By David Droschak Kris Spence worked on historic Forsyth Country Club about the same time he was doing the same to fellow Triad area layout Sedgefield Country Club, creating quite a Donald Ross return to form for both private clubs 12 years ago. The restoration project of the Ross design was the main focus back…
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 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 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 The renovation of Tanglewood’s Championship Golf Course is going well, with the facility on track to reopen around the first of October. “We haven’t experienced any major setbacks,” said Mike Wilcox, Tanglewood’s director of golf. “Our goal was to reopen Oct. 1, and with any luck, we’re going to hit it, or…
By David Droschak Officially located in the unincorporated community of State Road, picturesque Cedarbrook County Club has been Zim Zimmerman’s second home for 36 years. “Being here for more than three decades I’ve pretty much seen the membership turn over,” says the 62-year-old Zimmerman, who also stays young by coaching the Elkin High School golf…
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…
By Bill Hensley This will be a festive year at the Grandfather Golf and Country Club, which will host a variety of events in a season-long celebration of its 50th anniversary. “It will be a time for us to honor the past as we celebrate the future,” said event chairman Bob Eoff. In addition to…
By Steve Huffman Stoney Creek Golf Club is closing June 4 for a conversion of its bentgrass greens to Champion ultra-dwarf bermudagrass. The course’s targeted reopening date is Aug. 17. “The members are excited about it,” said John Kolls, Stoney Creek’s director of golf. “When we reopen, we’ll basically be reopening as a whole new…
By Keith Jarrett When famed golf course designer Tom Fazio came to the mountains of Western North Carolina in the mid 1980s to design Wade Hampton Golf Club in Cashiers, it was love at first sight. Not only with the majestic scenery and views, and the potential to carve beautiful and challenging 18-hole layouts, but…