Davis Love III’s Debut Course in
North Carolina is Top Notch
By Craig Distl
He was born in North Carolina and a three-time All-American golfer at the University of North Carolina. So when it came time for PGA Tour star Davis Love III to design his first golf course in the Tar Heel state, he wanted it to be extra special.
Mission accomplished.
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| It’s one of the best layouts in the Sandhill |
Love’s Anderson Creek Golf Club debuted in 2001 to rave reviews, earning the honor of best new course in North Carolina that year from North Carolina magazine. Carved from a forest of long leaf pines about 40 minutes from Pinehurst, the course pays homage to its world-famous neighbor, and this is not by accident. During his youth, Love’s father often took him to Pinehurst where they played many rounds together.
“It’s one of the best layouts in the Sandhills,” said veteran golf professional Jon Hockaday, who came to Anderson Creek in 2003. “There are a lot of Pinehurst-type features on the course with the long leaf pines and roll-offs around the greens.”
Love’s design career was in its infancy when he decided to build Anderson Creek, and he took a risk because of its location in Spring Lake. The course was close enough to Pinehurst that it would be always compared with the area’s masterpieces by such architects as Donald Ross, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio and Ellis Maples. Yet, it was far enough away that folks could ignore the course if it wasn’t top notch.
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| Anderson Creek has more topography than No. 2 at Pinehurst |
One could liken Love’s decision to going for a well-protected par-5 in two, instead of laying up safe in the fairway. Obviously, Love took the risk, giving golfers quite a reward.
In an interview with North Carolina magazine in early 2002, Davis’s brother and business partner, Mark, had this to say about Anderson Creek:
“We try to do very traditional courses. The No. 2 course at Pinehurst was one of our dad’s favorite courses and Davis and I always have that in our minds when we’re designing. Anderson Creek has more topography than No. 2, but the greens are similar with the runoff tendencies.”
The land at Anderson Creek does feature more ups, downs, angles and twists than the flatter, open expanses at Pinehurst Resort. So therein lies the main difference in the two.
“We tried to make it fit the land and look natural,” Davis Love said in the same article. “This type of course is one that I’ve found to be the most appealing. There’s not a bad hole on the course.”
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| “Tee to green, it paints a beautiful picture" |
The first hole at Anderson Creek is one of the tightest on the course. It doglegs right and introduces a reoccurring theme – fairways and bunkers surrounded by tufts of love grass. As golfers navigate their way around a course that can only be described as “big,” they encounter ample amounts of love grass, gigantic bunkers and large, rolling greens.
Joey Sindelar, one of Love’s buddies on the PGA Tour, is an investor in Anderson Creek. He recently visited for an exhibition match and had this to say: “Tee to green, it paints a beautiful picture,” he said. “It’s well-defined and I really like the massiveness of the bunkers. I’m pleased with the course – very pleased.”
One advantage Love had over architects who built many of the Pinehurst-area courses decades ago was his knowledge of the modern game.
As one of the world’s best players, Love understood 400 yards isn’t a long par-4 anymore, and courses less than 7,000 yards are considered short in an era of titanium drivers, hybrid irons and solid core balls than fly long and stop on a dime. So he stretched the course to 7,180 yards from the black tees, tossing in whopping par-4s with the following yardages: 408, 433, 454, 463 and 476.
Mixing that length with rolling, sloping greens creates a course from the black tees that a scant few should play. The course rates 75.1 and slopes at 139 from those tees, so anybody with a handicap higher than six or seven should simply wave at the black tees and proceed to the blues.
It is at the 6,703-yard blue tees and the 6,201-yard white tees that the course becomes playable and fun for the average golfer. Seniors, juniors and women also have other options – the gray tees (5,899) and the reds (5,419).
Aside from the black tees, which often cause a hate-Love relationship, non-championship golfers have developed quite an affinity for the course, making it one of the more requested courses in the Pinehurst-area golf packaging business.
“The thing I like about it the most is that although it is tremendous challenge, it is one of the fairest courses I’ve played,” said Hockaday, the director of golf. “You can see the shots you’re preparing to hit. There are no blind shots and there’s plenty of room around the greens. You don’t encounter shots where you miss it by four feet and you’re penalized two shots.”
Love also did a nice job of incorporating water hazards without them being too prevalent. There’s a pond beside the second tee, but water doesn’t come into play until the par-3 fourth. The fourth is a great hole in which tee shots must carry a tranquil pond to a well-bunkered green. The hole measures 166 yards from the white tees and 175 from the blues.
After the fourth, there’s no water until you come over the rise on the par-4 11th hole and see a pond looming in front of a green which slopes down to the water.
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| The Anderson Creek Clubhouse |
The par-4 13th hole includes a small water hazard on the left side that rarely comes into play; however, a pond to the left of the downhill par-3 15th will drown shots hooked from the teeing area, some 200 yards away.
The course concludes in strong fashion with two long par-4s on the 16th and 17th holes, and a lengthy, meandering par-5 finishing hole.
The green complex on the final hole is picturesque, framed by large, white bunkers and overlooked by the clubhouse. It’s a nice way to finish a tour around Davis Love’s first golf course in North Carolina.
“He did a magnificent job,” Hockaday said. “It’s just a pleasure to play.”
For Further Information:
Need Some Love?
Anderson Creek Golf Club is open to public play.
For tee times, call the golf shop at (910) 814-2115
Website: www.andersoncreekgolf.com
Anderson Creek also arranges golf packages to the Pinehurst/Sandhills area through its packaging entity, Anderson Creek Golf & Travel. Anderson Creek Golf & Travel offers a range of lodging and golf options, including more affordable packages with lodging just outside Pinehurst. For package info, call toll free (866) 507-5448, or visit www.andersoncreekgolfandtravel.com