Golf in NC

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NC’s Toughest Golf Courses

Golf is a lovely game, of course, but it does not always return the fondness. Few golfers will argue that the game oftentimes inspires a love-hate relationship. A great round or shot arouses the heights of giddiness; bad performances sometimes provoke momentary madness.

North Carolina offers more than 550 golf courses to choose from. Some are, well, tender and forgiving. On the opposite end of the spectrum are stunning beauties more than willing to leave golfers heartbroken on a disagreeable day. They lure you in with their charms before introducing potential despair with their difficult ways.

Following are half a dozen North Carolina courses classified as Valentine’s Heartbreakers. They represent some of the state’s most alluring – and toughest – courses accessible to the public. Golfers cannot experience the best that North Carolina has to offer without taking on a few of these temptresses.

As a quick primer for those not familiar, a golf course’s difficulty can be gauged by a combination of slope and rating. It is a fairly complex algorithm best simplified here. Suffice it to say that a rating above 73 from the championship tees means that it will challenge the best players. A slope reaching above 135 from the longest tees is another relative indicator of difficulty.

Piedmont

The Davis Love-designed The Preserve at Lake Jordan in Chapel Hill is a thrilling rollercoaster ride with a 75.1/145 rating and slope from the back tees. The championship tees are called the Love tees in honor of its architect, not because your heart will necessarily be warmed by the gentleness of its 7,107-yard length. Women are particularly challenged based on its 76.8/142 numbers from the white tees. The Preserve is a must-play course that encompasses some of the most dramatic terrain in the Triangle region.

The Grandover Resort, sitting grandly on the side of Interstate 85 just south of Greensboro, features 36 holes of championship golf. Golf Digest magazine ranked it as one of the “Best Conditioned Courses in North America.” The Grandover features the East Course, designed by David Graham, and the West Course. The East Course, with a 74.6/137 rating, is considered by course raters as the tougher of the two layouts. There are no worries if the course takes its toll, however. The resort features both a full-service spa and a fully stocked bar for post-round unwinding.

Coast
Getting to Bald Head Island, just off the coast from Southport, requires some extra, but worthwhile, effort. Access is via a 20-minute ferry ride. All belongings, golf clubs included, must be shipped over. That tenacity to get in a round needs to be carried over to the course as well. Designer George Cobb wound this course through maritime forest, over sand dunes, around lagoons and along the ocean. Enough said? Bald Head Island Club (74.3, 139) annually ranks among the state’s top courses.

Ocean Ridge Plantation Golf in Sunset Beach features four of North Carolina’s best-respected and best-named coastal courses. The 72 holes include the feline-themed Lion’s Paw, Panther’s Run, Tiger’s Eye and Leopard’s Chase layouts. The latter course, um, unleashed in 2007, is most apt to bare its teeth with its 74.3/140 numbers. Leopard’s Chase is a Tim Cates design playing to 7,155 yards from the championship tees.

Mountains
Linville Golf Club, a Donald Ross gem dug out of the mountains with mules and pans in the 1920s, is available to the public, but access requires a stay at the upscale Eseeola Lodge near the foot of Grandfather Mountain. The admission requirement is worth the price. Linville Golf Club annually ranks among the state’s Top 5 golf courses among national golf publications. It is tough (73.5/139), but softened by its gorgeous mountain surroundings.

The semi-private Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville was awarded "Most Challenging Course" by the Asheville Citizen-Times in a survey of its readers. It has also won “Best Golf Course” awards in the region. The Bob Cupp-designed layout (73.6, 144) plays to 6,904 yards and features tree-lined fairways and panoramic views.

Consider these North Carolina golf opportunities on your next visit. They could provide the sweetest heartache a golfer can ever experience.

By Patrick Jones

added: December 19, 2008

updated: November 2, 2009