The cozy Rock Hill area of South Carolina’s Old English District is quickly gaining the attention of many traveling golfers. Rock Hill is a suburb of Charlotte, NC one of America’s banking capitals, and one of the fastest growing areas in the USA. What golfers are finding here is more than they had bargained for.
There is a collection of great courses, conveniently located along I-77 all within 10 minutes of Rock Hill accommodation properties. Rick Saucier, whose Golf Packages of South Carolina allows golfers to play these courses at package prices in the $60 a day range – that includes golf with power cart, accommodation and breakfast. A few properties that are favorites among golfers are the Hilton Garden Inn and Courtyard by Marriott that are surrounded by
many
fine as well as casual dining
establishments.
The 5 top-notch courses that are
located within the immediate Rock
Hill area will provide golfers of all
levels with the type of experience
that they are looking for.
The Fort
Mill Golf Club or Tega Cay Golf Clubs
might be good choices the opening
rounds of your Rock Hill experience.
Fort Mill’s front 9 was designed in
1947 by of golf’s legendary
architects
Donald Ross, with George Cobb
completing the back 9 some
12
years
later.
The course stretches
back
to
6,800
yards from the tips
with a slope
rating
of 133. A number
of the
Bermuda
fairways are tree
lined but
for the
most part the
fairways are
generous.
As with
most
courses
attached to the
name Ross
it is the
approach to the
greens that
is the
difference
between
a good
and a
great round. Tega Cay
located
on
Lake Wiley
has three
distinctively
different
nine hole
courses and even
some elevation
changes – often
considered rare for
South Carolina
Golf but that make
for one great
golf experience.
Waterford Golf Club is a true shot makers course. This 6,913 yard, slopes at 132 from the tips is a
Hale Irwin designed course nestled along the Catawba River and features towering pines and hardwoods lining its gently rolling fairways.
With a design that harkens back to the traditional schemes of the 1920’s and the Golden Age of Architecture in golf,
Springfield Golf Club has quickly made a name for itself since opening in 2001. The 6,906-yard, par-72,
Clyde Johnston-designed layout offers a picturesque and testing tract of holes that will challenge all levels of golfing ability.
Located on a heavily wooded and hilly site just over the South Carolina border in Fort Mill, and features four holes that flank Sugar Creek -- affording players spectacular views -- and includes 13 holes that play across and along perennial streams that feed into the Catawba River.
The
Ron Garl designed
Regent Park Golf Club would no doubt rank as one of the Rock Hill and Charlotte area’s most challenging tests of golf. This beautiful course that borders the North Carolina and South Carolina state line, travels through the two states and three different counties. Don’t let the 6,785 yards from the tips catch you off guard, it is sloped at a muscular 138. No need to be a hero here!
This is a part of America where two states become one great area – the Carolinas – so golfers can be excused for slipping into North Carolina for a round at the luxurious
Ballantyne Golf and Spa Resort. Don’t let the word “luxurious” scare you off, if all you are looking for is a round of golf, even in peak season it is in the $65.00 range with cart and worth every penny. The 6,735-yard course is as tough as they come, but one of the best groomed that you will ever play. Visually off the tee you see plenty of green landing area, BEWARE there is more of that fluffy Bermuda rough than there is fairway bringing a whole new meaning to target golf when you combine that with some smallish greens. Don’t despair though, at the end of a round you can take your bruised ego and have it massaged in the resort’s world-class spa. Check out the mounding at the back of No. 8 – it may be the only hole of its kind in the world.
Over in Munro, NC, about 30 minutes from Rock Hill,
Bobby West, a former PGA Tour player, is overseeing some major improvements at
Stonebridge Golf Club, a course that already looks pretty good.
This semi-private facility has a classic country club layout whose reputation of maintaining superb conditions and the highest level of customer service keeps the golfers coming back. This 6,900-yard layout will provide an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all skill levels. Stonebridge is truly a hidden gem.
For more information or to receive a golf guide from Golf Packages of South Carolina contact Rick Saucier @
1 888 501 0954 or visit
www.golfpackagesofsc.com
Marc Atchison is the former Travel and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.
