Living in Charlotte, Looking to Join Golf-Focused Club in Pinehurst, Chapel Hill, or Charleston

[NippedWedge]

I am currently living in Charlotte and a member at nice, but lower tier club in the city. Given the waitlist / cost of Carolina Golf Club and the impossibility of joining Charlotte Country Club (probably ever), considering some golf-focused options approximately 2 hours away as a possible second club. I may also get rid of the other membership and just use public ranges / CGA tournaments to ensure I'm practicing / playing all the time. Here is what I'm considering:

 

Old Chatham

Pros

• Seems like a true golf hang
• Practice facility looks absolutely incredible
• Shortest drive of my options

 

Cons

• Probably the most expensive
• I imagine the golf course is good, but probably the worst of my options

 

Chechessee Creek

Pros

• Love the chill, mellow vibe of the SC low country
• Love Coore / Crenshaw
• The place looks like it does everything right

 

Cons

• Farthest distance away (nearly 4 hours)
• Caddy requirement which will dramatically shoot up the cost

 

Dormie Club

Pros

• Golf Club Atlas writer Ran Morrissett believes this course will only get better with age
• Coore / Crenshaw
• About the same distance as Old Chatham
• Dormie network privileges

 

Cons

• Haven't heard much about the practice area (is it nice?)

 

Mid Pines / Pine Needles / Southern Pines

Pros

• 90 holes of world class, DR golf (once SP is redone)
• Great drive from my house
• Always some new characters to play with
• Most likely the cheapest of all the options

 

Cons

• Public, so pace of play will be the worst 
• Not a huge fan of the practice facilities, even at Pine Needles (assuming you can't use the teaching school facility)

 

Country Club of NC

Pros

• 36 holes of awesome golf
• Grandfather is a legacy member, so I have fond memories of the place
• From what I remember, has a great practice facility
• Everything is done right (from locker room, to food, etc)

 

Cons

• Has a lot of country club add ons
• Probably the hardest to get into
• Guessing it is more of an older membership, harder to find a game

 

I'll of course be contacting the membership directors to learn more, but wanted to see if anybody on the forum could provide guidance / correct me where I'm wrong / etc. Thanks!

[Abh159]

Forgive me, but I'm not really following your reasoning. You mention your current club is nice but "lower tier". So are you simply looking for an upper echelon club or are there other factors driving your decision?

 

If one of your goals is to play as much as possible, I don't see how joining a club several hours away is going to help accomplish that. Do you plan on getting hotel rooms or a second house at that location? I know personally I wouldn't want to spend 3-4 hours in the car every time I wanted to play golf, and if you get the urge one morning to go play that afternoon it doesn't really seem feasible that you'll make that long of a drive just to make it happen. You mentioned the cost being a con in a few of your options yet you also mentioned using public ranges and tournaments so you can play/practice regularly. The cost of both of those would add up quickly especially if you're going several times a week or playing in multiple tournaments a month.

 

I guess if I had to advise you on one I'd pick the one of the clubs closest to your house. Seems to make the most sense to me for obvious reasons. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Abh159

[cpotter6]

Couple of thoughts on Chechessee:

- caddies are only required Saturday and Sunday mornings (maybe Friday morning too - can’t remember)

- they have on-site lodging that’s reasonable. 

[JRSc]

You mentioned cost as an issue in joining Carolina. CCNC non-resident is higher. With that said. If you can join CCNC and the expense is non- burdensome it would be a top choice. Plus you have a connection to the club. Some members would still remember your grandfather. If you love golf it’s hard to beat Pinehurst. 

Not sure of your age but 2-3 year waitlist at Carolina is not bad.

Chechesee is a pretty good drive from Clt. So for me I would probably never go.

I love PN/ MP and am actually going out Thursday. The drive is easy. If your schedule is flexible pace of play is better during the weekdays. PN just won CGA inter club so they must have a pretty decent men’s group to play with.

Dormie Club is another great course. $10k to join and $6k per year.

includes Ballyneal in Virginia and I heard it is phenomenal.

Have you looked at Providence CC in Charlotte? Membership will give you access to many great courses including Sedgefield.

Good luck. There are so many great choices within a 2 hr drive of Clt. 
Clark Howard once said if your get away place is not within a 2hr drive from home you will hardly use it.

