Tar Heel Tops: McConnell Golf courses continue to dominate rankings of North Carolina's best

Raleigh-based McConnell Golf has the top two layouts in the Triangle and Triad

(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Now entering its second decade of existence, McConnell Golf continues to evolve. Medical software entrepreneur John McConnell purchased Raleigh Country Club in 2003 and his company now owns eight award-winning golf courses at strategic locations around the Carolinas.

Old North State Club

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the quality of golf offerings in the McConnell Golf stable, once again reaffirmed by the experts who have spoken — and were unanimous in their praise of McConnell Golf.

The North Carolina Golf Panel — comprised of golf media (including some of the top daily newspapers in the state), as well as a number of golf club pros, noted amateurs, college golf coaches and business leaders — provides a well-researched list of the top golf courses in the state each year. This is not an easy task, given that North Carolina has been described as a state with “50 Top-10 golf courses.”

In North Carolina’s Triangle area 2013 rankings, McConnell Golf-owned Raleigh Country Club (RCC) and Treyburn Country Club in Durham took the top two spots at No. 20 and No. 27 overall in the state, respectively, with RCC being ranked the region’s best since 2005. Also in the Triangle, McConnell Golf’s newest acquisition, Hale Irwin’s TPC at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, is ranked No. 90 in the state’s Top 100.

In North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad, McConnell’s revered Old North State Club at Badin Lake is rated No. 1 as always and No. 3 in the state — trailing only Pinehurst No. 2, site of the 2014 men’s and women’s U.S. Open, and Grandfather Golf and Country Club; while Sedgefield Country Club’s Ross Course in Greensboro, home of the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship, is No. 2 in the Triad and No. 21 in the state.

Not to be left out, McConnell’s popular Pete Dye layout, formerly at The Cardinal Golf and Country Club and now part of Sedgefield’s 36-hole offering, rounds out the Piedmont Triad’s Top 10, coming in at No. 57 in the state.

The panel’s rankings are published annually in the April issue of Business North Carolina magazine, and are detailed on the panel’s Web site (www.NCGolfPanel.com).

Throughout its nine-year existence, McConnell Golf has operated with a mission of presenting its members with the finest possible private club offerings — part of the reason the company has spent millions of dollars upgrading each of its properties and why the company’s golf courses and clubs are consistently ranked so high.

In addition to naming the Top 100 Courses in the state as well as top regional rankings, panelists also voted on several specialty categories including “Best Practice Facilities,” “Best Opening Hole,” “Best Collection of Par-3s” and “Most Memorable Courses.”

In the category “Best Practice Facilities,” RCC ranked No. 1 in the Triangle, while Treyburn was No. 4. Old North State was No. 3 in the Triad followed by the Pete Dye Course at Sedgefield.

In the category “Best Opening Hole,” RCC ranked No. 1 in the Triangle, while Old North State was No.1 in the Triad and Sedgefield’s Ross Course was No. 2. In the category “Best Collection of Par-3s,” Old North State also held down the No. 1 spot in the Triad, while Treyburn was No.1 in the Triangle and RCC was No. 3.

Among the state’s “Most Memorable Courses,” Old North State checked in at No. 2 in the Triad, while RCC was No. 2 in the Triangle.

Learn more about McConnell Golf at www.McConnellGolf.com.

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