Triad Golf Today Magazine: Area Insider

If Scott King is feeling like the new kid on the block as Long Creek Golf Club’s new owner, he can take comfort. He’s not alone. It seems this past fall was a busy one in the Triad golf community as several familiar faces moved on, up, or out. Here’s the breakdown.

After six years as Bermuda Run’s head pro, Wayne Holder decided to trade the rolling Piedmont for the Arizona desert. Holder is now at Desert Highlands in Scottsdale and in his place is Jeff Nichols who moved up from Landfall in Wilmington. Joining Nichols in the Bermuda Run tent is Jeff Biggers, who left Oak Valley to become the head pro at Bermuda Run West. Biggers’ spot at Oak Valley was still open as of this writing.

Across the Yadkin at Salem Glen Country Club, Mike Parah surprised the locals with his decision to leave the club—and no one was caught off guard as much as assistant pro Brad Gunn. The 27-year-old had just quit his job to go back to school when he was summoned back to fill Parah’s post. He’s still in school and to help him with his golf duties the club has also brought in Richard Brewer (formally at Blair Park and Oak Hollow in High Point) to handle the teaching and merchandise responsibilities.

Finally, Silo Run in Boonville has a new/old sheriff in town. The Reece family—which built the course in 1995 and ran it until the first of this year when they leased it to Peter Dodd—is back in charge. In August (after going to court for breach of contract) the family regained the course from Bruce Goldman and the Opulent Group out of Nevada who had acquired the course from Dodd in April.

Area Insider

By Jay Allred

Tiger Woods’ recent visit to the Tar Heel state could not have been more exciting to the 2,000 spectators at the Curtis Strange Weyerhaeuser Shrine Classic in New Bern. Woods may have been the main attraction, but David Feherty stole the show with his wide variety of one-liners and antics.

A surprising change to the area will be the departure of John Buczek from Forsyth Country Club. Buczek has taken the director of golf position at Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville. John McNeely will vacate that position to develop a private club designed by Tom Fazio across from Sugar Mountain. Buczek has been at Forsyth for 16 years and has been one of the leading teachers for the area’s premier golfers. Buczek was a member of the 1967 ACC championship team at Wake Forest and has worked with Wake Forest summer golf camps.

Pine Knolls will host a NGA Professional Tour event in March. The tour is also known as the NGA/Hooters Tour. The event will feature the Hooters Charity Tournament on Monday, March 26. The event includes a Pro-Am on Wednesday afternoon. The main event will feature four rounds Thursday through Sunday with a cut after the first two rounds and is open to professionals and amateurs. The tour has been a training ground for professional golfers Walter Hall, Tom Lehman, John Daly and Lee Janzen. For more information on how you can participate or for sponsorship information contact Sam Dawkins at 919-880-4788.

Pine Brook Country Club in Winston-Salem moved into its new clubhouse in September.

Former Winston-Salem resident Mark Slawter fired a second straight course record 63 for a 9-shot victory in the Golfer’s Developmental Group Tour event at Salem Glen Country Club and won $4,000. Slawter played in the last two U.S. Opens and is currently residing in Raleigh.

The city of Winston-Salem will begin demolishing and replacing the clubhouse at Winston Lake Golf Course this winter. Additional enhancements to the course include a new irrigation system and rebuilding the bunkers on the Ellis Maples-designed course.

Bryan Park Golf Course opens its 8,000-square-foot clubhouse in November. The facility will feature a new pro shop, full-service grill and restaurant seating 50 guests. It will replace the existing 25-year-old Bryan Park Clubhouse. The $1.5 million construction project will be funded in its entirety by contributions from the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation.

North Carolina State University men’s golf coach Richard Sykes has been named to the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will take place, Jan. 25 in Orlando, Fla.

Congratulations to Joe Gay, director of golf at Tobacco Road, on the birth of his son, Carson Stuart, on Sept. 12. Also, Randall James, director of golf at Oak Valley, deserves congratulations on the birth of his son, Dylan Bradford, on Sept. 25.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) has launched a new golf micro-site within www.marriott.com that makes travel easy and painless for golfers ready to "tee-off!" The site will offer travel-related information for business and leisure at more than 150 locations worldwide.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Division hosted Celebrating Women in Golf: An LPGA 50th Anniversary Event for women golf enthusiasts at the World Golf Village. Amateurs and professionals alike interacted with LPGA founders and LPGA Tour Hall of Fame legends—such as Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs, Kathy Whitworth, Sandra Haynie, Carol Mann, JoAnne Carner, Nancy Lopez and Beth Daniel—LPGA Master Professionals, LPGA teachers of the year, LPGA Tour and Teaching and Club Professional Division members and other women who have made a difference in promoting and enhancing women in golf for the last 50 years. The four-day event focused on sharing and conveying the pioneering spirit of women in golf through a program of participatory and celebratory events.

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