*As of November 1998 - Pricing subjeact to change Two ponds were combined to make the ninth hole more challenging Southwick Golf Course 3136 Southwick Dr. Graham, NC 27253 336-227-2582 www.southwick.com Location: Take exit 140 (Hwy. 87) off I-40/85. Go south 5 miles, then turn left on Baywood Rd. Course is 1 mile down on right. Architect: Elmo Cobb Opened: 1969 Director of Golf: Ritch Buckner Course Superintendent: Terry Coble Type: Public Walking Policy: Carts required until 3 pm weekends (April 1 thru Oct. 31) Fees: $27 weekends and holidays; $23 Fridays; $21 Mon. through Thurs.; $15 seniors (Mon. thru Fri.) Non-metal Spikes: Required Greens: Bent Fairways: 419 Bermudagrass Clubhouse: Full pro shop, snack bar with seating; picnic area Practice Facilities: Putting green Yardage and Slope: Blue white red 5,786/121 5,461/115 4,525/112

Southwick Enhances Its Southern Charm

By Ronnie Musselwhite

If there were such thing as a quintessential "Southern" golf course, Southwick Golf Course in Graham could very well fit the bill. Built in 1969 by Elmo Cobb, the public layout was carved from 100 acres of Southern farmland. Its first name, Confederate Acres, embodied the spirit of the land from which it was born and remained its calling card until 1988. Even its current name has strong Southern undertones: "South" for the area and "wick" from the old English term "wyck," for green grass.

Regardless of classification, one thing is certain: The popularity of this small public course endures. Almost 30 years after its opening, Southwick remains a favorite among many locals.

Short in Length, Big on Value

At just more than 5,700 yards, Southwick is a short course by almost anyone's standards. The front nine measures 2,743 yards, while the back stretches 3,043 from the tips. Despite its relative shortness, the par-70 tract is more challenging than its 68.3 rating and 121 slope suggest.

"The course plays a lot different and a lot more difficult because of the rolling hills and elevation changes," says Ritch Buckner, Southwick's director of golf. "The sloping fairways lead to a variety of lies, and water comes into play on 12 holes."

Further complementing Southwick's length is its design. Trees line the 419 bermudagrass fairways and lead to small, bentgrass greens. There are also 15 bunkers scattered around the course.

To play Southwick well requires the ability to work the ball, especially with irons. And if you miss the course's "postage stamp" greens, you had better have a deft touch with the wedge; many greens have trouble left, right and long.

"This is a shot-makers course," Buckner explains. "It's a tight course that makes you use every club in the bag. Golfers who try to hit the driver on every hole don't fare well."

One hole where you can use the driver, and possibly garner sweet rewards, is No. 14. Considered the course's signature hole, No. 14 is a double-dogleg par-5 that features an elevated tee overlooking the Haw River. The hole, which measures 493 yards, is reachable in two, but it requires a tee shot around a fairway bunker.

Regardless of how well - or poorly - you play Southwick, chances are you'll walk away with a smile. At $27, it's one of the most affordable courses in the area. "The thing that separates this course from the others is the value," Buckner says. "We don't raise the rates, so you get to play a great course at a great price."

Changing With the Times

Through the years, Southwick survived without undergoing any significant renovations. However, a major facelift began last year and culminated with the course's grand re-opening on Oct. 10 of this year. According to Buckner, the renovations are designed to enhance course aesthetics and improve maintenance.

Southwick's overhaul started with the removal of 500 trees. The trees were cut down to improve air circulation and sunlight exposure, which helps grass growth, and for aesthetics. Two ponds that once adjoined hole No. 9 were also combined into one larger body, and a dam was constructed. Tees were built on top of the dam, requiring a 165- to 190-yard shot to carry the water.

Following completion of the pond, a new irrigation system was installed. The Toro Osmic unit, which has been functional since June, features double- and triple-row coverage in some fairways and will ensure all playing areas receive adequate irrigation. The pond on No. 9 will be the primary source of water.

The final phase began this past June, when the course was closed to play, and renovation efforts switched to the fairways, tees and rough. The existing grass was killed off, and Sandhill Turf from Southern Pines sodded and sprigged the course with hybrid bermudagrass.

The impact of Southwick's renovations remains to be seen. But with the amount of resources that have been invested in the course, combined with hospitality of the staff, Southwick should remain an inviting golf venue for years to come. "If you've played here in the past, you'll see some significant changes," Buckner says. "The course looks and plays a lot better."