[PeteNC]

On 2/23/2021 at 9:05 AM, NippedWedge said:

I am currently living in Charlotte and a member at nice, but lower tier club in the city. Given the waitlist / cost of Carolina Golf Club and the impossibility of joining Charlotte Country Club (probably ever), considering some golf-focused options approximately 2 hours away as a possible second club. I may also get rid of the other membership and just use public ranges / CGA tournaments to ensure I'm practicing / playing all the time. Here is what I'm considering:

 

Old Chatham

Pros

• Seems like a true golf hang
• Practice facility looks absolutely incredible
• Shortest drive of my options

 

Cons

• Probably the most expensive
• I imagine the golf course is good, but probably the worst of my options

 

Chechessee Creek

Pros

• Love the chill, mellow vibe of the SC low country
• Love Coore / Crenshaw
• The place looks like it does everything right

 

Cons

• Farthest distance away (nearly 4 hours)
• Caddy requirement which will dramatically shoot up the cost

 

Dormie Club

Pros

• Golf Club Atlas writer Ran Morrissett believes this course will only get better with age
• Coore / Crenshaw
• About the same distance as Old Chatham
• Dormie network privileges

 

Cons

• Haven't heard much about the practice area (is it nice?)

 

Mid Pines / Pine Needles / Southern Pines

Pros

• 90 holes of world class, DR golf (once SP is redone)
• Great drive from my house
• Always some new characters to play with
• Most likely the cheapest of all the options

 

Cons

• Public, so pace of play will be the worst 
• Not a huge fan of the practice facilities, even at Pine Needles (assuming you can't use the teaching school facility)

 

Country Club of NC

Pros

• 36 holes of awesome golf
• Grandfather is a legacy member, so I have fond memories of the place
• From what I remember, has a great practice facility
• Everything is done right (from locker room, to food, etc)

 

Cons

• Has a lot of country club add ons
• Probably the hardest to get into
• Guessing it is more of an older membership, harder to find a game

 

I'll of course be contacting the membership directors to learn more, but wanted to see if anybody on the forum could provide guidance / correct me where I'm wrong / etc. Thanks!

 

Depending on your reasoning why, I'd look at Chechessee or other clubs up along the coast.  They may be better options in the winter months(5-10deg warmer) and also have some reciprocal esp in the summer.  

If distance is a concern depending on where you are in the Clt area(It sounds like you're up in NE at least...the Pinehurst courses are closer than Old Chatham) you could look at Gaston, Forsyth, or quite a few others.  

[caniac6]

Old Town Club in Winston-Salem. Perry Maxwell- Renovation by Coore & Crenshaw. Heard Crenshaw say it was one of the best properties he had ever worked on. Can be very hard to get in. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by caniac6

[jshel]

I have heard that Chechessee closes for a bit in the summer. 

 

It is a great spot, but quite the drive from CLT. 

 

Old Town would be great. Does Greensboro CC have a non-resident - two very different, but good, courses - or anything else in the Triad?

[caniac6]

Sedgefield in Greensboro. Played it the other day, and it's a really fun course, and the greens were great. Part of the Mc Connell network.

[ND2005]

On 2/23/2021 at 8:05 AM, NippedWedge said:

 

Dormie Club

Pros

• Golf Club Atlas writer Ran Morrissett believes this course will only get better with age
• Coore / Crenshaw
• About the same distance as Old Chatham
• Dormie network privileges

 

Cons

• Haven't heard much about the practice area (is it nice?)

 

Practice area: Right now it's a temp range setup, irons only off mats, lot of construction going on. 

 

But I would guess once they wrap up the clubhouse it will be very good based on discussions with the guys in the shop. 

[golfday]

Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston is another worth looking into since you mentioned that area.

[Tim_Gavrich]

Is nearness to the non-golf aspects of these cities a requirement? If not, and you're all-in on the golf, you might consider:

 

- Camden CC in Camden, S.C. Just a wonderful old Walter Travis/Donald Ross course you'd never tire of playing. Approx. 90 minutes from Charlotte.

 

- Quixote Club in Sumter, S.C. Total redo of the old Sunset CC by Kris Spence. I played/toured it back around Christmas and it's awesome, likely top-10 course in the state once raters start seeing it. Fully opening in a couple months. Approx 2 hr 15 min from Charlotte.

 

- Club at Irish Creek up in Kannapolis, N.C. Cool DLIII design that pays some homage to Donald Ross. Not even 45 minutes from Charlotte.

 

- Wachesaw Plantation Club in Murrells Inlet, S.C. Fun 1980s Fazio course with a handful of unique holes.

 

- Anything in the McConnell portfolio opens up lots of possibilities for you. Of those courses I've played Sedgefield and Cardinal in Greensboro, plus Treyburn in Durham and The Reserve in Pawleys Island. All good options.

[JRSc]

McConnell would be great but since you live in Charlotte you would have to join Providence CC.. $20k down and $600 per month.

Really good course.