Month: July 2020

Country Club of North Carolina Prepares to Host 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur

July 29, 2020

CCNC first site to host expanded field of 264 players in 2021

PINEHURST, NC (July 29, 2020) – For the third time since it opened in 1963, The Country Club of North Carolina will host a USGA championship. The 36-hole facility, located in the Village of Pinehurst, will host the 74th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship from July 19-24, 2021. CCNC will also become the 16th site to have hosted both the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior. This will be the first time the U.S. Junior Amateur will be held in the Tar Heel State.

“The Country Club of North Carolina is honored to host the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and to be among the prestigious clubs to host this wonderful event,” said Tom Beddow, CCNC club president. “CCNC has a great history and tradition of supporting amateur golf and we have the experience, infrastructure and a committed staff and group of volunteers who will help make this a memorable championship.”

In April, the USGA had announced that the 2020 championship, with an expanded field from 156 to 264, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., was canceled “as a result of continued uncertainty surrounding the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.” So, this means CCNC will be the first site to host the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship with the expanded field.

Besides its two previous USGA championships, CCNC has also played host to the 1972 U.S. Professional Match-Play Championship (won by Jack Nicklaus), seven Southern Amateurs, four Carolinas Amateurs and seven North Carolina Amateurs. The list of Southern Amateur champions includes Ben Crenshaw (1971), Len Mattiace (1985) and Webb Simpson (2007).

Simpson, a North Carolina native, and 2012 U.S Open champion, is the honorary chairman of the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

“As the honorary chairman, I’m glad to provide as much assistance to the players and CCNC as I can,” said Simpson, who competed in two U.S. Junior Amateurs and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2003. “The Simpson family is excited about the Junior Amateur coming to North Carolina and getting to know the players and their families. So glad we are next to host this great event.”

The 2021 Junior Amateur will be the 34th USGA championship in North Carolina. The event was first played in 1948. The championship is open to amateurs who have not reached their 19th birthday by the conclusion of the championship and who have a Handicap Index not exceeding 4.4. Tiger Woods (three times), Jordan Spieth (twice), Johnny Miller, David Duval and Hunter Mahan are among the notable U.S. Junior Amateur champions.

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2018, Moore County ranked as the eleventh largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $520 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.

About The Country Club of North Carolina
The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC), established in 1963, is a member-owned, gated residential community with 2,000 acres that features longleaf pines, three lakes and upscale tennis, fitness, swimming facilities and pickleball courts. The membership is local and national. Since 2003, it has been a certified member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program. The Dogwood Course was designed by Ellis Maples and Willard Byrd and renovated by Kris Spence in 2016. The Cardinal Course, designed by Willard Byrd and Robert Trent Jones, Sr., completed a renovation by Arthur Hills in 2002.

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Nine Courses Inside Home of American Golf Among Golfweek’s Best You Can Play

July 24, 2020

Pinehurst No. 2 ranked as No. 3 “Best Courses You Can Play in the United States”

PINEHURST, NC (July 23, 2020) – Pinehurst No. 2, host of three U.S. Open Championships and future host of the 2024 event, is ranked third in the United States among Golfweek magazine’s annual Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play list. The famed Donald Ross design is also ranked 15th in the country among the publication’s Top 100 Classic Golf Courses which includes designs prior to 1960.

Other Pinehurst area courses ranked among the 2020 Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play list include Pinehurst No. 4 (41st), Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club (42nd), Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club (55th) and Tobacco Road Golf Club (99th).

“These rankings simply reinforce that the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area is indeed the ‘Home of American Golf,’” said Phil Werz, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “What is even better is our community embraces golf and the golf industry, and supports everything from major USGA championships like the U.S. Open to events such as U.S. Kids World and Teen Championships and everything in between. Our destination understands how important golf is not only to those who live here, but also to everyone around the world that chooses to visit this special place 365 days of the year.”

Among all 50 states, North Carolina ranks fifth in the nation with the number of golf courses on the Best You Can Play list with seven, trailing only California (10), Florida (8), Oregon (8) and Wisconsin (8).

When broken down by individual states, Golfweek includes 15 courses as Best Courses You Can Play in North Carolina, nine of them located in the Pinehurst area. Those courses include Pinehurst No. 2 (1st); Pinehurst No. 4 (2nd); Mid Pines (3rd); Pine Needles (4th); Tobacco Road Golf Club (6th); Pinehurst No. 8 (7th); Pinehurst No. 7 (9th); Mid South Club (13th) and Southern Pines Golf Club (15th).

For a complete look at all of Golfweek’s 2020 rankings, click here.

