Eight Golf Courses Offer Challenge and Fun
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When it’s time to grip it and rip it‚ avid golfers would be hard-pressed to find an area more hospitable to their sport than Harnett County. With eight golf courses‚ the county is a golfer’s fantasy‚ that offers hilltop vistas and amenable temperatures nearly year-round. There are also towering trees‚ babbling brooks and sparkling ponds‚ but golfers admittedly look upon those scenic characteristics with some aversion.
“We have a golden secret down here‚” says Gary Adcock‚ a lifelong resident of Harnett County and an ardent golfer. “It’s not overcrowded‚ and you can finish a round in four hours.”
Adcock is a member of Keith Hills Country Club‚ which is home to two courses and owned by Campbell University. Head Professional David Wyckoff says the university connection attracted him to Keith Hills in 2004. “They’re out here practicing all the time‚” Wyckoff says of the men’s and women’s Campbell Camels golf squads‚ which take advantage of the largest practice facility in the region. Wyckoff describes Keith Hills as “a father and son combination.” Renowned course designer Ellis Maples mapped Keith Hills I‚ a challenging championship tract ranked as high as seventh in the state by North Carolina magazine’s rating of public courses. Keith Hills II opened in 2002‚ designed by Maples’ son‚ Dan.
Wyckoff’s favorite hole at Keith Hills: No. 18 on the original course‚ a par 5 with water hugging the left side. “It’s a picturesque type of golf hole‚ and you don’t easily make birdie there‚” he says.
John Hockaday’s favorite hole at Anderson Creek Golf Club in Spring Lake is No. 13‚ a deceiving‚ short par 4. “It requires placement and brains more than it does length‚” he confides. Hockaday is general manager and director of golf at Anderson Creek‚ designed by PGA Tour Professional Davis Love III. When it opened in 2001‚ North Carolina magazine named it the best new course of the year.
“There are some quality golf courses here‚” Hockaday says of Harnett County‚ “and they’re very affordable.”
Peggy Brown‚ the manager of Pine Burr Golf Course in Lillington‚ touts her club’s affordable green fees – just $18 with a cart on weekdays‚ $26 before noon and $21 after noon on weekends. Other courses charge similar‚ reasonable rates. A golfer herself‚ Brown’s favorite hole at Pine Burr is No. 1. “What I love is that it’s a U shape‚ and you have to go around the trees. I sometimes go through the trees‚” she quips‚ “and the men try to get it up and over.”
Harnett County also boasts Carolina Lakes Golf Club in Sanford‚ Sandy Ridge Country Club in Dunn‚ Chicora Golf Club in Dunn and Hidden Valley Country Club near Willow Springs. For golfers who just can’t get enough‚ there are eight more courses in storied Pinehurst‚ just an hour away.
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Jeffrey S. Otto
