Playing the Tar Heel State: Discovering More Than Golf in Sanford, North Carolina

North Carolina is a state rich in golf history and home to some 560 golf courses—public, private, resort, and municipal. The Tar Heel state has hosted U.S. Opens, a Ryder Cup, U.S. Amateur Championship, Presidents Cup, PGA Championships, and it is home to two yearly PGA tour stops. The best time for golf in this part of the world is generally considered to be March through June and October through mid-December. Stepping out into the July heat, it was easy to see why, especially if you are used to a colder climate.

You will notice that there is something about triangles in North Carolina. Maybe it is the basketball influence, almost a religion in N.C. Arguably the state’s most famous son, Michael Jordan, won six NBA Championships using Phil Jackson’s triangle offence. A quick jaunt around the state and the three-sided shape pops up again and again. There is the Research Triangle of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, home to NC State, Duke, and UNC, respectively. The Piedmont Triad of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point lies further west. It follows then that maybe the best way to play golf around Carolina is to create your own triangle. The first point of mine was in Sanford.

Sanford is a town of 30,000 people in the centre of the state, on the border of the sandy coastal terrane and the rockier inland ground. The city originally grew as the result of nearby rail lines, followed by brickmaking. In a familiar story, big box stores opening on the outskirts of the city took businesses and customers away from the historic downtown. Not content to let history slide by them, the town pursued and was was granted Main Street America designation. The result is a downtown that has rebounded and is thriving. Walking past the red-brick buildings reveals businesses as diverse as gastropubs, homeware boutiques, breweries, third wave coffee shops, and bakeries.

And what of the golf? The main attraction in Sanford is indisputably Tobacco Road. The course’s story is not unlike that of the town itself. Originally a tobacco farm and then a sand quarry, emptied by the brick trade, it gained a new lease on life due to a bit of ambition, some good timing, and a truck load of hard work. Architect Mike Strantz oversaw the project. A designer known for pushing the envelope, he was only able to work on nine courses, and was the original designer of only seven before his untimely death, and many consider Tobacco Road to be his magnum opus. The course is wild, with huge mounds and vast waste areas contributing to some of the most visually intimidating shots anywhere in the state. Tobacco Road’s status and name recognition comes almost exclusively from the quality of the golf course. The facilities are nice, with a well stocked pro shop and range, but there is no mega hotel and restaurant, no caddies, and very little fanfare. There are five sets of tees for varying handicaps, but the real test of Tobacco Road may be a mental one as much as it is an examination of skill.

Around 20 minutes’ drive from Tobacco Road is Carolina Trace Country Club, a semiprivate facility. Laid out around the eponymous Trace Lake are two 18-hole courses by Robert Trent Jones, the Lake Course and the Creek Course. I had the opportunity to play the Lake Course, although the Creek comes very well recommended as a slightly shorter and tighter test. The Lake Course is a tale of two nines. The first half plays through the wooded areas back of the shoreline and features some dramatic changes in elevation. The course was built in 1971, but it feels older in places, particularly when you come across one of five cemeteries on the property. (For those morbidly curious, a gravestone impeding your swing would most likely fall under abnormal course conditions and result in free relief.) Most striking on the front is the par 3 eighth hole. Depending on tees, it plays anywhere from 100 to 190 yards, down a massive hill to a green with water in front, and is an exhilarating shot. Tee it up and launch it, then step back and watch as you hope the distance is good. It is the type of hole you could play over and over without getting bored.

The back nine takes full advantage of the lakeside location. In particular, hole 13 is an eye-catching par 3 to a green surrounded by water on three sides that suits a short right miss. The 14th is a long par 5 with water up the left and an inlet cutting into the fairway. A classic risk-reward hole, the closer you can get your drive to the water, the better your chances of reaching the green in two. The 18th is a stout finishing hole that remixes the test of the 14th. It demands a draw off the tee, and for many players the driver will be too much club to stay short of the inlet, particularly given the downward elevation change. It sets up a no-holds-barred, everything-you’ve-got second if you want a chance to reach in two.

When you are done golfing, there is plenty to get on with. Just outside Sanford proper is Circle M City, a fully restored and incredibly built cowboy town that looks straight out of Tombstone. There is a bank, a church, and right next door to each other, a saloon and a jail. Inside one of the period buildings is the Old West Museum, and every Monday evening visitors are treated to bluegrass jam sessions by local musicians. If you are seeking something a bit more adrenaline fuelled, local San-Lee Park (Sanford, Lee County) is home to around 20 kilometres of purpose-built mountain-biking trails, a surprise waiting to be found in a relatively flat part of the state.

Once you have worked up an appetite on the links or the trails, downtown’s Smoke and Barrel has good food and a huge selection of beer and bourbon. Yarborough’s Homemade Ice Cream & Grill is another downtown fixture. Start with a local favourite, the Carolina-style burger, a beef patty with chili, coleslaw, and diced onion. Then on to the main event, the huge selection of homemade ice cream.

Sanford is the type of place perfect for golfing travellers. Maybe you go because you’ve heard of Tobacco Road,a course renowned enough to bring travellers from all over the globe, and in turn you discover a place with a story to tell and plenty to offer.

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