Almost inconceivably, North Carolina is an underrated golf destination despite its wide range of world class venues, the Pinehurst factor and its incredible genteel hospitality. Having traveled to North Carolina for a Spring golf trip for some twenty five years, we are still checking off courses in the state’s Top 100 list (an amazingly bold ranking for in state courses) and have yet to be disappointed. For 2012, we again had a delightful trip and played two new venues for our two foursomes, Greensboro Country Club and Forest Creek Golf Club North, in addition to our home base courses at the Country Club of North Carolina. In all, the designs were diverse, the conditions superb and the people warm and welcoming.
At Greensboro Country Club’s Farm Course, the caliber of the golf was foreshadowed by the well appointed neighborhood on the northwest side of Greensboro. Although the Club was founded in 1909, the Farm Course and facility were developed in the 1950’s with Ellis Maples doing the original design and Donald Steele completing a redesign/renovation in 2009. The course is magnificent. Rolling and rising over a choice and sprawling site, the routing is well suited to the land forms. Right from the opening tee shot, one must think through the distance and placement of the drive as water looms on the left and a ridge defines the right. Its par-4, par-5, par-3 over the first three and each provides its unique challenges. The par-3 third is likely the most difficult on the course with a 220 yard carry across a valley to a massive green with the added difficulty of the pin tucked on the far left side. This is a par 3 that could merit a one or two handicap rating. The par three 8th is another monster hole with water guarding the right side. The ninth is a great outward half closer with a semi-blind tee shot around a slight dogleg right to an elevated, tiered green. On the back side, the holes are again a delightful mixture of length and strategy. The eleventh is a classic par-4 as the encroaching tree line on the left side of the fairway gives the impression that the corner needs to be challenged when the higher percentage shot is out to the right where a longer, but more open and inviting target line is revealed. Clearly, the experienced GCC player will avoid the inside of the dogleg and emerge with a better stroke average. The closing holes are all you can handle with 16 being a straightaway beauty of a 4, 17 a charming 3 and 18 a beefy 5. Greensboro C.C.’s Farm Course is a terrific venue for a fun round or for championship golf, but, above all, its a welcoming place to enjoy southern hospitality at its finest.
The short trip south from Greensboro introduces one to the transformation of the land forms as the Sandhills of the Pinehurst region unfold in subtle but spectacular fashion. The Sandhills of North Carolina are a swath of land created by ancient beach dunes, dividing the North Carolina Piedmont and Coastal regions. The beach deposits and land forms were created some twenty million years ago during The Miocene Epoch. For the golfer visiting Forest Creek, this translates into an ideal landscape for golf. Fortunately, on the North Course, architect Tom Fazio allowed the natural sand deposits and dunes to frame and shape the look and routing of the course. Forget the Pine Valley analogies, this is a modern day golf course which conserves natural beauty in a setting perfectly suited for golf. For the golfer/naturalist, a round at Forest Creek North can reveal the endangered Red-Cockaded woodpeacker (also the club’s logo), the Bachman’s sparrow, Great Blue Herron, Turkey, otters and fox squirrels. All in all, Forest Creek is an impressive place.
Back to the golf course, namely the terrific opener that trundles down a right to left slope to a well bunkered green complex. The hole reveals several repeating features in the rough hewn bunkering with native grasses, slopes unaltered by human hand or bulldozer and green complexes built into natural settings. After a lovely one-shotter at the second, the par-5 third is another great example of a hole melded to the terrain with exposed sand/waste areas bordering the left and the green on the precipice of a natural area pit. The variety and fun continue throughout the front nine.
Interestingly, the North course was once a Golfweek Top 50 Modern Course, but has since dropped off the Top 100 to number 119 with a 6.78 rating. Examining the rating criteria, its hard to imagine how the course could fall off the list as the Routing, Quality of Shaping, Overall land plan, Greens and surrounds, Variety and memorability, Tree and landscape management, Conditioning and walk in the park test are certainly worthy of high marks. The only negatives could be the encroachment of housing on a few holes on the back nine and the occasional treks from greens to tees. Personally, Forest Creek North is a Top 100 Modern track and is likely entitled to a top 10 ranking in North Carolina. Notwithstanding the rankings, this is a solid golf course that showcases the Sandhills in all its finest elements.
The ultimate measure of the course is the last four holes that break out of the Sandhills and towering pines into a lakeside setting with two strong 4’s, the par-3 16th and the closing par-5 eighteenth. We saw a Great Blue Heron, a kingfisher, numerous Cedar waxwings and jumping fish. Certainly, an unforgettable conclusion to a superb afternoon at Forest Creek Golf Club.
The balance of our weekend jaunt was spent at the cozy and classy Country Club of North Carolina. The golf is top notch, the service beyond belief and the distractions of the chaotic world left well behind. CCNC is in a category by itself for pure relaxation spiced with world class golf. In total, our North Carolina visit again captivated our imaginations of contemplating the Miocene Epoch while playing some of the best golf in the world.
Ben