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By Bill F. Hensley
Tobacco
Road in Sanford, the challenging course carved
from an old sand and gravel pit by Mike Strantz,
was a runaway winner for the Best New Course of
the Year for the 1999 season.
Members of the North
Carolina Magazine Golf Panel who played Tobacco
Road awarded it a total of 1,280 points, twice
its nearest competitor. The course is a mile
south of Sanford on US 1 at 15/501, about halfway
between Raleigh and Pinehurst. It's a public
course with no real estate development around it.
Many course raters wrote
glowing reviews on their rating cards, generally
saying they were surprised and challenged by the
steep canyons, blind shots and elevation changes.
“Playing Tobacco
Road is like priming tobacco. It's hard as
hell,” panelist Mike Long wrote on his card.
Other typical comments: “Engage your brain
before teeing off,” said sports editor Jim
Pettit. “Never a dull moment,” said
USAirways pilot Terri Foote. “Its growl is
worse than its bite,” said Scott &
Stringfellow executive Russell Eaves.
Or how about this from
Patty Moore of Charlotte, a zero handicapper:
“What a ride. A fascinating experience. It
is the most unique course I have ever
played.”
The raters generally
said they had a blast playing such an unusual
layout, which hosted 30,000 rounds in its first
year. The course kept the raters on their toes
thinking or guessing at shots on holes like they
had never seen. Not everyone scored well, as you
would expect from playing such an unusual course
for the first time. Many of the high-handicap
players said they lost a lot of balls and had
trouble staying in the short grass.
Runner-up for Best New
Course is Verdict Ridge in Denver, a Land Design
course developed by avid golfer and former
Charlotte mayor Eddie Knox. Verdict Ridge,
located in Lincoln County near Lake Norman, is a
hilly tract.
Third place with 541
points went to The Thistle Golf Club in Sunset
Beach, a Tim Cate design that's one of the first
links-style courses on the north end of the Grand
Strand. See the complete list of new courses
below.
A total of seven courses
that began full play during the 1999 season, and
which met other minimum criteria, were visited by
Golf Panel raters. On a 1 to 5 scale, panelists
assess five elements — course design,
condition, pace of play, service, and overall
rating. About 75 of the 130 members of the Golf
Panel played and completed a rating card for at
least one of the new courses. The voting season
runs from one Labor Day to the next to
accommodate courses opening in the fall.
Other eligible courses
were Deer Brook in Shelby, Crescent in Salisbury,
Firethorne in Waxhaw and the Warrior in China
Grove.
Tobacco Road “is a
real gem, a welcomed addition to the North
Carolina golf scene whose new courses tend to be
stale and repetitive,” said sports writer
and panel member Gil Capps of Huntersville.
Playing here is anything
but “stale and repetitive.” In creating
this unusual layout, Strantz borrowed from the
links courses of Scotland and Ireland to carve a
layout that wends its way through steep Sandhills
dunes.
The course has an
interesting history. It was developed and is
owned by Mark Stewart and Tony Woodell of
Sanford, principals in the Lee Paving Co. The
family-owned company used the property for years
to supply sand and gravel for paving materials.
Then it played out. Instead of abandoning what
was a moon-scape gash in the earth, they did a
good thing for the environment by reclaiming it,
transforming the property into a beautiful place
surrounded by natural habitats.
The course opened in
November 1998 but tragedy quickly struck when the
clubhouse and pro shop burned to the ground. A
new clubhouse opened last fall. The 214-acre
development is strictly for golf and has no real
estate involvement.
Several panelists
commented that the course can easily intimidate
the average player. Several holes begin from
elevated driving areas that look out to the blue
sky. You need steady nerves to believe there's a
fairway in the landing area down there when in
fact there's ample room. In some ways, the course
resembles Stranz' much-talked about courses in
the Myrtle Beach area, True Blue and Caledonia,
and in Virginia, Royal New Kent and Stonebridge.
“Don't expect a
Mike Strantz-designed course to be your typical
course,” offered Ben Vernon of Charlotte,
who competed against Arnold Palmer as a student
at Davidson. “He doesn't believe in the
ordinary.”
Tobacco Road has been
described as “target golf” where each
shot must be directed from target to target on
each hole. The course's 150 slope rating from the
back tees is the highest in the state and the
second toughest in the Carolinas. But players who
can hit the targets can post decent scores, said
panelists who praised its “risk/reward”
aspects.
