By Steve Hanf Ryan Winfree fondly recalls walking out the back door of his childhood home, stepping onto the eighth hole and playing golf for hours. Many youths who grow up in golf course communities have similar stories. Winfree’s tale, however, comes with a twist: He now gets to run that same golf course he…
By Steve Hanf A dozen golfers – from juniors to seniors to men and women – grab their buckets and head to the range. A steady stream of carts filled with newcomers and regulars on a first-name basis with the staff drive to the first tee. Diners walk into the expansive clubhouse to grab a…
By DAVID DROSCHAK John McConnell readily admits he never set out to purchase a stable of golf courses across the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. But as properties presented themselves throughout the past decade the business itch inside the former high-tech executive took over. So did his “pure golf” belief and affinity for…
By David Droschak How often do you hear golf courses proclaiming “they have the best greens around?” Well, you can bank on it at Bryan Park’s Champions course after its March 21 reopening. The Rees Jones design in Browns Summit, which opened in 1990 and hosted the 2010 USGA Public Links Championship, recently completed a…
By David Droschak Donald Trump is turning more than a few heads these days with his golf operation. The Trump National brand now owns 17 golf courses, most of them exclusively private with the “white glove” touch the billionaire real estate developer and his team deem appropriate. With a good share of private clubs across…
By JOHN DELL To say owner Luke Hollingsworth of Holly Ridge Golf Links in Archdale has put his heart and soul into his work would be an understatement. The 39-year-old Hollingsworth has been the majority owner of the public course since 2007, but he and Chad Newton, a former head professional at Pinewood Country Club,…
By Bob Sutton The changing golf course scene in and around Alamance County is retaining some of its familiarity. There’s an owner change at The Challenge Golf Club in Graham. Another Graham venue, Southwick Golf Course, has new management. In both cases, the men taking charge should be plenty familiar to the area golf…
By DAVID DROSCHAK A golfer from Wisconsin, who visits each fall since his son moved to North Carolina for a job, squeezed in nine more holes in mid-November at Pudding Ridge Golf Club in the rolling countryside of Davie County before heading back North for the harsh winter. He made a point to stop in…
By MARC PRUITT A little bit of luck while playing golf can often make or break a round. The same can be said for golf course managers and owners – especially when it involves potentially shutting down your operation. That was the case recently for Luke Lambeth, the general manager of Pleasant Ridge Golf Course…
By DAVID DROSCHAK Tom Pashley has seemingly done it all at Pinehurst, from cooking omelets to raking bunkers to working the overnight shift as part of the audit team during his stint in the mid 1990s as part of the resort’s first-ever Manager in Development Program. So, even though some of the names have changed…