Once is Not Enough for Liam King

Junior golfer shoots two holes-in-one in 2020

It wasn’t all bad – indeed, 2020 was a banner year for Wakefield Plantation junior golfer Liam King.

On January 1, 2020, Liam started the year with a hole-in-one on #8 at Camelback Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. From 113 yards out, the then-8-year-old struck the ball with his 3-wood for his first-ever ace. However, once was not enough for young Liam. While playing in the Wakefield Plantation Junior Club Championship on Sunday, October 18, Liam hit his second hole-in-one on #11 with his 4-hybrid from 127 yards out.

In addition to his two aces, Liam also qualified for and played in the U.S. Kids World Championship in Pinehurst last summer. This 9-year-old had a great golf season and we look forward to many more ahead from Liam!

 

2020 McConnell Golf Hole-in-One Club

Hitting a hole-in-one is a special feat for golfers of all ages. The chances of an average PGA Tour player making an ace are 3,000 to 1; a low-handicapper’s chances are 5,000 to 1, and an average player’s chances are 12,000 to 1. On average overall, a hole-in-one is scored once every 3,500 golf rounds.

In 2020 alone, 124 holes-in-one were made by members at McConnell Golf properties. Nine members made two holes-in-one last year: Bob Beasley, Thomas Bonney, Stanley Griffin, Denny Hattersley, Carolyn Hopper, Tim Massie, Don Troutman, Tony Villa and Daniel Wright. Three of them made their double aces on the same hole: Carolyn Hopper on #2 at The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Tim Massie on #4 at Holston Hills, and Thomas Bonney on #16 at Sedgefield Country Club. Bob Beasley, a member at Sedgefield Country Club, made both of his holes-in-one while playing at The Cardinal; all told, 17 members made their aces while visiting other McConnell Golf clubs.

McConnell Golf’s 2020 Hole-in-One Club members – listed with their home club, hole-in-one and date they achieved it – include:

Scott Saunders, MM: #12 at Musgrove Mill (1/5)

Laurie Jennings, RES: #3 at The Reserve (1/5)

Dr. James Foster, HH: #14 at Holston Hills (1/6)

Thomas Bonney, SCC: #16 at Sedgefield (1/17)

Denny Hattersley, HH: #8 at Holston Hills (1/19)

John Zhang, PCC: #2 at Providence (1/19)

Michael Kennedy, PCC: #6 at Providence (1/26)

John Elder, HH: #8 at Holston Hills (2/5)

Patrick Reynolds, PCC: #6 at Providence (3/7)

Bill Winkler, CCA: #6 at Asheville (3/15)

Bill Paone, RES: #12 at The Reserve (3/15)

Bill Hoyle, RES: #3 at The Reserve (3/16)

Kevin O’Connor, CCA: #6 at Asheville (3/18)

Charles Capps, CCA: #13 at Asheville (3/18)

Michael Carlisto, PCC: #6 at Providence (3/20)

Becca McKinney, RCC: #14 at Wakefield (3/21)

Ted Broering, RCC: #14 at Wakefield (3/27)

Carolyn Hopper, CARD: #2 at The Cardinal (4/5)

Garrett Greene, CCA: #6 at Asheville (4/5)

Randy Kiser, ONS: #7 at Old North State (4/10)

Paul Urben, RCC: #2 at Treyburn (4/12)

Callum Chadwick, RCC: #5 at Wakefield Plantation (4/13)

Arnold Neal, CARD: #2 at The Cardinal (4/17)

Tony Villa, GD: #13 at Grande Dunes Members Club (4/17)

Don Troutman, SCC: #2 at The Cardinal (4/18)

Josh Minor, TCC: #7 at Treyburn (4/25)

Brian Seay, PCC: #6 at Providence (4/25)

Rachel Delcampo, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (4/26)

Scott Ruerup, RCC: #7 at Treyburn (4/26)

Wayne Dicastri, CCA: #13 at Asheville (4/26)