For more about courses inside the Home of American Golf, click here.

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2018, Moore County ranked as the eleventh largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $520 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.

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Southern Pines Golf Club Under New Management and Ownership

July 16, 2020

Restoration of Venerable Donald Ross Design Anticipated

SOUTHERN PINES, NC (June 30, 2020) – Southern Pines Golf Club, a vintage Donald Ross-designed course dating to the early 1900’s, announced today that it is now under management of the company that owns and operates Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club and Mid Pines Golf Club and will eventually be acquired by that same company.

Kelly Miller, president of Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, announced the lease/purchase of the course from the Southern Pines Elks Club, the owner of the course since 1951. Miller said the Pine Needles/Mid Pines management company has taken over operation of the facility and is working toward a final sale when some infrastructure changes are made to the facility that have to do with environmental issues.

“I’ve always thought it a wonderful golf course,” Miller says. “It’s one of the best routings in the area. It has great topography and a set of par-threes that are unmatched anywhere. The club has a lot of fascinating history and I think it’s a perfect fit for us.”

“This is fantastic news for people who love visiting the Home of American Golf,” says Phil Werz, president and CEO of the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “To one day have this (Donald) Ross gem renovated to form a group of great golf experiences alongside Pine Needles and Mid Pines, you arguably would have one of the best trio of clubs to play in this destination.”

The deal consummates 15 years of Miller having his eye on the Southern Pines Golf Club and thinking that its Ross lineage would make it an ideal fit for the umbrella containing Mid Pines, a 1921 Ross design, and Pine Needles, a 1928 Ross course. He had had discussions with the Elks management at various junctures without ever being able to consummate a transaction.

The Elks bought the course in 1951 from Mike Sherman, a Connecticut businessman who had owned it since the post-World war II days. Prior to that, it had been owned and operated by the town of Southern Pines. Golf has been played on this site since at least 1906, and newspaper records indicate an 18-hole Ross course was operational by 1923, with a new nine having opened in 1924. The third nine was later abandoned.

“We’re delighted to see the golf course in the hands of the Miller family and their partners,” says Chris Deanes, Exalted Ruler of the Elks. “Quite honestly, the Elks have no business running a golf course. We’re a volunteer organization that focuses on charity and giving money away. Running golf courses is not what we do, and we’re happy the course is going to a family that does. Kelly and his partners truly appreciate the essence of the course and are committed to preserving it.”

Adds John Andrews, Chairman of the Board for the Elks, “Kelly has a great vision for the course. They have a good plan to bring the course back to where it should be.”

Miller says an 18-month course improvement plan is being developed that might include any of the following: design tweaks from architect Kyle Franz, who has supervised restorations at Mid Pines (2013) and Pine Needles (2018); resurfacing the greens; and rebuilding the bunkers and cart paths.

“We want the course to remain a hub for the Southern Pines community—play golf, swim, come to the grill for breakfast or lunch,” Miller says. “It will also be a great facility for our members and guests. I don’t know of any club or resort in the country with 54 holes of original Donald Ross work. That’s pretty special.”

The swimming pool will remain open and under the auspices of the Elks Club, and the club will retain ownership of the soccer field.

The Pinehurst Southern Pines Aberdeen Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the economic development agency responsible for travel and tourism promotion, product development, and visitor services for Moore County, NC. The CVB devises strategies to enhance the County’s tourism brand value and product to accommodate the next generation of visitors, thereby stimulating the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. In 2018, Moore County ranked as the eleventh largest tourism economy in North Carolina, generating $520 million annually in visitor spending, which supports the second largest employment sector in the county.

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Southern Pines Growler Company Opens in New Location

July 13, 2020

The Southern Pines Growler Company (SPGC) has the same name, but a brand new location in downtown. The new location is at the corner of Bennett Avenue and New York Avenue in the Growler Building, about a block away from the old location.

The 3,000 square foot facility has four times as much space for indoor and outdoor seating, with plenty of space for social distancing, and is a great place to meet for a cold beverage after spending some time walking along historic Broad Street window shopping. The craft beer selections are seemingly endless and highlight some of the best selections locally, statewide and around the country.

The SPGC originally opened in 2013 and is the longest-running growler company in the state of North Carolina. Owner/Proprietor Gerry Bateman has lived in Southern Pines for more than 30 years and he perhaps summed it up best when talking about a visit to the quaint town: “Great restaurants, great places to come hang out, a lot of great people,” said Bateman. “We are a very warm, friendly town and I think people that come here see that, they feel that. We have a nice spot for people to come see and they should enjoy it.”