Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

High 70s + Daylight Savings this weekend? Sign me up! Welcome to golf season in the Carolinas.

More tournament news in today’s newsletter, this time from down the road at the Pine Needles Invitational. We then stay in the Sandhills for the latest installment in our Great Golf Holes series, where we’re breaking down the small but mighty 4th at Mid Pines. Let’s get straight to it.

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

Brandon Grzywacz and Kyle Harman came from behind in Sunday’s modified alternate shot format with a final round 65 (-6), earning a spot in a sudden-death playoff with Kyle Sonday and Pat Fitzgerald. The duo, who have now finished 1st, 2nd, and 1st in the last 3 editions of the event, only needed a single playoff hole to seal the deal, after Grzywacz’s 230-yard 5 iron set up a 2-putt birdie on the par 5 1st at Pine Needles. View full scoring.

Grzywacz, a Moore County resident who plays out of Country Club of North Carolina, has become a familiar name on the elite amateur circuit in recent years. He has made multiple appearances at the Gasparilla Invitational (finishing 12th in 2025) and qualified for the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club.

2025 champions John Varol and Will Register mounted a strong title defense, but were unable to recover from an opening round 72. The Charlotte pair finished at -13, 3 shots out of the playoff.

On the Senior side, Rick Cloninger and former Charlotte Senior Amateur champion Johnny Elam were victorious with a final score of -15, finishing 2 shots clear of Mark and Brian Gauley.

The Pine Needles Invitational continues to be a staple of the early season amateur slate in the Carolinas, attracting increasingly strong and national fields for the 54-hole competition. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to covering next year’s event!

PRESENTED BY TWILIGHT GOLF CLUB

TGC is a CGA member club that supports equitable access to golf in North Carolina. With an active chapter in Charlotte, it’s a great way to meet other passionate golfers in town and play some competitive golf in a casual setting. Annual dues are $60 per year giving members access to:

Want to get involved? Visit the website for more details.

GREAT GOLF HOLES

It’s called “the cycle.” You approach a seemingly innocuous par 4. It’s a short hole and almost any club off the tee would do, but you pull driver and hit a good one. The hole seems easy. Simple, huh?

The next time you play the hole, you reach for driver without thinking twice, but find some trouble you didn’t even notice last time. Hmm - maybe laying back isn’t the worst idea?

You try an iron next time and it goes well, but after a few rounds you start to tire of the longer approach it leaves you. Maybe a 3-wood could be a nice compromise?

Next thing you know, you’re back to the big dog, pressing your luck until you inevitably get your hand caught in the cookie jar, making a mistake you once swore off.

If you’ve ever had this experience - one where a hole fails to reveal its optimal strategy even on repeat play - you were probably up against a Great Golf Hole. Today, we’re breaking down the intricate 4th at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, a nemesis hole for yours truly that still has my mind in a pretzel after multiple loops.

From the jump, this hole forces you to start making decisions, including both distance and direction off the tee. The fairway, which slopes hard from left to right and is flanked by artfully shaped sandy waste areas, is very wide initially, but narrows as it rises and approaches the elevated green. Hitting the fairway with driver requires precise control of both line and shape, while those laying back will have a much easier time finding the short grass.

Given the angle of the green, which is protected by a deep bunker short right, it is obvious that one must, at some point, challenge the left side of the hole. Players who successfully do this from the tee shot will be greeted with a favorable angle, but must face the risk of overdoing it and pulling their shot into the left waste area, which leaves an awkward approach. Those who opt to punt on the challenge and bail right will face a more challenging approach shot, but will have deferred most of the risk off the tee.

The magic of the 4th is that is it is not clear and obvious which option (left or right) is better, which contributes to players getting caught in the aforementioned cycle. On first glance, the left side seems to be preferred, as it allows players to shoot directly up the mouth of the green and have a clear view of the putting surface. The only catch, however, is that there are white stakes lining the right side of the hole adjacent to the green, so shots from the left must be played directly toward the out of bounds.

While the right side has some serious drawbacks, including tree trouble, an obscured view, and a deep bunker directly in line with the flag, it does somewhat take the OB out of play by forcing players left with their approach. It may be trickier to make birdie from here, but you’ve gone some way to taking the big number off the table.

There is plenty of room out left - a nice feature for those who end up right off the tee - but the back-right section of this green complex is diabolical. Steep drop-offs right and long create almost impossible up-and-downs and can even kick your ball out of bounds if you get an unlucky bounce. The most intriguing pins are thus found in the back-right section, where players must exhibit deft touch and distance control to get the ball close.

Kyle Franz’s brilliant restoration work a Mid Pines has truly brought this place back to its former glory. The 4th, a hole that won’t seem intimidating to those scanning the scorecard before the round, stands the test of time as a shining example of the strategic merits of Golden Age architecture.

STORIES TO TRACK

College Golf Season Ramping Up for Local, Regional Teams: On the Women’s side, Texas won the prominent Darius Rucker Intercollegiate by 2 shots over Florida State. The event, which is held annually at Hilton Head’s Long Cove Club, aired on Golf Channel earlier this week. View full scoring.

Several top Men’s teams are set to tee it up this weekend at The Hayt at Sawgrass Country Club, including #1 Virginia, #2 Auburn, and #6 LSU. North Carolina (#17), Duke (#20), and UNC Charlotte (#21) are also in the field for what should be an early season litmus test. Follow along.

Brenda Corrie Kuehn Officially Joins USGA Executive Committee: Kuehn, an Asheville resident, prominent amateur, and mother of recent 2DP Q&A guest Rachel Kuehn, officially began her 3-year term with the governing body last week. Her nomination was announced back in November, but was confirmed at the recent annual meeting in New York.

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