Jump to content
TESTERS WANTED! ×

Raleigh, NC Golf Recommendations


jlbarbour

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone, 

Little background here...just picked up golf about 8ish months ago and I’ve played a couple courses in the Raleigh area such as RGA, Lonnie Poole, Reedy Creek, Riverwood, The Neuse, Falls Village, and Lochmere. 
 

For any Spies in the area, do you have any recommendations for other courses to try out? I’m always down to play somewhere new and don’t mind traveling anywhere less than an hour from Raleigh. 
 

Just wanted to see if there’s some hidden gems somewhere that I’m missing out on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, 03trdblack said:

Check out pine Hollow, river Ridge and the Neuse. Eagle Ridge is also a good track. 

I’ll have to check them out. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The weird thing about Raleigh for me is that there are lots of courses I play but few that I would recommend. Most public courses are just IK and often expensive on the weekends. I live in NW Raleigh (I-540 & Leesville Rd) and work in RTP so it’s not uncommon for me to play Wildwood Green, Falls Village, The Crossings,Hillandale. But I can’t say any are great. FV and The Crossings are really cheap during the week. Hope some others post some suggestions. I agree about The Neuse and Eagle Ridge being good.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

-elvis14, Hacker, Engineer, Dad, CG Camper, Co-Founder of From Your Neighbor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Within an hour, you can get to the Pinehurst area.  I'd highly recommend checking out the Pinehurst coures, plus pine needles and mid-pines.

 

Also, Tobacco Road is fun track.  Mike Stranz built a challenging track in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

Handicap 12

Location:  North Carolina

Driver:  TaylorMade M3 Fuji Speed Shaft R Flex

3-Wood: TaylorMade M3 Fuji Speed Shaft R Flex

Hybrids:  TaylorMade GAPR Mid, GAPR Hi

Irons:    TaylorMade P-790 5-PW, Oban Shafts, R+ Flex

Wedges:  Cleveland RTX 56 Full Grind, Oban shafts, Cleveland RTX 60, Mid Grind, Oban Shaft

Putter:  Odyssey DF-550

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wildwood Green is a goat track and overpriced.  Don't waste your time or money.  I played the Crossings this past weekend and it was in decent shape but they are still running bent grass greens and are keeping them VERY shaggy to avoid them burning out or getting patchy.  Most courses in the area have switched over to a Bermuda type green that is basically bullet proof in the heat and high traffic.

My bag is a revolving door!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll give another rec for Tobacco Road.  

Driver:  :callaway-small: XR16 10.5* (set to 9.5*), MRC KuroKage TiNi Black, S-flex

3 wood:  :ping-small: G410, Alta 65 S-flex

Hybrids:  :ping-small: G400 19* & 22*, Alta CB 70 S-flex

Irons:  :mizuno-small: JPX-900 5-GW, Proj X LZ 6.0

Wedges:  :titelist-small: SM7, 54*/S; :callaway-small: MD4, 58*/S

Putter:  :odyssey-small: White Hot Pro Black 2.0 #1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/1/2020 at 6:00 PM, jlbarbour said:

Hey everyone, 

Little background here...just picked up golf about 8ish months ago and I’ve played a couple courses in the Raleigh area such as RGA, Lonnie Poole, Reedy Creek, Riverwood, The Neuse, Falls Village, and Lochmere. 
 

For any Spies in the area, do you have any recommendations for other courses to try out? I’m always down to play somewhere new and don’t mind traveling anywhere less than an hour from Raleigh. 
 

Just wanted to see if there’s some hidden gems somewhere that I’m missing out on!

I'm in Durham and a member at The Preserve at Jordan Lake, which is a pretty tight track but you can usually get a good deal for public play. The same ownership has The Golf Club at Chapel Ridge (which I also really enjoy) as well as Falls Village (not my favorite track, but included in membership, soooooo...)

In no particular order, I would also check out The Heritage in Wake Forest, Tot Hill Farm in Asheboro (a Mike Stranz track that is MUCH cheaper than Tobacco Road and, IMHO, just as fun), and both of the other university courses: UNC Finley in Chapel Hill and Duke University in Durham. The university tracks can be a little spendy, but it's fairly easy to find a deal for Finley (GroupGolfer, GolfNow, Groupon) and twilight at Duke is worth it.