Bob Beasley, SCC: #2 at The Cardinal (4/29)

Kirk Patterson, SCC: #3 at Sedgefield (5/2)

Ella Perna, TCC: #3 at Treyburn (5/3)

Kathleen Riordan, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (5/14)

Dr. Bill Young, CCA: #6 at Asheville (5/15)

Andy White, CCA: #13 at Asheville (5/16)

Carolyn Hopper, CARD: #2 at The Cardinal (5/16)

Greg Seamster, RCC: #14 at Old North State (5/22)

Matt Lindley, RCC: #3 at Old North State (5/23)

Tom Hickman, HH: #11 at Holston Hills (5/25)

John Chaplin, PCC: #4 at Providence (5/25)

Sue Elwell, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (5/31)

David Acomb, RCC: #2 at Treyburn (6/6)

Curtis Collins, SCC: #16 at Sedgefield (6/6)

Drew Brown, SCC: #16 at Sedgefield (6/8)

Bob Huie, PN: #6 at Porters Neck (6/11)

Tim Massie, HH: #4 at Holston Hills (6/19)

Ron Koksal, HH: #14 at Holston Hills (6/20)

Sylvia Beale, PCC: #16 at Providence (6/26)

Jeff Gibson, BV: #5 at Brook Valley (6/27)

Mack Braxton, PN: #11 at Porters Neck (6/27)

Daniel Wright, PCC: #6 at Providence (6/28)

Stanley Griffin, HH: #11 at Holston Hills (7/1)

Jackson Slayton, PCC: #6 at Providence (7/1)

Patti Haslett, WE: #15 at The Water’s Edge (7/2)

Chris Davis, HH: #8 at Holston Hills (7/2)

Art Graepel, BV: #8 at Brook Valley (7/4)

Jack Paynter, RCC: #7 at Treyburn (7/5)

Landon Harper, RCC: #3 at Wakefield (7/10)

Bill Wolcott, CCA: #3 at Asheville (7/11)

Ed Hann, HH: #14 at Holston Hills (7/12)

Timbs Jones, HH: #14 at Holston Hills (7/12)

John Sanford, HH: #11 at Holston Hills (7/14)

Scott Krasner, PCC: #16 at Providence  (7/17)

Tony Cortiglio, PN: #11 at Porters Neck (7/18)

Avery Barnes, CARD: #12 at The Cardinal (7/23)

Wendie Waddell, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (7/26)

Matthew Mardjanov, PCC: #2 at Providence (7/30)

Ric Goodman, CCA: #3 at Asheville (8/2)

Dan Schisler, BV: #5 at Brook Valley (8/12)

Kevin Teeters, HH: #11 at Holston Hills (8/14)

Thomas Bonney, SCC: #16 at Sedgefield (8/20)

Tim Hansen, SCC: #8 at The Cardinal (8/22)

Jim Walsh, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (8/26)

Russ Lamkins, SCC: #2 at The Cardinal (8/29)

Steve Ackels, PCC: #4 at Providence (8/30)

Mike Rugg, GD: #6 at Grande Dunes Members Club (8/31)

Craig Meck, PN: #6 at Porters Neck (9/1)

Joel Book, PCC: #2 at Providence (9/1)

Lucie Tonon, PCC: #6 at Providence (9/2)

Kyle Perry, PCC: #11 at Providence (9/3)

Brady Blackburn, CCA: #13 at Asheville (9/4)

Nancy Steinauer, WP: #3 at Wakefield (9/6)

Gates Grainger, PCC: #2 at Providence  (9/6)

Genie Leonard, GD: #4 at Grande Dunes Members Club (9/7)

Tom Buis, GD: #4 at Grande Dunes Members Club (9/11)

Dave Pitaro, TCC: #13 at Treyburn (9/13)

Chris John, WE: #7 at The Water’s Edge (9/16)

Dan Sanderoff, WP: #14 at Wakefield (9/18)

