By David Droschak Why this time? Why, after eight management firms since the Wyndham Championship left in 2007, is Forest Oaks Country Club ready to become a major player again in the Triad golf market? For starters, there is a new ownership group after nearly three decades. In late August, Guilford Development Group purchased…
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 Who says golf is too expensive? For just one Alexander Hamilton you can tee it up all day at Asheboro Municipal Golf Course. In case you’re not up on your currency, that’s $10 bucks. And if you’re a local, it costs only $8. That price point has remained in place for the…
By Steve Huffman Mike Cochran has been managing golf courses more years than he cares to admit and said he learned long ago that, try as he might, he wasn’t going to please all golfers. It just wasn’t going to happen. A select few are going to find something – the price of green fees,…
By David Droschak For more than a half century, High Meadows Golf & Country Club has remained untouched, standing the test of time as one of the more playable and serene settings in the North Carolina mountains, attracting dozens of members from the Triangle area. Few courses these days – especially with all of the…
By David Droschak It’s fitting golf course architect Dan Maples spent some quality time with his legendary father Ellis Maples during the designing of Apple Valley at Rumbling Bald Resort, considering generations of families have for decades enjoyed special moments at the mountain retreat along with its splendid scenery and countless recreational offerings. The elder…
By Steve Huffman Jay Dee Draper is experiencing a homecoming of sorts with his recent hire as golf professional at Forest Park Country Club in Martinsville, Va. Draper, 42, assumed the role May 1 and said he wants to help return the course to its former glory, to the days in the 1990s when he…
By Brad King A half century ago, Hickory Hill Golf Club debuted in Mocksville along Highway 64 and quickly became a popular local layout. Then, about 15 years ago, a new owner took over and renamed the golf course Lake Louise. After that owner passed away, the golf course began to lose its luster and…
By David Droschak Founded in 1753, Salisbury is noted for its preservation, with 10 National Register Historic Districts dotting the Rowan County landscape. And then there is one special iconic golf course, which if stories are accurate was started here in 1919 with six tomato cans as cups along the old racetrack and fairgrounds. Soon,…
By Brad King Golf course architect Mike Strantz left behind a tragically short legacy. Originally a golf course superintendent, Strantz’s decade-long tutelage shaping courses for legendary architect Tom Fazio led to a solo career that consisted of just seven widely heralded original designs prior to Strantz’s untimely death from cancer at the age of 50.…