YOU ARE HERE Each month, we’ll throw a dart at a map and write about where it lands. LOCATION: The Tradition Golf Club 3800 Prosperity Church Rd.
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THWACK
RESONANT “THWACK” SOUNDS pierce the quiet on a warm Sunday morning at The Tradition Golf Club in northeast Charlotte. A father and son double over with laughter at the driving range when Dad’s drive sends a large chunk of earth flying. The Tradition is a municipal course, part of the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department, and the vibe is more relaxed than what you’d find at
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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2020
private clubs around town. Kia sedans and Nissan trucks fill the parking lot. Collared shirts are optional. Golf courses were one of the few types of recreational area that the state allowed to operate during its coronavirus restrictions, and Chris Eichstaedt, the club’s general manager, has been hustling since March. “Every day is like a Saturday right now,” he says. The Tradition opened in 1996, and
it’s one of the few courses in Charlotte not bordered by homes on every hole. Eichstaedt starts his days early, when he can easily spot deer, raccoons, and other wildlife as they roam the woods around the course. On this Sunday, birds circle overhead as golfers focus on the 18 challenges before them, able to forget the realities that await them once they get in their cars and drive away. —Cristina Bolling
SHAW NIELSEN; CRISTINA BOLLING
Good morning from The Tradition Golf Club. Swing away. Mind the deer. Don’t mind the divots
