FEATURE STORY

Charlotte a dream destination for golfers and sports fans

From Staff Reports

Charlotte is a town with plenty going on. Good dining, picnicking in the parks, swimming, golf, tennis and sailing are just a few of the recreational opportunities. A trip to the mountains and beaches is just two hours by car.

Charlotte is also a national sports hub with the Carolina Panthers (NFL) and the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA). And then there's women's basketball - the WNBA Charlotte Sting recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and minor-league baseball is represented by the Charlotte Knights, a Chicago White Sox' triple-A affiliate.

Still, golf is not as big in Charlotte as in the nearby Pinehurst-Southern Pines area. But even as many will make the two-hour drive to take their shot at Pinehurst No. 2, there are plenty of others that will gladly stay home and take their cracks at some of Charlotte's major-league golf courses.

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Must plays in Charlotte

The Ballantyne Resort is a pleasure for those people who come to town for a day or two and bring their golf clubs along. Ballantyne Resort's 18-hole course aims to give those professional people one of the most upscale experiences in the region.

The course opened in 1998, the resort hotel three years later. It's a pretty typical rsort course, but that doesn't mean it isn't challenging. Take the signature 18th hole -- a par 4 from an elevated tee that plays downhill and requires a draw in order to position yourself for a reasonable chance to make the green in two. Fade your drive and you're faced with a mid-iron shot over a small pond to the green. It's a hole that can strike fear in many a golfer's heart.

The remainder of the course isn't so nerve-wracking, but it's not a picnic, either. The par-71 layout was cleverly routed through a precariously rolling piece property that would give any designer fits. Ballantyne plays to 6,735 yards from the back tees, and it features a solid mix of long and short par 4s.

One of the charms of Charlotte is you can drive a half hour outside the city and find horse, tobacco or corn farms. If you take one of those drives through the southeast part of the city, you'll end up at Charlotte National Golf Club, a no-frills course with a triple-wide trailer for a clubhouse.

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Charlotte National gives you closely cropped fairways, flat bunkers and exceptional bentgrass greens, all of which give the appearance of having been deposited on the land. There may have been less dirt moved at National than any other course in Charlotte, and the layout is a refreshing throwback to a time when front-end loaders and behemoth construction budgets were few and far between. But don't let the lack of amenities fool you. This is as basic, fun and well-maintained a course as you'll find around Charlotte.

Nearby Charlotte are a couple courses designed by PGA Tour star and Charlotte native Davis Love III that have quickly become landmarks for golfers of the area. The Preserve at Jordan Lake and Anderson Creek Golf Club are both brilliantly intertwined with the natural surroundings, giving a golfer an experience only possible in the Carolinas.

For residents of Charlotte looking for a good value, right up near the top of the list is Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation, a course where it isn't always smart to use your driver on a par 4 hole. The important thing here isn't distance; it's staying in the fairway.

February 15, 2007

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.