NC courses in the news

National rated fourth best in Sandhills
Pinehurst Magazine has ranked the Jack Nicklaus-designed National Golf Club fourth in its annual list of top 10 golf courses in the Sandhills. The ranking is determined by a vote of local golf professionals and appears in the September/October issue.

Pinehurst No. 2 is the top-rated course in the survey, followed by Mid South Club, Forest Creek and National. Pine Needles rounds out the top five.
“To be considered among the best in such a golfing-rich area as the Sandhills is truly an honor,” says National’s director of golf Tom Parsons.

Readers of Pinehurst Magazine also voted National their second favorite course in the Sandhills behind Pine Needles.
 
Rocky River celebrates with Mayor’s Tourney
Rocky River Golf Club at Concord celebrated its eighth birthday Sept. 9 with the eighth annual Mayor’s Tournament. The tournament honors Concord mayor Scott Padgett and the City of Concord’s commitment to the municipal course, which opened Sept. 13, 1997.

Wachovia Bank was the title sponsor for the event, which raised approximately $7,000, half of which was donated by the mayor to the Red Cross and Salvation Army to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Other sponsors were: Technologies Edge, First Charter Bank, Hersey Meters, CT Communications, BFI-CMS Landfill and J&B Development.

The tournament drew a full field of 140 players and used a captain’s choice format. The team of Bob Holub, Mike Egan, Rich Dutcher and Brian McFadden took top honors with a 60.
 
Thistle maintains 12-minute tee times
Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, N.C., continues to provide Grand Strand golfers with a unique luxury – tee times spaced in 12-minute intervals – in an industry where eight-minute and 10-minute tee times are the norm.

“By the time you tee off, the group ahead of you is putting out or has cleared the first green,” says Gene Weldon, director of golf. “On a normal day, people play in four hours to four hours and 15 minutes, and that’s due to 12-minute tee times. What backs a golf course up and makes it slow is putting too many golfers on it.”

Thistle has maintained this practice since opening in 1999. While some people in the golf industry believe this tee time spacing costs revenue, Thistle believes just the opposite. When golfers enjoy the pace of play and have a pleasant round, they’re more likely to be repeat customers.

For information about Thistle Golf Club, call 800-571-6710 or visit www.thistlegolf.com.
 
Spence completes Cedarwood, continues other projects
Greensboro golf course architect Kris Spence has wrapped up an extensive restoration of Cedarwood Country Club in Charlotte, and is in the final stages of redesigning Bentwinds Golf & Country Club in Fuquay-Varina.

Addtionally, Spence is doing a bunker restoration project at the Roaring Gap Club in Roaring Gap; building two new holes and a practice facility at Carolina Golf & Country Club in Charlotte; and upgrading the practice range at Cowans Ford Country Club on Lake Norman.

At Cedarwood, an Ellis Maples design, Spence restored the green complexes to their original sizes and shapes to recapture Maples’ strategic contours. The project also restored bunkers, reshaped some fairways, updated the irrigation system, and added length to a few holes.

“We’re ecstatic with the restoration,” says Maury Clodfelter, Cedarwood’s general manager and director of golf. “Kris really had a vision for this course and it seemed like everything flowed without a glitch from day one. The green complexes are awesome and the bunkering is unbelievable.”