Doctor’s Vision Created What’s Now River Ridge GC

By LARRY JONES

It was 1985, six years after he had opened a private medical practice in Garner, that Dr. Johnny Bagwell bought half of the stake in more than 300 acres of rolling farmland off Auburn-Knightdale Road.

He envisioned a place to build a home for his wife and four daughters, a place where they could ride horses and enjoy all that Mother Nature would bring. He also later envisioned one day building a golf course — the centerpiece of a planned community that would offer a respite to its residents from the hustle and bustle of the city.

“I like to be proactive,” said Bagwell, “and I wanted to set the tone for the community that would be built out here. If it wasn’t me, it was going to eventually be someone else, and I’d rather it have been me.

Bagwell and partner Ray Goodwin started thinking about a golf course in 1990, but they put the idea on hold when real estate values dropped. “But it was only a matter of the timing being right,” Bagwell said. “This is just a tremendous golf course property that has a very natural lay of the land.”

By 1996, the timing was right on all fronts. Real estate values were rising and Bagwell had struck up a relationship with golf course architect Chuck Smith of Cary, who had just recently completed work on Crooked Creek Golf Club in Fuquay-Varina.

“I was impressed with what Chuck had done at Crooked Creek,” said Bagwell, “and we hit it off. He had graduated from N.C. State, just as I had, so we had a lot in common.”

The result was River Ridge Golf Club, a challenging, yet extremely playable, par-72 layout that plays to a maximum of 6,740 yards, to a slope rating of 139. It first opened for play in 1997.

“I didn’t have anything to do with the design except for one or two things I asked of Chuck,” Bagwell said. “First, I don’t like blind shots — I don’t think they add anything to a course and are unfair to the player. Second, on an approach I think you should always be able to see your target.”

While Bagwell had a vision, he didn’t have a clear plan of how to run a golf course. So he followed sound business principles and made sure to bring in good people. One of his first hires as director of golf was Ronnie Reitz, who had built a sterling reputation in the Triangle and throughout the state from his work at a number of clubs, most recently North Ridge Country Club.

“I had Ronnie for four years — he was a great hire,” said Bagwell. “He knew exactly how to run a golf facility, which I didn’t.”

The second move, Bagwell said, was “probably the best thing I ever did.” That was to hire Craig Hooks away from North Ridge, where he was an assistant at the time, to be River Ridge’s course superintendent. “You can have the best pro and a great management team — everything — but if the golf course isn’t in great shape the rest doesn’t matter,” Bagwell said.

He may be a shade partial, but Bagwell is proud of the rest of the staff. That’s in part because it’s all in the family. His and wife Betty’s (they been married 35 years) oldest daughter, Jackie Barefoot, 34, is the grill and food services manager and oversees the real estate development. Two other daughters play key rolls. Amy Moss, 31, is the membership and marketing director. Anne Gooch, 27, is the business manager, and her husband, Billy Gooch, has since taken over for Reitz as the director of golf. (The youngest daughter, Sarah, 24, is a recent graduate of East Carolina University.)

Bagwell, 54, still sees patients on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. After that, you can generally find him in his office on the second floor of River Ridge’s dazzling new clubhouse, which opened in August. “I really love the management of this golf course,” he said, “and we have a good time doing it.”

He maintains a handicap of 12 to 14 but doesn’t play more because of his other pursuits — among them a love that he and Betty have for their Harley-Davidsons.

“That’s a big hobby of ours,” he said. “Now we don’t take off on six-hour rides, but I’ve got a trailer and we’ll drive someplace, spend the night and ride for a couple of hours."