Daniel Wright, PCC: #16 at Providence (9/18)

Jeff Carr, HH: #4 at Holston Hills (9/19)

Michael Maher, WP: #11 at Wakefield (9/22)

Bob Boyer, PN: #11 at Porters Neck (9/23)

Don Troutman, SCC: #7 at Sedgefield (9/23)

Jack Sowisdral, WP: #3 at Wakefield (9/27)

Rich De Ruiter, RES: #7 at The Reserve (9/27)

Ron Hickman, SCC: #7 at Sedgefield (9/29)

Will Johnston, BV: #12 at Brook Valley (10/4)

Nadine Hooks, SCC: #8 at The Cardinal (10/6)

Hugh Holman, GD: #8 at Grande Dunes Members Club (10/16)

Clyde Dunn, HH: #8 at Holston Hills (10/16)

Mike Hayes, CCA: #6 at Asheville (10/17)

Liam King, WP: #11 at Wakefield (10/18)

Jeff Orlando, RCC: #13 at Treyburn (10/21)

Joey Calderazzo, TCC: #17 at Treyburn (10/22)

Todd Reynolds, PCC: #16 at Providence (10/24)

Rick Hakes, WP: #7 at Wakefield (10/31)

Jeff Fiorello, SCC: #7 at Sedgefield (11/1)

Tom Smith, ONS: #14 at Old North State (11/5)

Phil Butler, ONS: #14 at Old North State (11/5)

Karen Buckley, RES: #7 at The Reserve (11/10)

Eileen Johnson, GD: #6 at Grande Dunes Members Club (11/13)

Stanley Griffin, HH: #8 at Holston Hills (11/15)

Tim Massie, HH: #4 at Holston Hills (11/15)

Roger Williams, RES: #17 at The Reserve (11/17)

Michael Spillars, RCC: #3 at Wakefield (11/19)

Denny Hattersley, HH: #4 at Holston Hills (11/24)

Bob Beasley, SCC: #8 at The Cardinal (11/25)

Graham Chase, PCC: #4 at Providence (12/4)

Michael Adams, CCA: #13 at Asheville (12/6)

Jimmy Henderson, MM: #2 at Musgrove Mill (12/9)

Tony Villa, GD: #16 at Grande Dunes Members Club (12/10)

Larry Chiappetta, RES: #12 at The Reserve (12/15)

Tim Cunneen, TCC: #13 at Treyburn (12/19)

 

CLUB KEY:

BV: Brook Valley Country Club

CARD: The Cardinal by Pete Dye

CCA: Country Club of Asheville

GD: Grand Dunes Members Club

HH: Holston Hills Country Club

MM: Musgrove Mill Golf Club

ONS: Old North State Club

PCC: Providence Country Club

PN: Porters Neck Country Club

RCC: Raleigh Country Club

RES: The Reserve Golf Club

SCC: Sedgefield Country Club

TCC: Treyburn Country Club

WE: The Water’s Edge Country Club

WP: The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation

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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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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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Now two-time Wyndham Champion Brandt Snedeker wasted no time earning his ninth career win

Brandt Snedeker walks fast talks fast and plays fast. And at last year’s Wyndham Championship, he harnessed all that speed into the ultimate quick start, shooting 59 in the first round at Sedgefield Country Club on his way to a rapid finish on Sunday and his ninth PGA Tour victory.

Only 10 sub-60 rounds have been recorded on the PGA Tour since Al Geiberger posted the first 59 in 1977 at the Memphis Classic. Along with Geiberger, only David Duval (1999 CareerBuilder Challenge), Stuart Appleby (2010 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier) and Justin Thomas (2017 Sony Open in Hawaii) were previously able to shoot 59s and goon to win that week.

“It’s been a really emotional and stressful week, to say the least, to start the way I did at a tournament that means so much to me,” said Snedeker, who has been a brand ambassador fo Wyndham since he won the Wyndham in 2007. “To have your first Tour win, you ask anybody out here on Tour, it’s always special to him.