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Strantz Puts Tobacco Road on the Map

The 16th hole is an exciting par-4 that winds through a former sand quarry Tobacco Road Sanford, N.C. 919-776-4959 (Toll Free) 877-2THE-ROAD From the Triad take Hwy. 421 southeast to Sanford. Exit onto Hwys. 1 & 15-501 South and go five miles to Tramway. Turn east onto Rocky Fork Church Road opposite the point where 15-501 splits off from Hwy. 1. Tobacco Road is about one mile on the left. Course Opens: November, 1998 (tentative). Architect: Mike Strantz. Director of Golf: Joe Gay. Head Professional: Doug Bolin Course Superintendent: Perry Payne. Public or Private: Public. Green Fees: $45 winter, $55 early spring, $85 spring, $50 summer, $70 fall (includes cart). Membership: None available Metals Spikes Policy: Non-metal only Walking Policy: Allowed. Greens and Fairways: Greens combination of Crenshaw bent and L-93 bent; fairways and tees 419 hybrid bermuda; fescue rough. Clubhouse: Rustic with red tin roof and cedar siding. Includes pro shop, snack bar, rest rooms. Practice facilities: Putting green and range. Par 71 (Course not yet rated) Championship 6,554 Back 6,304 Middle 5,886 Front 5,094

By Lee Pace

Fellow golfers, friends and business associates Mark Stewart and Tony Woodell of Sanford went on a golf weekend to Myrtle Beach in 1996. Most golfers come back from these trips rejuvenated and ready to tackle the minutiae of life after some R&R.

These guys came home with ideas.

To wit: Build their own golf course, right there in Sanford.

"It was kind of a lark," Stewart says, "but still we thought, 'Why can't we do something like this?'"

Stewart is president of Lee Paving Co., and Woodell is vice president of construction. They figured they had access to some land, to plenty of construction equipment and to some financial resources.

Why not?

"At first we thought of maybe doing something like a homemade course," Stewart says. "Maybe design it ourselves, build it ourselves in our spare time, maybe take several years to do it."

They began researching the golf industry-particularly the design and course-construction segments - as part of an informal feasibility study. Along the way, they met Doc Lachicotte, a partner in the Caledonia and True Blue golf courses in Pawley's Island, S.C., and a two-time client of architect Mike Strantz.

"He told us we either needed to build, on a scale of 1 to 10, a '1' or a '10' - but don't mess with anything in between," Stewart says. "At first we were going down the road of a '1' … ."

But the more they talked and studied and pried into the business, the more they decided to go in the other direction. Toward that end, Lachicotte recommended they hire Strantz, a former protégé of Tom Fazio and one of game's top new architects.

"We interviewed several architects, and Mike's work was the most unique we'd seen," Stewart says. "We figured if we wanted a '10' in this area, this close to Pinehurst, we'd better go with the most exciting architect we could find."

The result will be on display to the public very soon - probably by year's end, hopefully sometime in November.

Its name is Tobacco Road.

"We wanted a name that would absolutely identify us with where we are, in North Carolina," Stewart says. "There's not another golf course with that name and won't be, either. We've protected the name." Strantz broke ground in August, 1997, on his fifth solo project after the two Grand Strand projects and two in Williamsburg, Va. - Stonehouse and Royal New Kent. He works one project at a time, and every grain of sand, blade of grass and tuft of broom straw has to have his blessing.

"He was here six days a week, 12 hours a day for nearly a year," director of golf Joe Gay says.

"There are not a lot of architects who will spend the amount of time on a job that I will," Strantz says. "It's just the way I like to work." The site of the course is dramatic in its elevation changes and in its content - sand, sand and more sand. Parts of it have been used as sand quarries over the years, and the sand and a handful of wetland areas blend into an elixir of reds, golds, browns, blacks and yellows that are interesting to look at and the devil to get out of with a golf shot. The course has wide fairways, at least two greens fronted by immense sand dunes and an interesting mix of short par-4s.

There's only one water hazard on the course, an irrigation lake beside the par-3 14th hole. While there are some forced carries over wetlands, most are in the 50-yard range. The one exception is the 18th, where the golfer will face a menacing shot over a quarry to the fairway on the long par-4.

"No lead will be safe coming to 18," Gay says.

At only 6,524 yards from the back tees, Tobacco Road won't be a brute in regards to distance; however, the course will challenge your game like few others in the Carolinas. You will need to bring your best game to Tobacco Road as it will demand all the control and accuracy your golf game can muster.

"It's definitely demanding mentally," Gay says. "It's a thinking-man's golf course. You won't just pull out a driver and bang it here. You'll need to place the ball to have the best available shot into the green."

