Making Practice Perfect

McConnell Golf emphasizes short-game practice facilities

While gathered for the 2020 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, the PGA Tour competitors raved about the club’s new short-game practice area.

“A-plus-plus,” says longtime Wyndham Championship Tournament Director Mark Brazil, grading the new facility, which is adjacent to Sedgefield’s stately, Tudor-style clubhouse.

The two-acre practice area — designed by Steve Wenzloff, Senior Vice President of Design Services for the PGA Tour — made its debut during the spectator-free Wyndham event in August. Wenzloff, who also updated the short-game area at TPC Sawgrass in 2016, incorporated ShotLink technology to review data from every Sedgefield green complex.

Providing Sedgefield with five times more practice space, the new area features two Ultradwarf Bermuda greens that measure about 3,600 square feet apiece, along with a trio of bunkers, giving players the option of working on greenside bunker shots as well as 30- to 40-yard bunker shots.

The expanded space also features closely mowed areas off the greenside slopes and shoulders, where players can focus on putting the ball up the hill or practice a pitch shot up the embankment to a tight pin. The addition gives Sedgefield about 15,000 square feet of short-grass area, allowing a dozen or more players to hit shots from a variety of locations.

Brazil calls the new short-game practice area, which was financed by the tournament, “a huge upgrade for the Tour pros one week a year and for the Sedgefield members 51 weeks a year.”

“This upgrade will definitely help us attract and retain new members,” says Sedgefield’s PGA Director of Golf Rocky Brooks. “The layout and size of our new short-game area afford us the opportunity to work with multiple students [men, women or juniors] at the same time. This is a luxury most clubs don’t have the space for.”

The new amenity is a tremendous asset for Sedgefield Country Club as well as visiting members from other McConnell Golf properties.

“Anytime you give members time to improve their golf games, they’re much more likely to play golf and spend time at the club,” Brooks says.

Sedgefield’s PGA Head Professional Eric Ferguson agrees. “From beginners to advanced players, we’ll now be able to help players execute just about any shot they will see on the golf course,” he says. “For our junior golf programs, it is almost like we have our own two-hole golf course for them to learn on.”

The ability to improve one’s game is crucial to the pure golf experience. Sedgefield’s comprehensive practice facility, including TrackMan radar technology swing analysis, complements the club’s expert instruction from its Class A PGA Professionals.

McConnell Golf has overseen numerous enhancements to its stable of short-game and practice areas at more than two dozen clubs around the Southeast.

“One of the areas McConnell Golf will always focus on is the short game,” says Brian Kittler, McConnell’s VP of Golf Operations. “If you’re playing a McConnell Golf property and you don’t have a good short game, you might be in for a long day.”

Sedgefield’s new upgrade “is about as good as it comes,” Kittler says. “It enhances what we provide, the quality of the venue, not only from the golf course, and service at the clubhouse with food, etc., but practice facilities. Working with John (McConnell), you know that in time, when there’s opportunities to do some upgrades, he’s been willing to invest in the practice and short-game areas at the facilities.”

McConnell Golf performed a significant expansion to the Raleigh Country Club practice area in 2005-06, and golf course architect Kyle Franz has sketched additional plans for potential future upgrades to RCC’s short-game area.

In 2012, McConnell Golf completely redesigned the range and short-game area at the Country Club at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, North Carolina — while also modernizing the entire clubhouse — completing McConnell Golf’s trifecta of upgrades to its three Triangle practice facilities, including RCC and Durham’s Treyburn Country Club.

Wakefield’s golf learning center is 1,600 square feet, and includes two indoor-outdoor hitting bays, an indoor putting studio and the latest in game-improvement technology. Each hitting bay is outfitted with video technology and multiple flat-screen TVs, allowing players to monitor their improvement during private instruction. The Wakefield staff uses a Flightscope launch monitor to help members find the right equipment.    

Wakefield’s total practice facility measures approximately nine acres, with a teeing ground nearly an acre-and-a-half. The practice chipping green is 4,000 square feet, with a pair of practice bunkers around this green. There are five short-game pins between 75-125 yards for wedge game practice.