If you enjoyed RGA and that's a good price point for you, Occoneechee in Hillsborough is a similar track, but it's definitely not going to make the top of anyone else's list for the area 🙂

Driver: :srixon-small: ZX5 LS MkII 9.5* (@ 9.0*) with 46.5" Ventus Blue 6X
3-wood: :taylormade-small: SIM 15* with Diamana Limited 75S
5-wood: :cobra-small: RADspeed 18.5* with Motore X F3 60S
2i: :srixon-small: ZX with SteelFiber i95 Stiff

4hy: :titleist-small: TS3 23* with Tensei AV Blue 70 S
4i-7i :srixon-small: ZX7, 8i-PW Z-Forged, Modus3 Tour 120 S
50*, 55* :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Modus3 Tour 125
60* :cleveland-small: RTX Full Face ZipCore DG Spinner S400
Putter: :callaway-small: Toulon Chicago with a :garsen: Quad Tour or :cleveland-small: HB SOFT Milled 10.5S with UST All-in

Ball: :callaway-small: Chrome Tour (but I might still have some :titleist-small: Left Dashes hanging around)
Bag: :srixon-small: Ltd Edition Tartan, blue/green/yellow

Using :ShotScope: to keep track of my shots

Tested:
:wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged 3i-PW, KBS Tour-V 110S - Official Review
:titelist-small: Blind Ball Test (Ball #3 vs Ball #4) - Unofficial Review
:ShotScope:
 V3 GPS Watch + Tags - Official Review
:OnCore:
 Vero X2 - Official Review

The Stack System - Official Review

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Play Tobacco Road, go a bit further and head into Pinehurst and play Mid South, Dormie if you can (need to do a package for it) and Mid Pines.  There are tons in the Pinehurst area that are amazing! 

   Driver:  :callaway-small: Epic Flash Sub Zero Hzdrs Smoke x flex 70g

3 Wood:  :titelist-small: 917 w/ Diamana Whiteboard stiff

5 Wood : :callaway-small: Epic Flash 18* Hzdrs Smoke stiff

4 Hybrid: image.png.cf6ab25979c6727ff31e6cc6f719636c.png TSi3 Hzdrs Smoke X flex

     Irons:  :callaway-small: 5-7  Apex forged 19 w/ Modus 120 X

                         9-A Apex Pro 19 w/ Modus 120 X

Wedges:  :callaway-small: MD5 52&56 Jaws Dynamic Gold wedge flex

    Putter: :titelist-small: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 34"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Several replies mentioning Tobacco Road- it’s fantastic. Little further away but on that Stranz line is Tot Hill, one of my favorites. As far as Raleigh area, I really like all of the university courses, though they can get expensive. On the more affordable side and still good side are courses like the Neuse, River Ridge, Lochmere, and Heritage. Shoot me a message if you’re looking for a game, always looking for new people to play with!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/18/2020 at 1:54 PM, 03trdblack said:

Wildwood Green is a goat track and overpriced.  Don't waste your time or money.  I played the Crossings this past weekend and it was in decent shape but they are still running bent grass greens and are keeping them VERY shaggy to avoid them burning out or getting patchy.  Most courses in the area have switched over to a Bermuda type green that is basically bullet proof in the heat and high traffic.

You are right about Wildwood being overpriced.  I actually like a lot of the holes but it never seems to be in very good shape.  Twice recently I've walked The Crossings after 4 on a weekday for $12.  Falls Village is actually in decent shape this year (except the sand traps which are not good, we just drop out of them).  Last year it was bad.  Those 3 courses are all pretty close to my house (540/Leesville).  The Preserve is fun if I'm hitting the ball well, if not it's tough.  I did play Chapel Ridge a few week ago for the first time in about a decade.  I liked it and hope to go back soon. 

Some of the courses mentioned are great but expensive: the 3 university courses, Heritage.

Last week I played a course in Durham called Umstead Pines.  Old course but I enjoyed it.  Walked for something like $24.

 

-elvis14, Hacker, Engineer, Dad, CG Camper, Co-Founder of From Your Neighbor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

It’s been years since I played at Duke and UNC-Finley, but was very impressed with both.    I used to have an annual trip to a Pinehurst and we usually flew into Raleigh instead of Charlotte.     The first 18 of the trip was always played in Raleigh before we headed south for Pinehurst.

Another vote for Tobacco Road here too!   

 default_taylormade-small(1).jpg.85912868199b94e166402712fb9f64b0.jpg Stealth 2 Plus 10.5* driver

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg G425 14.5*, 17.5* FWs

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg G425 22* hybrid

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg i230 irons, 5 - W

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg Glide 4.0 S 50*, 54*, 58* wedges

EVNROLL.gif.c1122c4834ff1cdf4df48962afede4ed.gif  EV 5.3 33"

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Some others to check out.  

 

I'm in NW Raleigh and can get to these all in under an hour

The Challenge - West on 40 in Graham.  Good value, played there a couple weeks back, busy but still good pace of play.  Walkable if that is your thing, and in good shape.  

Mill Creek - Again west on 40 in Mebane.  haven't played there this year, but I love this course

Carolina Trace - South on HWY 1 in Sanford.  2 courses, Lakes is newer and a little more open.  Creek course has smaller greens and is tighter.  Both are a lot of fun

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Heritage Club is one of my favorite courses I've played! 