“It just means the world tome that I was able to do it here in Greensboro with Wyndham Worldwide being the sponsor.”

The 38-year-old Snedeker has put together a well-regarded career on Tour. He turned pro in 2004 after finishing 41st at the Masters as an amateur. His invitation to Augusta National came as the result of his victory at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links, a tournament that doesn’t exist any longer.

Snedeker played three years on the Web.com Tour, graduating to the big Tour in 2007 after finishing ninth on the Web.com Tour money list with two victories and a runner-up. He was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2007 after winning the Wyndham and earning a trip to the Tour Championship.

Since then, Snedeker has risen steadily in the professional ranks. In 2008, he finished tied for third in his first Masters since turning pro. He was tied for the lead on Sunday after an eagle on the par-5 3rd hole but wound up shooting 77.

His second Tour win came at the 2011 Heritage at Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island. The following year was his best on Tour. Snedeker beat Kyle Stanley on the second playoff hole to win the Farmers Insurance Open. Later that summer, he finished tied for third at the Open Championship.

At season’s end, he won the Tour Championship at East Lake by three shots over Justin Rose and in the process, won the $10 million prize for capturing the season-long points race for the FedEx Cup. He won his fifth Tour title in 2013 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and won it again in 2015. He won his second Farmers Insurance Open title in 2016.

Prior to his 2018 Wyndham victory, Snedeker had spent much of the previous two seasons with injuries.

“To be injured, to be away from the game for five and a half months, to not know what the recovery was going to look like, to not know if you’re going to be 100 percent again and still dealing with it to this day,” Snedeker said in Greensboro last August.

“I guess it’s a fact of life as you get older out here, you’re going to have to deal with certain nagging injuries all the time. It’s always in the back of my mind. It’s been a tough year, year and a half, two years for me, to be honest with you. When you don’t have your health out here and you’re trying to fight through it,it’s really tough because you know what you’re capable of and your body’s not letting you do what you think you should be able to do.”

The 2018 Wyndham started with the milestone 59 that ended with a 20-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole at Sedgefield, which was his last hole of the day. Snedeker’s previous low score on Tour was a 61 at the Buick Invitational in his rookie year.

Winning the 2018 Wyndham was the culmination of enough physical healing combined with the difficult work of coming back from serious injury. But in the end, winning with his children in the gallery – Lily, who was 7 at the time, and 6-year-old Austin – made the victory even more special.

“It’s great to have my kids being here when they are old enough to understand what it means, what Daddy does for a living,” he said. “They’ve been telling me for two years they want to see a trophy, they want to hold a trophy and I’ve been failing them for two years.

“It’s a great teaching lesson for them. They’ve seen how hard I’ve worked. They’ve seen the amount of time I’ve spent away from them trying to get to this point, so it’s good for them to see, hey, it works, pays off. If you keep your head on straight and do stuff the right way and keep working your tail off, you do get rewarded.”

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Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club Dye Course will become a semi-private facility and restore its original name, The Cardinal by Pete Dye.

On March 1, 2019, the Sedgefield Country Club Dye Course near Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro becomes a semi-private facility and restores its original name, The Cardinal by Pete Dye.

“We are excited about this change and look forward to increased rounds and activity on the golf course,” wrote McConnell Golf Triad Regional Director Beverly Marler in a letter to the membership. “Rest assured membership will still have its privileges.”

In 2006, McConnell Golf purchased the Cardinal Golf & Country Club, a Pete Dye-designed masterpiece originally constructed in 1974 and host to many nationally recognized amateur tournaments, including the club’s renowned Cardinal Amateur. After nearly $5 million in renovations to the clubhouse and golf course, most notably hiring Dye to return and fully restore his original design, The Cardinal is recognized as one of the state’s most challenging courses.