Several McConnell Golf properties boasted extensive practice facilities before joining the portfolio, including Old North State Club in New London, North Carolina; Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, South Carolina; and Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Other clubs had very minimal practice areas — and McConnell Golf has significantly enhanced these over the years.

“We upgraded The Reserve [Pawleys Island, South Carolina] about 10 years ago and added a short-game facility,” Kittler notes. “There was an open area by the practice facility that wasn't being utilized. Richard Mandell [golf course architect] went in there and created a short-game area, so you can work on your chipping and pitching, bunker shots, the whole nine yards. Just a neat little added touch.”

When the Country Club of Asheville was renovated several years ago, McConnell Golf added a short-game and chipping green to the left of the No. 10 fairway and to the right of the practice range.

“We acquired Providence Country Club in Charlotte and they had a really good short-game area out there behind the clubhouse by the 18 green,” Kittler says. “We converted them over to Bermuda greens. We did the same thing at Brook Valley [Country Club in Greenville, North Carolina], added a little putting green by the first tee and also a chipping green over by the practice facility. Even at the land-locked Cardinal [Greensboro, North Carolina], we were able to do a little bit of improvement there — adding a short-game green by the road.”

One of McConnell Golf’s recent acquisitions, Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina, possesses what might be the largest hitting tee of any club in the McConnell Golf collection.

“They have a really good, huge hitting tee, a short-game area and a big putting green,” Kittler says. “The neat thing is, there’s some land available. If we ever down the road want to upgrade that area, there’s room to do so. That’s the biggest thing – sometimes golf courses don't have the available land or areas to increase or improve their practice facilities and the short-game area. Luckily, the majority of the places that we’ve had, there’s been room and we’ve been able to make it work.”

McConnell Golf is also focused on incorporating technology and software to aid in teaching and club fittings.

“We’re good right now. We’re just looking to take it to another level,” Kittler says. “The goal is by having these tools, our members will get better and enjoy the game that much more. And because of that, they’ll play more golf. Everything we can do to help members out, is what we try to do.”

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For the first time in its 17-year history, Raleigh-based McConnell Golf propelled all 10 of its North Carolina courses into the state’s top 100 rankings, including a trio of layouts ranked among the state’s top 20.

Those three — Old North State Club on the shores of Badin Lake, near New London, Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club and Raleigh Country Club — all remained in North Carolina’s top 20, while the other seven helped McConnell Golf maintain its status in the state’s top 100.

A perennial state top 10, Old North State Club was ranked No. 9 in North Carolina, while Sedgefield CC — which annually challenges the world’s best golfers during the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship — moved into the state top 10 at No. 10. Raleigh CC was ranked No. 20 in the state.

In 2020, along with the addition of Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington to its portfolio, McConnell Golf unveiled a $5.5 million restoration of Donald Ross’ last design at Raleigh CC, overseen by architect Kyle Franz. Architecture experts predict RCC will jump higher in the state rankings following the modern-day reimagining of the iconic course.

In December, McConnell Golf expanded its footprint across the southeast with the purchase of The Water’s Edge Country Club in Penhook, Va., on Smith Mountain Lake.

McConnell Golf is an owner and operator built upon the concept of “pure golf for the true golfer,” focusing on enhancing both the individual club’s and its company’s overall membership value. The McConnell Golf collection of clubs throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee and now Virginia includes courses designed by legends Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Hale Irwin and Ellis Maples.

In the 2021 North Carolina Top 100 rankings, Durham’s Treyburn Country Club was ranked No. 31, followed by the Country Club of Asheville (48), The Cardinal by Pete Dye in Greensboro (52), Porters Neck Country Club (75), Charlotte’s Providence Country Club (79), The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh (81) and Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville (100).

