The Neuse Honored as Top Course to Mix Golf, Business & Pleasure

 By Larry Jones

 The Neuse Golf Club, nestled in the Glen Laurel subdivision of Clayton just east of Raleigh, has been anointed the 30^th best public golf course in the United States for combining business and golf.

Further, The Neuse placed second in the entire state, trailing only the No. 2 course at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, which was rated second overall. Pebble Beach Golf Links in northern California topped the list, which noted 75 courses.

The only other course in the state to make the top 75 was the No. 8 course at Pinehurst.

The rankings were compiled by Business Week and Golf Digest, and were determined by combining Golf Digest’s reader-rating scores for overall experience and service. Business Week said that those on the list are among the best quality public-access courses where anyone can get in a round or two of golf, take in a superb meal, talk a little business and overall enjoy comfortable mixture of work and play.

“I think this award is a tribute to the golf course and the people who work there,” said Mike Ryan, the regional manager for The Neuse and its sister courses, Devils Ridge in Holly Springs and Lochmere in Cary, all of which are owned by ClubCorp. “We have a great management team there, and with the staff, members and an excellent course, it makes for a nice experience for everyone that comes to play.”

Completing the top 10, in order, were Shadow Creek, North Las Vegas, Nev.; Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach, Calif.; Bandon Dunes, Bandon, Ore.; Bethpage State Park Black, Farmingdale, N.Y.; The Homestead (Cascades), Hot Springs, Va.; Princeville Resort (Prince), Kauai, Hawaii; Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisc.; and TPC at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, Fla.