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 Tucked into the northwest corner of North Carolina, in the heart or Christmas tree country, bordering the rafting and canoeing experiences of the New River and just a 10-minute drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway, sits one of the state’s best golfing layouts. In case you haven’t been to Jefferson Landing Club…
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 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 David Droschak Kris Spence grew up in a rural town of about 2,000 folks in the bootheel of Missouri that didn’t have a golf course. The Greensboro-based golf architect discovered the game as a 10-year-old when he stumbled across some old clubs and balls left by a neighbor of his grandmother. “The guy moved…
By David Droschak Under normal circumstances, it would have been a major downer for the re-opening of the Dogwood Course at the Country Club of North Carolina to transpire in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. But with a major directive to transform the Ellis Maples classic into a firmer playing experience for the private…
By Robert Kimball You certainly don’t have to be a golf course architecture geek to understand. If you can’t tell the difference between a Redan hole and a Biarritz, that’s fine. However, if you are passionate about the game of golf – especially in the state of North Carolina – you have to know the…