Greater Wilmington Business Journal
wilmingtonbiz.com
July 16 - August 5, 2021
Page 5
| HOSPITALITY |
The muni: ‘A peach of a course’
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or golfers who want the Pinehurst experience with the proximity to the beach and without the private course price tag, they need to look no further than the Wilmington Municipal Golf Course. Golf Magazine recently named the “muni” the best public course in North Carolina and No. 21 of the top 30 municipal courses in the nation. LAURA Renowned golf course designer Donald Ross designed the Wilmington Muni in 1926 to provide the public with a quality, championship 18-hole golf course. The muni’s 2014 renovation used Ross’s original plans to restore greens and bunkers. “Since the [Golf Magazine] article came out, it has given us good exposure and people want to play here,
MOORE
PHOTOS BY JOHN DOMONEY
Green game: The Wilmington Municipal Golf Course was recently named the best public course in North Carolina by Golf Magazine.
both folks coming from out of town and people in Wilmington who are proud of the ranking,” said David Donovan, PGA general manager of the course. Ross had written on one of the design plans for the course, “A peach
of a course, much too good.” That sentiment has become a motto for the muni. Most of the courses Ross designed were for private clubs, and golf was an elite game at the time, so his design of a public golf course was a
progressive plan for that period. “Municipal golf courses provide affordable golf for citizens of the townships and cities – that was the number one reason to grow the game of golf for the affordability,” Donovan said. “Golf was a rich man’s
