6 minute read
Golf Courses
30 Area boasts array of quality golf courses
Story & Photos by J. Eric Eckard
Advertisement
From Rocky Mount’s private course designed by legendary Donald Ross to the self-proclaimed hidden gem in Tarboro to the off-the-beaten path 9-hole course in Spring Hope, the Twin Counties offers a variety of golf opportunities.
With six courses from which to choose, the weekend duffer and the low handicapper can find a course that will be sure to satisfy their love of the game that started nearly 500 years ago in Scotland.
Golf courses attract more than 25 million Americans every year. And although two popular golf courses in the area closed in the past decade – Birchwood Country Club in Nashville and Hickory Meadows in Whitakers – there still are more golf courses in the United States than Walmart stores.
The 16,000 or so golf courses in the U.S. account for more than three times the number of Walmarts.
And here are the six courses in the Twin Counties.
Northgreen Country Club, Rocky Mount.
Northgreen opened in 1974, designed by Bob Toski. Toski played professional golf in the 1950s, winning five PGA Tour events before retiring to teach, write, coach, broadcast and design courses.
In addition to two courses in North Carolina, Toski also designed courses in South Carolina and Guam.
Northgreen’s peak was in the 1980s and 1990s when the club hosted the ACC golf tournament for 10 years. Players such as David Duval, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Matt Kucher, John Inman and Billy Andrade all played Northgreen during their college days.
James McCumber has owned Northgreen for a couple of decades, and he’s trying to bring it back to its glory days. Barry Rose, the new general manager, started work on the course this summer.
“We’ve got a new superintendent, and we’re doing an overall reconditioning of the course,” Rose said. “The course hasn’t been maintained very well in the past few years, and we’d like to get it to where it’s at least an average golf course to start with.
31
“In a month from now, I think it will be unrecognizable from what it has been.”
Northgreen plays 7,200 yards from the back tees, and the No. 1 handicap hole is the 423-yard par 4 5th hole.
“But every hole is a great hole at Northgreen,” Rose said.
Belmont Lake Golf Club, Rocky Mount
David Johnson designed Belmont, and it opened in 2007. Johnson, who has about three decades of golf course design experience, built a player-friendly course that’s still in outstanding shape.
In 2017, Belmont converted its greens to G-12 Champion Bermuda grass. And the 18-hole, par 72 course was ranked the 11th best course in the state by Golf Advisor and in the Top 100 must play courses by the N.C. Golf Panel. From the tips, Belmont plays 7,095 yards.
With plenty of variety on this course, the most scenic holes are the par-3 3rd, which features a large pond, and No. 18, whose fairway runs along an 80-acre lake.
Tim Wilke, Belmont’s general manager and head golf pro, said he believes the 456-yard par 4 second hole is the course’s most challenging hole.
“It’s imperative you hit a good tee shot,” Wilke said. “Every shot is difficult on this hole, and there are no easy putts on the green.
“Overall, the course is pretty straight forward. If you hit a good shot, you’ll be rewarded. If you hit a bad shot, you’re in trouble – and you should be.”
Benvenue Country Club, Rocky Mount
Built in 1922 by Donald Ross, Benvenue is a short course compared to today’s standards. The traditional par-72 course plays 6,525 yards from the back tees.
The No. 1 handicap hole can be found on the front – No. 4 – a 547-yard par 5 that features out of bounds down the entire right side of the fairway. Golfers must then navigate through a narrow opening to the green, which is bordered by three bunkers.
No. 16 also is a challenging hole, and it features a plateau green that sits about four feet above the fairway. It also is flanked with bunkers.
Small, fast greens are the 100-year-old course’s signature feature, and a staple on most Ross designs. Ross, whose most famous course design is the celebrated Pinehurst No. 2, has been called a genius thanks to his routing and strategic bunker placement.
He did little earth moving when building a course, trying to use the natural elements to shape the course. At Benvenue, Ross used the hilly-ish topography as well as lines of pines and now-massive oaks to challenge all levels of golfers.
The Links at Cotton Valley, Tarboro
Cotton Valley was built in 1998, but it wasn’t opened until 2000 thanks to Hurricane Floyd, which wreaked havoc on the Town Counties almost 25 years ago.
32
Tom Johnson, who has designed courses on three continents, was the architect behind Cotton Valley, a Scottish links style course.
In 2014, a teardrop-shaped pond was added in front of the 18th green to add more challenge to the course’s closing hole.
But the 629-yard, par-5 No. 17 is the most challenging hole, according to owner Moonie Sloan.
“It’s long and treacherous,” she said.
Sloan, who has owned Cotton Valley for more than a decade, calls the course the “best kept secret in Eastern North Carolina.”
“All our greens are undulating, but I can’t tell you anything else,” she said. “I can’t reveal all my secrets.”
Maccripine Country Club, Pinetops
Maccripine was built in 1967 by Leo Green, who designed a couple of golf courses in eastern North Carolina. The 6,301-yard, par-71 features its No. 1 handicap hole – No. 16, a 430-yard par-4.
Maccripine has a reputation of being well-maintained and having a friendly staff. Mark Hartley owns the course, along with the Farmville Golf and Country Club in Pitt County.
Peachtree Hills Country Club, Spring Hope
Peachtree Hills opened in May 1955, and it features a par-35, 2,758-yard 9-hole golf course. Accuracy is important with approach shots thanks to smallish greens.
The course begins with a string of four par 4 holes, and holes 5-7 alternate from par 3-4-3. By the time you get to the No. 1 handicap hole – the 8th – you’ve reached the longest hole at 507 yards and only par 5 on the course.
Peachtree Hills also has a reputation of being well-maintained and having a friendly staff. It’s owned by a group of more than three dozen members, and Terri Griffin is the pro shop manager.
HeretoServeYou In Your Time Of Need!
FuneralHome&Crematory
www.joyners.net
2927 Zebulon Road, Rocky Mount (252) 200-4862
clairdelunerockymount
BRANDS WE CARRY:
Banjanan •Crosby• Spanx Laura Park •Joseph Ribkoff Jade &JoyJoy •Vilagallo Mother •Hunter Bell NYC Oliphant •Ulla Johnson Karlie •Dolce Vita Brackish&somany more!
