competitive loves as she entered her teen years. Then it was time for another life altering decision – breaking away from home…
By Brad King Pinehurst-based golf course architect Richard Mandell has too much on his plate these days to stress about the challenges facing his industry. Despite new course construction plummeting during in the past decade, Mandell has remained a busy man. Since forming his company, Richard Mandell Golf Architecture in 1992, he has worked on…
By David Droschak So just how did Quail Ridge Golf Club return to form after the previously dilapidated course had zero takers at auction? A call from the Coca-Cola man, of course. But this success story really has nothing to do with soda pop at all, other than a phone call between friends that set…
By Brad King Golf course architect Kris Spence faced a standing room only crowd of 400-plus gathered in Providence Country Club’s Grand Ballroom in early January for a presentation of the club’s upcoming golf course renovation. Tall and broad-shouldered with auburn hair and a chiseled countenance, Spence was dressed in a dark suit and a…
By Steve Huffman Think the life of a touring golf professional is glamorous? Then, please, step back and consider a week in the life of Lori Beth Adams. In early August, the 26-year-old Adams, a graduate of Western Alamance High School and UNC Wilmington, competed in the Firekeepers Casino Challenge, a Symetra Tour event played…
The U.S. Amateur torch has been passed from one famous resort to another in August By David Droschak It’s a great time to be among the world’s best amateur players, considering the recent venues for the U.S. Amateur Championship. The proverbial torch was passed in mid August from Pebble Beach to Pinehurst as the Sandhills…
By Brad King If Harold Varner III needed validation that he has become one of North Carolina’s favorite sons, he earned it during the final round of last year’s Wyndham Championship. On a hot and humid Sunday afternoon at Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club, the mantle was passed to Varner from his playing partner, Davis Love…
By Brad King In the world of golf course architecture, Ellis Maples may not be as prolific or renowned as fellow North Carolinians Donald Ross or Tom Fazio. But Maples is unquestionably the centerpiece of North Carolina’s first family of golf course design, construction and maintenance. Maples was born in Pinehurst in 1909. His father,…
By Steve Huffman Raleigh native and three-time ACC coach of the year Kim Lewellen says it was tough leaving the University of Virginia to take over the Wake Forest women’s golf program. Ultimately, she said, the fact that she’d be replacing Dianne Dailey, who recently retired after 30 years at Wake Forest, factored greatly into…
By Brad King His story began 700 miles from the Arctic Circle on the east coast of Scotland in Dornoch, north of the Highlands and fast by the sea. But the Scottish immigrant who arrived in America at the turn of the century and became one of North Carolina’s greatest ambassadors did not come directly…