“At Tobacco Road,
if you gamble and win you can make birdies and
eagles,” explained Harry Nicholas of
Charlotte, the retired First Citizens Bank
executive. “But if you gamble and lose,
you're going to put some big numbers on your
scorecard.”
The par 5 fifth hole is
a perfect example of that. From the tee, a player
who can carry the ball 220 yards over wasteland
can reach a finger fairway and have a short pitch
to the green. A drive of 243 yards can put you on
in two and putting for eagle. But the average
player would be wise to play a tee shot to the
dogleg fairway on the right and have a full shot
to the green with a short iron.
Joe Gay, the pro at
Tobacco Road, said it's “a truly unique
course that may not be for everyone. It is not
the typical, run-of-the-mill course. But we are
overjoyed with what Strantz has created here, and
we think the course has all the elements for
greatness. In time, we think it will be ranked
with the best in the nation.”
Gay, who was a standout
golfer at N.C. State in the late 1980s, earning
All-ACC, All-American and MVP honors, called
Strantz “a master of deception” because
severe elevation changes and long carries over
waste areas at Tobacco Road disguise its wide
fairways and large greens. “Each hole has
its own character and challenges, and no two
holes are alike,” said Gay. “A player
can exploit his strengths, but the course
tends to find one's weaknesses. What more could
you ask for?”
Though some players
developed a love/hate relationship with Tobacco
Road, panelists vaulted it into 28th place in
balloting by panelists for the new Top 100 poll
— unprecedented for a new course. The course
also is considered a strong contender for
national “best new course of the year”
in several golf publications.
The par 71-layout plays
to 6,554 yards from the championship tees, and
6,044, 5886 and 5,094 from the forward tees. Peak
green fees, including cart, is $85, $48 for
off-peak times.
Here are some other
comments by the panelists:
“Definitely teaches
patience and course management,” Dianne
Dailey, Wake Forest University women's golf
coach.
“Tobacco Road is
unique and that's what makes it fun,” Tony
Debo, sports anchor at WTVD-TV Durham.
“I have played
other Strantz courses so I enjoyed the course
more than someone who played it for the first
time,” Woody Durham, voice of the Tar Heel
Sports Network.
“Absolutely
unforgettable and exciting. Very different. Golf
needs courses like this to challenge the way we
play the game,” Harris Prevost, an executive
with Grandfather Mountain.
“Engage your brain
before teeing off.” Jim Pettit, sports
editor, Fayetteville Observer.
“Never a dull
moment,” Terri Foote of Cornelius, USAirways
pilot.
“Its growl is worse
than its bite,” Russell Eaves, vice
president of Scott & Stringfellow in
Greenville.
“I loved the
layout. The more you play it, the more you like
it,” Don Lassiter, an attorney at Kennedy
Covington in Charlotte.
“What a ride. A
fascinating experience. It is the most unique
course I have ever played,” Patty Moore of
Charlotte, a zero handicapper.
“Love it or hate
it, you will remember it,” Howard Ward, golf
editor at The Pilot in Southern
Pines.
“Unique and
enjoyable,” Dean Cassell, Charlotte golf
consultant and former president of the Golf
Manufacturers Association.
“Outstanding. Great
fun,” Steve Hinshaw of Pinehurst, a top-ten
finisher at the 1998 Carolina Seniors and former
club champion at Kiawah Island and Bermuda Run.
“It plays easier
than it looks,” Harry Nicholas of Charlotte,
retired First Citizens Bank executive.
“A spectacular
course. I love it but others won't,” Gordon
White of Pinehurst, retired New York
Times sports writer.
“Not my cup of
tea,” Lee Pace, book author and sports
writer, Chapel Hill.
“Too many blind
spots. Ray Charles could play here,” Steve
Johnson of Winston-Salem, an executive with Beers
Construction Co.
“Too many blind
shots, lost balls,” Anne Strickland of
Winston-Salem, a course rater for the CGA and
USGA.
“Wonderfully
challenging but too hard for high handicap
players,” Eddie Pell, president of Baron
Yarns in Bessemer City.
“Beautiful setting,
fun to play. Excellent use of terrain,” Ron
Green, retired Charlotte Observer
sports columnist.
“This one is going
to be a winner,” Bob Leak Jr, president of
Winston-Salem Business Inc.
