Where Charlotte Golf is Falling Short

Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

I had the chance to make a jaunt down to Pinehurst last weekend to check out Kris Spence’s renovation work at Woodlake Country Club and enjoy an incredible sunset at the Cradle/Thistle Dhu. It feels like beating a dead horse, but never take for granted the ability to have that at your fingertips.

Lots of tournament news this week on the CGA and USGA front, but before we jump in to the results, we have Part 3 of our Charlotte golf series, where we have to finally address some of the city’s shortcomings as a golf town. Thanks for subscribing and enjoy this week’s 2DP!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

Is Charlotte a Good Golf Town? Part 3: Failing

After 4+ months, we’re finally ready to close out our Charlotte golf series (Part 1 here, Part 2 here)! We’ve been putting off Part 3, where we have to get real about some of the failings of Charlotte golf, for a while now - who wants to lament all the bad stuff during the height of golf season?!

As things start to cool off with both the weather and the golf schedule, we thought it an appropriate time to take stock and complete our 360-degree assessment of golf in the Queen City. Without further adieu, here are some of the frustrating elements of Charlotte golf, which are all linked by a common theme.

Failing

Declining Supply

This is the headline issue. Even today, with golf participation booming like never before, golf courses in a growing city are under threat based on simple economics - the land is worth more as a housing development, office park, or distribution center than as a golf course.

The loss of golf property in Charlotte goes much further than the recent closure of the Golf Club at Ballantyne, which was shuddered in favor of a mixed-use development. A Ron Green Jr. article from 2021 references 10 golf courses in-and-around the 485 beltway that no longer exist.

Charlotte has gone through ups and downs, and you can’t predict the future, but it’s a shame that so many of these places slipped away over the years. It doesn’t take much real estate expertise to know they aren’t coming back!

Urban Golf

Many of the closures mentioned were city courses - places to experience golf close to where people work and live. While we still have places like Sifford and Harry Jones to hold on to, for many Charlotteans, golf is something experienced away from their typical daily routines, with 45-60 minute drives common for public weekend play.

Why does city golf matter? It could be a matter of personal preference, as a secluded country escape has its appeal, but ultimately its about building community and bringing people into the game. When golf exists in your neighborhood, its easier to integrate with your other responsibilities, which inherently makes the game more accessible.

Club Waitlists

The above issues aren’t limited to public golf! Undersupply in the private club scene is real, with many Charlotte clubs experiencing exploding waitlists in the post-COVID era.

Again, high demand for golf is not necessarily bad, but it’s not all good either. Part of the appeal of joining a club is sharing it with your friends, but when they express interest in joining and find out about a 5+ years wait, it’s a bit of a bummer. Skyrocketing waitlists and strong economies in general are also precursors to poor decision making at private clubs, as reckless spending is easily justified by the line of people waiting to get in.

Tee Time Scramble

If you haven’t booked a tee time for this weekend yet, don’t bother looking! At this point, most courses are booked solid until late in the day, and are commonly filling up immediately when tee times are released. Even some private clubs are battling access issues, with systems like lotteries for weekend tee times implemented to quell the booking rush.

People figure it out, and you can certainly find a game if you want it enough, but the challenge of getting a tee time is just another thing that adds friction to the golf experience and can take the joy out of what should be a leisure activity.

What did we get right or wrong about Charlotte golf? Let us know! We’ll be back next week with our final word on the topic.

TOURNAMENTS

O’Brien Rallies to Win Carolinas Senior in a Playoff

6-time Charlotte City Amateur champion Joe Jaspers held the lead entering the final round, but John O’Brien’s final round 65 saw him erase a 9-shot deficit to finish tied with Jaspers at -3. O’Brien, who plays out of Spring Valley Country Club in Columbia, SC, made 8 final round birdies to finish tied at the top and eventually secured the trophy on the 4th playoff hole. The tournament was hosted at Highland Country Club in Fayetteville, NC.

Going low: O’Brien’s 65 was the round of the week, with no other player shooting a single round better than 67 during the 54-hole event.

Cream rising: While O’Brien came out of nowhere to steal the title, the top of the leaderboard was dominated for most of the week by familiar names, including Jaspers, past champions Rick Cloninger and Steve Harwell, and CGA Hall of Fame member Paul Simson.

Full scoring: View final leaderboard

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

Twilight Summer League Wraps, Ryder Cup and Club Championship Next

The Twilight Summer League (TSL) season concluded across the state as the summer-long competition culminated with regional playoffs in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Raleigh. Congrats to Richard Hunt (Charlotte), Tom Chuaypradit (Raleigh), and Gabe Irby (Winston-Salem) on surviving the gauntlet and taking home the hardware!

While TGC’s flagship competition has concluded, the event calendar remains busy through the end of October. The TGC Ryder Cup team competition concludes today at Waynesville Inn & Golf Club, while the annual Club Championship is scheduled for October at Holly Ridge Golf Links.

Want to learn more about TSL and other Twilight Golf Club events? Looking for more ways to compete, build community, and see new courses? Check out the events page on the website.

STORIES TO TRACK

Trae Ely Takes Club Championship at Myers Park Country Club: Ely (-4) prevailed over talented Charlotte Latin School seniors and future D1 college players Henry Holland (-2, committed to James Madison) and Griffin Cheatwood (+3, committed to Davidson). Ely played college golf at Wofford and currently serves as President of Southern Restoration & Construction.

Brandon Holtz Captures First USGA Title in U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club: The former Illinois State basketball player and mini tour professional regained his amateur status in 2024 and won in his first USGA start this week out in the desert.

• Carolina ties: We were pulling for a Carolinas storyline this week, but our hopes were dashed in the semifinals. Defending champion and Wake Forest golf alum Evan Beck lost to eventual runner-up Jeg Coughlin III, while Christian Cavaliere, who won the Azalea Invitational at Country Club of Charleston back in March, was ousted by Holtz.

• Reinstatement: LOTS of former professional/reinstated amateur chatter this week at the Mid-Am, as there were 6 former pros amongst the quarterfinalists. This group included Justin Hueber, who recently regained amateur status after making 87 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour during his 10+ year professional career. This is a super complex issue with no clear right answer, but it will be interesting to see if the recent high-profile cases, which seem to be getting more and more egregious, will warrant a response from the USGA.

• Full scoring: View results

Greenville, SC’s Dawn Woodard Wins U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at the Homestead: The 3-time CGA Women’s Player of the Year and 35-time (!) USGA championship participant finally broke through on the national stage, winning the prestigious championship in 20 holes over Australian Sue Wooster.

• Full scoring: View results

2 Western NC Golf Courses for Sale: This week’s Tiny Money mentioned that Cummings Cove Golf & Country Club in Hendersonville had recently hit the market ($2.8MM), which inspired us to do a bit more digging on courses for sale. Turns out Deer Brook Golf Club in Shelby, a favorite of Chris Beeman and previous member of his Charlotte-area golf top 10, is also seeking new ownership ($4.5MM). Let us know which of these options you think would make more sense as 2DP GC.

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