The 2021 state rankings also included two specialty categories. Old North State Club was ranked No. 4 among the state’s “Fairest Courses to Play” (“regardless of overall difficulty, courses that best reward good shots and penalize poor ones in a manner that is reasonable”). Meanwhile, Sedgefield ranked No. 10 in the state for “Most Strategic Courses” (“the degree to which the course requires thoughtful planning and precise execution of shots from tee to green”).

“Our courses continue to merge history, beauty and opportunity for our avid golfing membership and their guests,” said McConnell Golf President & CEO John McConnell. “With the enhancements made at Raleigh Country Club and new projects planned at other McConnell Golf courses, I am proud of what we have accomplished in the past year and eager to see how the rankings play out in the future.”

Raleigh Country Club’s restoration project turned out to be a masterpiece and I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the new layout.

The N.C. Golf Panel presented its 26th annual report on the state’s 100 best courses in the April issue of Business North Carolina magazine.

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Good Sport

Justin Mathers channels passion for golf into lifelong profession

The term “lifer” describes people who have committed themselves to a certain task or career for a long time. Enter Old North State Club Director of Golf Justin Mathers: the epitome of a lifer in the golf industry.

Growing up as an all-sport athlete in Michigan, Mathers enjoyed playing soccer, hockey and tennis, among other sports – but he didn’t pick up a golf club until a friend invited him to play at a local course during his junior year of high school.

“I was terrible, shooting around 100 the first time out,” he laments. “As an athlete I was determined to get better, and quickly. I worked at it all day, every day, all summer long. By the time we went back to school, I was shooting rounds in the 70s and actually broke par once. I was hooked and have not stopped playing and learning the game since.”

As he fell in love with the game, Mathers was convinced by his senior year of high school that he wanted to be in and around the game for the rest of his life.

“Luckily I lived in Michigan, home of the first – and in my opinion, the best – Professional Golf Management School in the country, Ferris State University,” Mathers notes. While in college he played soccer and hockey, and although he did not play golf for the school, he was around it constantly. “I was able to enjoy three wonderful internships all over the country and then take my first head professional job in 2003.”

The internships were at Boyne Highlands, The Heather Golf Course in Michigan; Cuscowilla in Eatonton, Georgia; and Desert Mountain (Outlaw) in Scottsdale, Arizona. He graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in Marketing/Business and Professional Golf Management.

Today, when not in the golf shop at Old North State Club, sending an almost daily golf course update through a whimsical email full of member nicknames and photos, Mathers and his family reside in Waxhaw, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte.

Mathers was “acquired” by McConnell Golf when Providence Country Club came on board, as he was PCC’s Head Golf Professional at that time. Transitioning into the role of Director of Golf at Old North State Club in July 2019 allowed him to enjoy a promotion while staying within the McConnell Golf family. However, the new job title and location have not come without sacrifice.

“My wife and daughter do not play golf but they have always supported my decision to be in the golf business, which keeps me away on weekends and holidays,” Mathers says. Regarding his family, his parents live in Michigan but visit a few times each year; he has sisters in New York and Oregon. Originally from Louisiana, Mathers’ bride of 11 years, Angelle, is a nurse with Atrium’s Health Risk Management team out of Concord, North Carolina. 

“Piper, our daughter, is my favorite person in the world! She is the true love of my life,” proclaims Mathers. “Piper lives and breathes soccer, the same way I did when I was her age [12], and she has even convinced me to be the assistant coach for her club team. I also have a three-year-old Double Doodle named Mr. Clark who has been a wonderful addition to our family. We like skiing [water and snow], fishing, cooking and watching sports. Well, Piper and I do at least!”

When it comes to golf, Mathers is a true lifer with lofty aspirations. “My goal is to one day become the PGA Golf Professional of the Year at the national level,” says Mathers. “Obviously, I would love to win the Carolinas PGA Golf Professional of the Year as well!”

While awards and accolades are accomplishments we all strive to achieve in our respective industry, Mathers’ true passion is fostering and growing the next wave of golf professionals while also keeping the golf program at Old North State Club exciting and fresh with new ideas.

