By David Droschak The first lunch meeting in February 2012 between Pine Needles Resort president Kelly Miller and golf course architect Kyle Franz hit on a wide range of topics. At one point, Southern Pines Golf Club came up, and Franz sat up in his chair. Franz had played the 115-year-old course numerous times while…
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 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 Brad King The “Home of American Golf” is getting a facelift. After making history in 2014 by hosting both the Men’s and Women’s U.S. Opens on its legendary No. 2 course, Pinehurst Resort & Country Club is continuing a master plan to further restore the original character and spirit to the Pinehurst golf experience.…
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…
One of more than 40 Donald Ross designed golf courses scattered across North Carolina is on the market. The 9-hole Pennrose Park Country Club layout in Reidsville, which opened in 1929 under the ownership of American Tobacco Co. vice president Charles A. Penn, is for sale for $595,000. The Penn family has owned and operated…
By Brad King The year 1925 had barely dawned on the day a handful of Winston-Salem’s most prominent businessmen — names like Hanes, Reynolds and Gray — gathered at the downtown law office of Manly, Hendren & Womble. Led by Hugh Chatham, the group would finalize long-bandied plans to develop a private vacation community in…
By STUART HALL In Steve Johnson’s 30-plus years of working in the golf industry, only once in his travels has he found a place as unique a golf destination as Pinehurst. “The first time I went to St. Andrews I was struck by how alike the two places are,” said Johnson, regional general manager for…
By DAVID DROSCHAK The stories may have been exaggerated over the years, the truth stretched a bit here and there, but Pine Crest Inn’s assessment of 45,000 drinks poured annually to golfing foursomes is likely right on target. Regarded as one of the nation’s best 19th holes, the historic inn begins a year-long celebration this…