With the recent announcement, The Cardinal tee sheet is open to non-member play with the following conditions: 

• All members will have preferred access to the tee sheet, allowing them to secure the same prime times to which they are accustomed.
• All Full Golf members may retain the same access that is currently enjoyed at Sedgefield and other McConnell Golf properties.
• All Dye Family Golf members may retain their same membership privileges at The Cardinal as well as dining privileges at Sedgefield.
• All current dues/fees will remain in place.

   
Tee times are available to the public via CardinalGolf.com and GolfNow's online tee time marketplace. 

Dye Family Golf memberships for The Cardinal will continue to be available. In addition, Head Golf Professional Chris Terry and his team will offer a full calendar of golf tournaments, events, and programs throughout the year that are available exclusively to members — including Full Golf members who have access to all McConnell Golf properties, existing Dye Family Golf members and any new Cardinal memberships. These programs will not be open to non-members.

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One of the game’s great voices reflects on the past
and looks ahead to a new challenge.

Roger Maltbie turned 67 years olf this summer — and he’s still going strong. He amassed five wins during his PGA Tour career, but Maltbie’s leaving his mark in the broadcasting world as an on-course analyst for NBC Sports. His comfortable style of walking the fairways has endeared “Rog” to golf fans across the world. I caught up with Maltbie during his break from PGA Tour coverage.

John Maginnes: What do you remember about Sedgefield and the old GGO?

Roger Maltbie: Well, I’ve played it with friends since and love the golf course. Going all the way back to the mid 70s, I don’t remember much. I remember that it was cold. Maybe Greensboro in March or early April wasn’t such a great idea. August makes a lot more sense, and the golf course looks great during the tournament.

JM: Tell us about the core group at NBC that you’ve worked with for so long.

RM: We’re getting a little long in the tooth there, pal. We’ve been together a long time. This is my 27th year, Johnny Miller’s 29th year, and Mark Rolfing was there before me. Gary Koch has been there since 1997. Dan Hicks has been in the booth since 1993. And of course, the rookies are Peter Jacobsen, Notah Begay, and Jim “Bones” Mackay.

JM: How has it been working with Bones, Phil Mickelson’s former longtime caddie?

RM: We did an experiment at Sea Island with Bones and John Wood, who caddies for Matt Kuchar. I took them out on the course and showed them how to do this job — this is where you stand, this is what you do. Bones is a quick learner and he does a good job. A caddie really does offer a different perspective. We ask him, “What would you tell a guy, what would your advice be?” It’s been a nice fit.

JM: And inevitably, we have a little more insight into Phil Mickelson’s thinking.

RM: Really, who looks at life or golf like Phil? How do I say this with the utmost respect — you can call Phil a lot of things, but you can’t call him doubtful. Phil’s confidence is his greatest asset, whether the rest of the world follows along or not.

JM: What have you made of the return of Tiger?

RM: It’s great that he’s healthy again. Whether he catches Jack or not almost doesn’t matter. Who knows? But it’s a shame to see someone get robbed of the opportunity because of a physical problem. Now he seems to have that cured and he can go after it hard, so now we might get to see if he can do it, but that is going to be the burden for him.

JM: For a long time, the flagship event for NBC was the US Open. How hard is it for you to watch someone else do the event?

RM: It was a business decision. We understand that money
talks and everything else walks, and that’s fine. We were out bid, so the USGA took their TV affiliation to a different place. Do I miss it? Yeah, I miss it. It’s our national championship, and certainly our first major. What I do is great fun. But there is some golf that is more meaningful, and we are talking about the US Open. To have those opportunities to cover the events was special. They are special events. They were special when we played, and special when we broadcast. So yeah, it’s a little painful to watch sometimes.

JM: As part of the shuffle of television contracts, NBC now does the Open Championship. What is that like?

RM: It’s different for me, because I only played in the British Open twice. Back then, we called it the British Open, but now it’s the Open Championship. Both times I played in it were at Turnberry, so I’m learning courses like Carnoustie for the first time, which is fun. [He pauses and smiles.] And it’s the next time that I work.

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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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