“I look forward taking staff under my wing, developing and mentoring them in the hope that they will do the same if they stay in the business,” Mathers says. “I plan on keeping the energy level high here at Old North State Club while continuing to learn from some of the other great directors of golf employed by McConnell Golf. I have always strived to live by the saying, ‘It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it’s what you leave behind you when you go.’”

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Join us in fighting heart disease and stroke in millions of women across the country by showing your support and wearing red on Friday, February 5! McConnell Golf will serve a Heart Healthy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad in honor of American Heart Month and the Eat Seafood American Movement. A portion of proceeds will go to the American Heart Association.

Post your photos wearing red on social and tag McConnell Golf and your home club, in addition to using #EatSeafoodAmerica to show your support.

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McConnell Golf’s three marinas provide the perfect launching point.

Whether at sunrise, sunset, or high noon, setting off on your boat is truly a treasured pastime to boat owners at the marinas adjacent to three McConnell-associated properties. For members and their guests, certain trips spark fond memories and some even create annual traditions.

McConnell Golf manages three marinas: Crazy Horse Marina, Old North State Marina, and Grande Dunes Marina. All are open to the public and offer slip opportunities for those looking for their next marina home, or just stopping by for the day.

Crazy Horse Marina, located in Moneta, VA, is owned by the McConnell family. This picturesque place is centrally located on Smith Mountain Lake in a cove just off Blackwater Marker B-10A, and offers full boating services. The marina hosts popular annual events such as Bass Pro Shop’s Big Bass Tour and the SML Wine Festival.

A little further south is Old North State Club Marina in New London, NC. Full-service, and available to boat owners and renters, the marina offers 50 wet slips, 100 dry-storage spaces, and 50 fence spaces. Anchoring Uwharrie National Forest, it’s the perfect launching point to explore 115 miles of shoreline.

In South Carolina, Grande Dunes Marina is the ideal place to begin your adventure on the Intracoastal Waterway. With 126 wet slips and 1,200 linear feet of lay-along floating docks, the marina offers a protected harbor for vessels up to 120 feet. A full-service marina, Grande Dunes is also located next to the Anchor Café, a favorite spot among locals.

For Grande Dunes member Francis Bell, the marina is like home. Bell was one of the first to purchase a slip in 2005, citing the marina’s prime location. Centrally located in Myrtle Beach, Grande Dunes Marina has allowed Bell to travel along the Waterway to picturesque fishing villages like Southport, NC and Georgetown, SC.

Most memorably, Bell recently took his Sea Ray to the annual Georgetown Wooden Boat Show, which features wooden boat exhibits with more than 140 classic wooden boats displayed on land and water. Poised to enjoy the novelties of the Wooden Boat Show, one can imagine Mr. Bell gazing eagerly towards the dock, preparing for the historical day ahead.

Bell’s marina neighbors, Steven and Denise LeMaster, use the marina year- round — mostly for extended weekends.

“It’s a great place to relax and enjoy fabulous sunsets,” says Steven LeMaster. The couple take longer boat trips in the spring and fall to beautiful coastal Carolina towns like Beaufort, NC; Wrightsville Beach, NC; and Hilton Head Island, SC. Add in a stop at the Anchor Café for a post-sail cocktail, and it’s the perfect recipe for the perfect trip down the Waterway.

Whether your vessel is headed for the quiet, smooth waters of Badin or Smith Mountain Lake or toward the Atlantic by way of the Intracoastal Waterway, marinas like these are the perfect place for members’ beloved boats to call home.

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McConnell Golf recently caught up with partner Elby bikes to discuss the booming popularity of a classic machine, re-imagined. The electric bike. 

 

Why the decision to venture into the private golf segment?

E-bikes generally offer a great way for people to get around, from young urban dwellers all the way up to active retirees in residential communities. With so many of these communities featuring golf as well, the move is natural: golfers appreciate being outside, spending time with others, and need to travel distances ideally without getting in cars. The Elby enables all of these and adds the bonus of a really fun ride.

 

How do electric bikes translate from urban settings to suburban?