“This is the
toughest course I've played in a while. It's
capital punishment,” Tucker Mitchell, editor
of The Leader newspaper in
Charlotte.
“Beautiful, long,
challenging, demanding but fair,” Donald
Littlejohn, athletic director for the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
“Play the wrong
side of the ridges and the verdict is life
imprisonment,” Lenox Rawlings, sports
columnist at the Winston-Salem Journal.
“Excellent
layout,” Mike Purkey of Charlotte, senior
editor for Golf Magazine.
“Severe greens
either frustrate you or teach you to hit perfect
approaches,” Anne Strickland.
The Thistle is on Old
Georgetown Road a couple of miles inland from the
state's southernmost beaches, Ocean Isle and
Sunset Beach, a booming area for golf courses.
You have to play the wind at this links-style
course, but for every hole with the wind in your
face there's one with it at your back, blowing
your drive way down the fairway. There are
bump-and-run opportunities on 16 holes and
everywhere the landscape is stunning on this
open, wind-swept terrain.
The course is smack in
the middle of an emerging golf destination point
and is just down the road from Sandpiper Bay, Sea
Trail, The Pearl and Angels Trace. A new 54-hole
development is in the works nearby. Here are some
panelists' comments about The Thistle:
“A `must play' for
anyone in the beach area,” Don Lassiter.
“A fine golf
course,” Page Marsh Lea, an All-American
golfer at UNC-Chapel Hill.
“Easily the best
new course I played last year,” Stedman
Morris, president of Latane Morris Investment in
Durham.
“Great
potential,” Bruce Phillips of Wrightsville
Beach.
“Very
enjoyable,” Paul Weis of West End, a senior
amateur.
“An honest, fair
test where the wind is usually a factor,”
Jim Pettit.
“A welcomed change
from the usual Grand Strand course,” Howard
Ward.
“Friendliest staff
I have ever met,” Steve Johnson.
“An outstanding
public course,” Charles Price, chairman of
Price/McNabb Advertising in Asheville.
The
Scorecard on This Year's New Courses
Tobacco Road, on US 1 in Sanford about halfway
between Raleigh and Pinehurst. Low handicappers
loved the challenge but our hackers lost a lot of
balls. Everyone raved about the stunning scenery.
Public course with no real estate development,
developed by a well-known local company, Lee
Paving. For tee times, call pro Joe Gay toll free
1-877-284-3762.
Verdict Ridge, a semi-private course in Denver on
Lake Norman developed by avid golfer and former
Charlotte mayor Eddie Knox. It was designed by
Land Design of Charlotte with Ed Sweitzer as the
lead designer. The pro is John Hughes, a former
UNC-Chapel Hill golfer. Call 704-489-1206 for tee
times.
The Thistle, on Old Georgetown Road a couple of
miles inland from Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach.
You have to play the wind at this Tim Cate
links-style course, but there are 16 bump-and-run
opportunities and everywhere the landscape is
eye-appealing. Panelists raved about the staff
and said it was the friendliest place they played
lately. Just down the road is Sandpiper Bay, Sea
Trail, The Pearl and Angels Trace. The pro is Dan
Oschman, a veteran of several mini tours. The
course is owned by BelAire Golf Properties and is
open to the public. For starting times call toll
free 800-571-6710 or locally at 910-575-8770.
Deer Brook in Shelby is located two miles north
of the intersection of Highways 180 and 150. The
semi-private course was developed by 10 local
investors led by managing partner Joe Spangler,
who also owns a nearby par three course. Deer
Brook, which is semi-private, was designed by
Rick Robbins of Cary. Marc Brady is the general
manager and director of golf. For tee times call
1-704-482-4653.
Crescent in Salisbury is a daily-fee course owned
by a partnership that includes Salisbury native
Jim Riddle, course architect John Le Foy and Bill
Kubly of Landscaped Unlimited, which built the
course. Ross Desmond is the pro. For tee times
call 704-647-0025.
Firethorne in Waxhaw, south of Charlotte, is part
of an upscale residential development. David
Jennings is the pro at the semi-private course
that soon will become private. It was designed by
Tom Jackson. For tee times call 704-843-3111.
Warrior in China Grove is a semi-private course
designed by Stan Gentry. The property is owned by
the Houston, Lee, Stanton and Johnson families.
For tee times call 704-856-0871.
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