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Strantz graduated from Michigan State in 1978 and began his career working at the Inverness Club, which would be the site of the 1979 U.S. Open. Tom Fazio was modifying parts of the course for the USGA prior to the Open and was impressed with this young member of the grounds crew. Fazio hired him and Strantz moved immediately to Hilton Head to begin working on a Fazio project there. Over the next eight years, Strantz apprenticed on courses such as Moss Creek Plantation, Wild Dunes, Black Diamond Ranch and Osprey Point.

"Golf course design is one of the few trades today where apprenticeship is the only way to get good experience," says Strantz. "A good designer needs to have excellent knowledge of soil structures, engineering and vegetation, as well as a feel for the average golfer. I was fortunate to work with and learn from one of the best in the business."

Strantz left Fazio in 1987 to work full-time for Wild Dunes, which was reconstructing parts of its Links and Harbor courses, and later worked for developer Larry Young of Myrtle Beach in designing the Parkland Course at The Legends complex. Strantz did his first solo project in 1993 when he was asked to turn an ancient parcel of hunting and fishing lands near Pawley's Island into a course named Caledonia.

That project was a hit, and with his other three courses has garnered a variety of accolades within the golf industry and press. Caledonia was named fifth-best public course in America by Golf Digest in 1995 and in the "Top 10 You Can Play" by GOLF Magazine. Stonehouse was named "Best New Upscale Public Course" in 1996 by Golf Digest, and Royal New Kent got the same award in 1997.

So how does Tobacco Road stack up against his previous award-winning designs? "It's the best project I've worked on," says Strantz.

"Since getting Mike on board this project is turning out to be an '11,'" Stewart says. "It's more than we ever dreamed about."

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Grand Strand Touts New Courses

The Players Club was carefully crafted around a nature preserve For More Information: The Players Club at St. James 800-281-6626 3640 Players Club Drive Southport, NC 28461 Carolina National 888-200-6455 1643 Goley Hewett S.E. Bolivia, NC 28422 (Near Southport) True Blue 888-483-6800 900 Blue Stem Dr. Pawleys Island, SC 29585

By John Brasier

The golf course boom shows no signs of slowing down in the Grand Strand area. And as the quantity went up in the last year, so did the quality. Three of the courses that have opened along the Grand Strand in the last year have quickly found a place among the area's elite.

Though True Blue in Pawleys Island, has gotten most of the attention, two north end courses, Carolina National and The Players Club at St. James Plantation, also warrant special attention from prospective visitors.

True Blue, designed by Mike Strantz, is a Southern version of Pine Valley, featuring wild waste areas, heavily bunkered greens and large undulating greens. Poor shots result in lost strokes and lost balls. Don't be fooled by True Blue's location across the street from its beautiful and generous sister, Caledonia Golf and Fish Club. True Blue is truly a target golf course built for true players.

Carolina National and The Players Club are more scenic, and a bit more playable. The biggest shortcoming of the two N.C. courses is the lack of clubhouses, though both clubs are expected to have them in the near future.

The centerpiece of the new Winding River Plantation (the main road still isn't paved) near Bolivia, Carolina National features massive, contoured greens, and an interesting assortment of long and short holes framed by spectacular wetlands and water hazards. The Gene Bates-Fred Couples collaboration will best be remembered by one of the Strand's top signature holes, the par-3 14th,which requires a beautiful carry over marsh to a green jutting into the hazard. From the tee, golfers can see how the nearby Winding River got its name.

Players Club, the third course in St. James Plantation near Southport, N.C., is less natural than Carolina National, and far less wild than True Blue. Architect Tim Cate, the designer of nearby Panther's Run, made excellent use of wetlands - especially on the dogleg par-4 sixth hole at the Players Club to create tough tee shots and approaches to large, though not overly severe, putting surfaces.

Blue for You

True Blue makes a quick impression with four dramatic opening holes. Close attention to the yardage book provided by the course is essential, though the course must be played more than once to pick up on many of the nuances required for good scoring.

The 612-yard par-5 first hole swings sharply to the left off the tee with a dangerous waste bunker lining the entire left side. The long (3 or 4 clubs) kidney-shaped green dives down into sand and a creek. The short par-4 second hole requires a blind, well-placed iron or fairway wood, leaving a short iron over a waste bunker to a long slender, two-tiered putting surface surrounded by sand.