2017 TM M1 440 10.5 w/ UST Elements Wind 6F5

Callaway Epic 3W w/ UST Elements Wind 7F4

Adams Idea2 21* w/ Aldila NV85S

Nike Vapor Pro Combo 4-GW w/ DG Pro S300

Callaway MD4 54W / MD3 58W w/ TT DGS400 black

Hogan Bettinardi Baby Ben / Bettinardi BB54

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with many of the courses mentioned.

A couple of tracks that are about an hour away from Raleigh that impressed me was Goldsboro Municipal GC in Goldsboro and Belmont Lake Golf Club in Rocky Mount.

Goldsboro was a pleasant surprise. Few years ago when my course was installing new greens, I bounced around quite a bit. Goldsboro was just a cheaper, spur of the moment, short notice booking. Figured, what the heck?

Shorter course, 6,200 to maybe 6,300 yards from the tips, but the conditioning was fantastic and the layout was fun. Only played once but I was impressed. A little too short to have me make that trip again but a nice course just the same.

Belmont Lake is one of my favorite courses and a hidden gem it seems because not many from the Raleigh region have heard of it.

Starts off unremarkably as #1 is a good hole but there just isn't very much to it, visually speaking nor strategy-wise. Just a basic, not very difficult opener. But the course keeps getting better and better, and harder, from there.

Truly a championship layout, even has a 600 yard par 5 (from the back tees). A 235 yard par 3 (also from the tips) immediately follows. Tough back to back combo but both holes, and the entire course in general, is really quite fair assuming appropriate tee box choice.

Usually hit Belmont Lake a couple to a handful of times per year. Strangely enough though, I haven't played it in maybe 18 months. Need another epidural shot but following, I gotta get back there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/21/2020 at 12:54 PM, ballplayer002003 said:

Play Tobacco Road, go a bit further and head into Pinehurst and play Mid South, Dormie if you can (need to do a package for it) and Mid Pines.  There are tons in the Pinehurst area that are amazing! 

I second Mid South and Mid Pines, Mid South is probably my favorite course in that area, including No. #2

:cobra-small:Radspeed 10.5*

 :titleist-small:TS 15* 3 Wood

:mizuno-small:CLK 19* Hybrid

:mizuno-small:JPX 900 Forged P-4 Irons

:titleist-small:SM7 52*&56* Wedges

:titleist-small:SM6 60* Wedge

:taylormade-small:Ghost Spider Putter

:bridgestone-small:Tour B XS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/20/2020 at 11:23 AM, RobbyT said:

I second Mid South and Mid Pines, Mid South is probably my favorite course in that area, including No. #2

Love the last few finishing holes at Mid South, 16, 17 and 18 are beautiful and unique.  

   Driver:  :callaway-small: Epic Flash Sub Zero Hzdrs Smoke x flex 70g

3 Wood:  :titelist-small: 917 w/ Diamana Whiteboard stiff

5 Wood : :callaway-small: Epic Flash 18* Hzdrs Smoke stiff

4 Hybrid: image.png.cf6ab25979c6727ff31e6cc6f719636c.png TSi3 Hzdrs Smoke X flex

     Irons:  :callaway-small: 5-7  Apex forged 19 w/ Modus 120 X

                         9-A Apex Pro 19 w/ Modus 120 X

Wedges:  :callaway-small: MD5 52&56 Jaws Dynamic Gold wedge flex

    Putter: :titelist-small: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 34"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ballplayer002003 said:

Love the last few finishing holes at Mid South, 16, 17 and 18 are beautiful and unique.  

Especially 16 and 18 are really nice.

:cobra-small:Radspeed 10.5*

 :titleist-small:TS 15* 3 Wood

:mizuno-small:CLK 19* Hybrid

:mizuno-small:JPX 900 Forged P-4 Irons

:titleist-small:SM7 52*&56* Wedges

:titleist-small:SM6 60* Wedge

:taylormade-small:Ghost Spider Putter

:bridgestone-small:Tour B XS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Mid Pines took a significant jump up after the Franz restoration work was done.    It's fantastic and I highly recommend it.  

 default_taylormade-small(1).jpg.85912868199b94e166402712fb9f64b0.jpg Stealth 2 Plus 10.5* driver

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg G425 14.5*, 17.5* FWs

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg G425 22* hybrid

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg i230 irons, 5 - W

default_ping-small.jpg.f0dadf3a40970feec67664677f8eff49.jpg Glide 4.0 S 50*, 54*, 58* wedges

EVNROLL.gif.c1122c4834ff1cdf4df48962afede4ed.gif  EV 5.3 33"

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...