GOLF DESTINATIONS

Charlotte:
U.S. I-77 Traffic Features Stellar Golf

CHARLOTTE, NC – Most Charlotte residents think of it in terms of congestion and construction, and with a general feeling of repulsion. It is U.S. Interstate 77, and like so many strips of highway in the U.S.’s urban areas, it has its issues.

But for those visiting the city, or passing through on their way to the beach, I-77 can be a portal to some solid daily fee golf. For our purposes, the I-77 corridor runs between Statesville, NC to the north and Rock Hill, SC to the south, and is buoyed by Charlotte just south of the middle.

While you won’t be treated to the most stunning country the state has to offer, the sampling of golf courses located just a five iron’s drive from the ubiquitous roadway will provide ample reasons for traversing this corridor whenever you head to the beach.

Here is a run-down on where to play, stay and eat on your next trip to, or through the Tar Heel State on I-77.

Statesville

North Carolina is the “ville” and “burg” capital of the country, and Statesville fits the mold of the typical Piedmont settlement – half industrial, half rural. The town is located about 30 minutes north of Charlotte, and is home to the Fox Den Country Club.

By his own admission, Fox Den is not one of Clyde Johnston’s more memorable designs. The front nine plays through some ubiquitous housing and is lacking in hazards and proper earth moving. Ownership does have some plans to spice up a few of the holes, but the back nine and the price are the main reasons this course draws golfers from the Charlotte and Hickory areas.

“By and large, I thought the holes fit the land pretty well,” Johnston says about one of his rare Piedmont designs. “It wasn’t one of the better budgets I had to work with, that is why there were so few bunkers. But I was always particularly fond of 15, 16, and 17.”

Fox Den begins somewhat uneventfully (and for most average golfers, that is just fine, thank you) with a 385-yard par 4 that modestly requests that you hit your tee shot to the crown of a upward sloping fairway. If properly executed, you will have about 150 yards into a nice wide green ready to receive most approach shots.

After you polish off the par 4, 385-yard tenth hole, you might as well have packed you bags, loaded up the car, and sped off to another golf course. Holes eleven through 18 alone are worth the meager $35 it takes to play Fox Den. Heck, just the opportunity to play No.’s 15 and 17 is worth the price of admission.

If you are playing the course this winter, fairways are not overseeded with rye, but the greens are in reasonable condition. Our recommendation is to play Fox Den on a weekday, if possible. The pace of play on the weekend is brutal, and the weekend rate of $40 is inflated in light of the course’s current condition.

Mooresville

Yes, another “ville.” But this time we are talking Donald Ross, and we are talking affordable. The name Ross and the word affordable are rarely used in the same sentence, so take note – if there is a “must-play” on the northern leg of this journey, it is the Mooresville Golf Club.

Ross’ design skills are actually limited to the front nine, which opened back in 1940! Porter Gibson designed the back nine, which opened much later in 1978. Similar to Fox Den, Mooresville Golf Club offers up two contrasting sets of nines.

But unlike its neighbor up the road, the MGC is sure to peak your interest from start to finish. Ross’ front nine is wide open and somewhat forgiving until you reach the putting surfaces. In typical Ross fashion, the greens are tiny, undulating, and protected by arduous bunkering and mounding.

Gibson’s back nine plays through rolling terrain that is more typical of the Piedmont. Greens are larger, as to be expected, but the fairways and landing areas are a bit tighter. The MGC does not get the publicity that some of its newer, higher-priced cohorts along I-77 get, but it is the sneaky favorite of a number of Charlotte golfers who love to play a traditional track at a cut-rate price.

Huntersville

You have now officially moved into an area that is considered by commuters and demographers to be a “suburb” of Charlotte. Huntersville once had its own personality as a small, rural dale just north of the big city. Downtown Huntersville still remains in tact, and is a pleasant place for a stroll on a spring afternoon.

But by and large, Huntersville is a monstrosity of modern suburban America. Massive apartment complexes transition into cookie-cutter housing developments, all which bump up against auto-oriented shopping centers with big box retail store anchors.

That out of the way, there is some upscale daily fee golf to be played in Huntersville. Arnold Palmer is no stranger to the Charlotte area, and it seemed only a question of time before he put his stamp on daily fee golf in the Queen City. In 1996, Palmer and his right-hand man Ed Seay did just that with the opening of Birkdale.

Birkdale is a clever course, and management does not hesitate to charge for it - for a few years, the course was about the most expensive public track around. The idea behind Birkdale (and the price) was that the course could be your country club for a day; a place where you could be pampered and maybe even called by your first name if you played enough.

Tired old marketing plan aside, the course is immaculately maintained, and the routing through Carolina woodlands (and unfortunately some homes and condos) is solid enough to garner much repeat play.