E-bikes are all about taking the time-tested benefits of traditional bicycles and removing some of the exertion and effort that may make them less of an option for others. So, a good e-bike, like a good traditional bike, is useful in any setting. Where a bike like the Elby has an edge in the suburbs is around its extended range. With more ground to cover in the suburbs, an 80+ mile range on the Elby battery is a huge help.

The Elby’s also incredibly adjustable, so entire households, regardless of age, gender, and physical size can enjoy one Elby bike. That makes it a great replacement for a car, which is really the best case for any electric bike.

 

Share a little about the need Elby bikes serves its patrons.

The nice thing about a bike like the Elby is how it serves different needs for different people. Right off, and most universally, the Elby is a pure joy to ride. That first feeling of silent, electric boost to your pedaling recalls your first pedal strokes as a kid. It’s just a magical feeling.

More practically, Elby provides an efficient, green, and fun way to get to work, run errands, grocery shop, or make that morning tee time. Getting where you need to go on a bike instead of a car is nearly always more pleasant, more personally engaging, and better for the environment.

There’s also the "sneaky workout” side of things. While you’re not really breaking a sweat on an Elby, you do see a basic increase in heart-rate with all the stress-reducing benefits of exercise.  We hear from Elby users all the time that they dropped weight and were less stressed and angry at work and home after switching to an Elby.

 

Where do you see the company in five/ten years? And electric bikes in general?

E-bikes are already saving the cycling industry. Almost every segment of the industry, from mountain bikes to kids helmets, is seeing a decline in business metrics from previous years. In stark contrast, e-bike sales and growth are up. This is an extremely positive sign. Urban and suburban residents are just beginning to see how much better their morning commutes, and health, could be with an e-bike. We only expect this trend to continue as e-bikes become a ubiquitous sight in cities across the globe. In five years, ten years, and even twenty years, we expect Elby to continue to be a leader in the e-bike space.

Since the beginning, Elby has been about creating a better mobility solution for people, whether that’s replacing a car or just adding a new way to move through our communities. The S1, our step-through model, we accomplished this through the most size-adjustable frame on the market, enabling the Elby to serve entire homes, offices, or even large planned communities. With the newer C1, we've created an extremely capable, reliable, and enjoyable e-bike at a great price. We're now seeing urban planners considering bikes more than ever as our cities and towns are becoming more efficient with space and more supportive of healthier transportation options.

 

What has surprised you about the way Elby bikes have been received?

We've been most surprised by just how positive cities have been towards e-bikes. We're working with communities in the US and Canada to help them develop roads, housing, and even hotels to be more friendly to e-bikes, because people realize how important diverse transportation options are to their health, their environment, and their quality of life.

 

Has Elby inspired those not already into biking to give it a try? What do you think non-bikers find appealing about it?

All the time! By design, Elby is encouraging to ride. Its bright colors and aerofoil-inspired design are definitely eye-grabbing. Once riders feel the electric boost provided as they pedal ahead, it's impossible not to see the appeal. For non-cyclists, the Elby is really able to meet them where they ride, commute or play and remove most of the barriers associated with traditional bikes. You don’t need training or specialized gear or spandex to get on an Elby and go. The Elby is fun, fast, and easy, regardless of fitness level. There’s no hill too tall!

     

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With the 2016 additions of Providence Country Club and Holston Hills Country Club, McConnell Golf encompasses a dozen 18-hole, private golf courses throughout the Carolinas and Tennessee.

For those of you scoring at home, that’s a total of 225 golf holes in the McConnell Golf portfolio, and they are undoubtedly among the finest you’ll play anywhere. McConnell Golf properties feature courses designed by legends such as Donald Ross, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, and Hale Irwin. In 2017, as they do year in and year out, McConnell Golf courses dominated the various state rankings.

So picking the 18 “very best” McConnell Golf holes is no easy task. But through nominations from pros and member votes, that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’re pleased to present the final course in the words of those whom know it best.

Head over to Facebook for photos, descriptions and tips on each hole >>

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