The par-3 third, which measures only 158 yards from the back tees to a peninsula green, is perhaps the most memorable hole on the course. Often hit under windy conditions, the approach must be made with the right club to avoid water lined by sand surrounding the shallow green. A high sand wall runs along the front of the green. A good right-to-left drive at the 487-yard par-5 fourth leaves players little choice but to hit a long or mid-iron over water to a wide green with pot bunkers awaiting bailout shots.

The rest of the course is equally challenging with Strantz's trademark contoured fairways in lining the vegetation-filled waste bunkers and tightly guarded greens. Like Caledonia, True Blue finishes with a short par-4 requiring a modest approach over water to a green just below the clubhouse. Most players will finish with uncharacteristically high numbers on their scorecard. Though the back tees measure only 6,842 yards, the course rating of 74.3 and slope of 145 accurately portray the layout's difficulty. Four other tees range from 6,633 to 4,875 yards. True Blue isn't cheap. At more than $100 for greens fees and cart during peak seasons, True Blue is one of the three or four most expensive courses on the Strand.

A Beautiful Round at Carolina National

At Carolina National, Bates offers a great variety of holes, including a few superb par-5s and a collection of spectacular par-4s. The natural state of the course give the layout a comfortable feel as players realize poor shots won't always result in lost strokes.

Five sets of tees, often with dramatically different angles, provide a variety of options. The opening hole puts golfers at ease immediately. A short drive over wetlands leaves a modest approach from an attractively contoured fairway that's deceptively spacious from the tee. The par-5 ninth, with stretches to only 486 yards from the back markers and plays only 457 yards from the second set of tees, gives most players a heroic option on the second shot, though a few groups of trees can be tricky to navigate.

Carolina National's 14th hole is special. Measuring 203 and 191 yards from the back two tees, the carry is all over water, which also surrounds the left and back of the putting surface. The bailout is right to the rest of the peninsula. The other three tees require shorter carries and much easier angles.

The beauty of the surroundings, which include the Winding River, is stunning. The course is made very playable by five sets of tees, with each tee offering unique angles. The back tees measure 7,017 yards with a 136 rating and 73.4 slope. Other tees range from 6,493 to 4,759.

In October, a groundbreaking was held for the clubhouse. The course's location, about 45 minutes north of Myrtle Beach on N.C. 211, may have contributed to moderately priced green fees.

Looking for Players at St. James

The Players Club, designed by Tim Cate, is the third and final golf facility built at St. James Plantation. The Players Club was carefully crafted around a nature preserve which provides beautiful views and offers golfers plenty of privacy. The 3,700-acre residential and resort community includes a P.B. Dye designed course, The Gauntlet, which features bulkheads, heroic carries over water, pot bunkering, and multi-level fairways and greens. The name is deserving of the difficulty of the course with a rating of 75.9 with the final three holes playing through and over a series of lakes and salt-water marshes. The Members Club is a Hale Irwin designed course that is touted by the resort as the most "golfer friendly" course on the Strand.

Like Carolina National, The Players Club starts casually with four relatively easy holes. At No. 6, the course shows it teeth and becomes difficult. A well-placed fade off the tee with a long iron or fairway wood is required to stop short of the wetlands spanning more than 100 yards between the landing area and the green. The par-3 seventh stretches to 224 yards over wetlands and the par-4 eighth measures 420 yards.

The back nine features four par-4s of at least 416 yards. Water hazards and wetlands come into play on six of the final nine holes. The course was well routed around protected wetlands which added to the beauty and natural challenges. Cate built subtle mounding around many of the greens to leave players with testy chips. The use of grass berms and sand waste areas along the fairways contribute to the eye-pleasing beauty the course emits from the tee.

The Players Club measures 7,062 yards from the back tees with three other tees ranging from 6,408 yards to 4,470. The course has a tough 75.1 rating and a stout 149 slope. The second longest tees provide enough challenge for most golfers with a 71.7 rating and 135 slope. This course as well offers golfers modest green fees.

Those who make the trip should visit quaint Southport, a historic seaport nearby off N.C. 211, and grab a bite to eat at the Provision Company along the docks. You can sit along the waterway and watch boats ferrying out to Bald Head Island as you dine on what my be the best cheeseburger and conch fritters north of Margaritaville.

On the Horizon

Though the last year was especially good for new golf courses, the trend should not change. The Reserve Club, a Greg Norman design in Pawleys Island, will open in November. World Tour, a collection of 18 signature lookalike holes from courses throughout the nation, and Tom Fazio's TPC of Myrtle Beach are scheduled to open in 1999.

John Brasier is the Sports Editor at the Sun News in Myrtle Beach.

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