The newest, and most anticipated course to open in Huntersville is the Skybrook Golf Club. The course is situated on as unique a piece of property as you’ll find in the region. Skybrook bills itself as being located in the mountains of Charlotte. And through a little slight of hand, the course actually backs its claim.

If you are at all familiar with the geography of the North Carolina, you know that the highest points in most Piedmont towns are either the church steeples, or BBQ billboards.

But somehow, Skybrook’s developers, Legacy Golf Management, found some hills – big ones at that – just to the northeast of the city. Legacy then hired prominent Carolina course designer John LaFoy (Crescent Club, The Neuse, Devil’s Ridge) to route a clever, yet player friendly golf course through the peaks and valleys of the property.

“We could blindfold someone and take them here and they would think they are in the mountains,” says head professional Rodger Ross.

Ross is quick to point out that the elevation changes aren’t the only thing that should appeal to golfers.

“The homes are set back off the fairways, and there is no out of bounds,” adds Ross. “What really identifies this course is the size of the greens. They average 75 square feet, which puts a premium on the second shot.”

A mere 10 minutes from downtown Charlotte, Regent Park is one of the most sought-after rounds of golf in the area, due mainly to its intriguing Ron Garl design and first class service. The course itself is always in excellent condition, and the holes feature as much variety as a Sting concert.

Regent Park plays to 6861 yards from the championship tees, and with the rolling terrain, penal bunkers, and water in play in unlikely places, it is also one of the more challenging courses around. And if you like pounding balls at the range or rolling putts on the practice green, there may be no better practice facility in all of Charlotte. Regent Park has driving stations on both ends of a behemoth driving range, a chipping green, practice bunker, and an enormous, finely groomed practice green.

If you get your fill of modern golf at Regent Park, throw the wooden-shafted clubs in the trunk and head to the Fort Mill Golf Club for a decidedly traditional golf outing. The legendary Donald Ross designed the front nine, which opened back in 1947, just before his death in 1948. George Cobb picked up where Ross left off and designed the back nine, which opened in 1970.

Fort Mill GC may be one of the last remaining “hidden gems” in the Charlotte metro-golf scene. The cliché is so overused when it comes to out of the way golf courses, but it actually applies in this case. The course is as well conditioned as many private facilities, and with two of golf’s greatest architects represented in one course design, variety is the name of the game.

Ross’s front nine is a bit more wide open, whereas Cobb’s back nine plays through the rolling hills of the lower Piedmont. As you might expect, the greens are harder to solve than a Charlotte murder case. Ross has provided his typical turtle shell dance floors, and Cobb’s larger greens offer only a slight reprieve.

Down the road from Ft. Mill is Rock Hill, SC, home of the back-to-back NCAA Basketball Tournament participants Winthrop Eagles! Rock Hill is also home to the Waterford, a Hale Irwin designed course that opened in 1997. Waterford is set on the banks of the Catawba River, and features bentgrass greens strewn throughout a fine piece of property.

Unlike many other Charlotte area courses, Waterford’s fairways are lined with pine trees, instead of hardwoods. Due to its proximity to the river (okay, its on the dang thing!) there are a number of streams and protected wetlands that come into play. If you attempt to play out of said wetlands, Sierra Club police descend from the trees, knock you out, and replace your Titleists with Top Flites.

Back up towards Ft. Mill is the lake front community of Tega Cay, and the Tega Cay Golf Club. Home to three sets of nine holes, Tega Cay used to be a popular play among Hornets and Panthers players who lived along the shores of Lake Wiley. George Shinn, the unpopular Hornets majority owner, still resides in a palatial estate on the lakes’ shores.

The new nine at Tega Cay – the Grande View – provides a spectacular trip along the banks of the lake. The first hole sports an elevated tee box that features nearly 100 feet of drop to a precarious fairway below. The other two nines at Tega Cay, however, have seen better days. A few dry summers have left the rough, and parts of the fairways and greens scorched. But the course has too good a staff and too grand a layout to be held down for long.

I-77 Course List

Fox Den CC
MooresvilleGC
Birkdale
Skybrook GC
Regent Park
Fort Mill Golf Club
Waterford
Tega Cay Golf Club

I-77 Golf Orgy Travel Kit

Where to StaySince you will be traveling along one of the Carolina's busier sections of interstates, the garden variety of hotels and motels will be available to you on your trip. If the downtown scene is your cup of tee, base yourself at "The Inn at Uptown" (704-342-2800) and enjoy the Charlotte nightlife after your golf.

Where to Eat Stopping for Carolina BBQ is not optional. For some of the best Eastern style (chopped pork with vinegar sauce), check out Bubba's BBQ at exit 16B. On the northern leg of the orgy, exit 25 provides the most options, headed by the Lake Norman Brewing Company.