I wrote this article for The Best of Lake Norman Podcast and will be on the show later this month to talk about it. I rank the 10 best golf courses in the Lake Norman, public and private. This article serves as a preview to my Top 10 list for Axios Charlotte of the Top 10 Public Golf Courses in the Charlotte area, which is coming out later this month. Spoiler Alert: 3 of the courses on the Lake Norman list also make the Charlotte Top 10 list. Here's the article: 10 Best Lake Norman Golf Courses (Public and Private)

In case you missed the news, Birkdale Golf Club is closing for 8+ months while the redevelopment project begins construction. It should re-open late summer 2023 with a new par 3 9th hole and no driving range (!). I'll keep you posted on updates as I get them. Birkdale Golf Club will be closed beginning December 8, 2022

Appears the new greens are going in at Birkdale. Walked up to practice and they said everything is dead and closed until some time in August.

Just got some very interesting and exciting news... three Charlotte-area courses will be getting new Bermuda greens this year:

Harry L. Jones Sr. Course (formerly Renaissance Park)
Tradition Golf Club
Birkdale Golf Club

Exact timing is not set yet but I should be able to confirm dates within a week or two. These will likely be summer to early Fall projects, similar to the renovation of The Divide last year.

The Harry Jones renovation is one step in a long-range master plan that sounds amazing. I can't share details just yet but what I've heard so far sounds really cool!

Stay tuned!

Saw this a few days ago giving a slight update on Re-Development at Birkdale, confirming that the current driving range and practice area (which is a nice one) will go away. The article notes that development work could begin by year's end.

"The driving range is right where the expansion project is, so the range, along with its high protective fence, will disappear” said Principal Town Planner David Peete. Peete noted, however, that the owner could build a new driving range in the future, though that’s not currently in the plans."

Birkdale Moves a Step Closer to a Mulligan

In case you are not on Clickit's mailing list, they sent out this statement from the new management company of the Carolina Trail courses. I'm not sure why it doesn't mention Waterford. We already know Charlotte Golf Links is closed for good and Skybrook has got a new owner.

"As you have probably heard, a foreclosure process was recently completed with respect to Birkdale Golf Club, The Divide Golf Club, Highland Creek Golf Club and Tradition Golf Club. As a result of that process, effective April 8, 2014, Romspen Birkdale LLC / Romspen Divide LLC / Romspen Highland Creek LLC / Romspen, The Tradition LLC is now the owner of the respective courses.

The new owners are committed to returning the golf courses to their r! ightful place as some of the best daily fee facilities in the Charlotte area and have retained the services of Traditional Golf Management to operate the day to day business. We understand that this has been a very volatile environment and we are confident that the new ownership and management will provide the much needed stability that these clubs need. We are currently working on both operating and capital plans that will allow us to show continuous improvement in the facilities and service levels at the clubs.

New membership programs are in place and special considerations are being given to those that held memberships under the previous ownership. Please contact the respective golf club for more information on the membership details (including the revised pricing for weekday sports members).

We are excited to begin the process of restoring these courses to the quality that was enjoyed years ago. We look forward to earn! ing back your business and seeing you on the golf course."%3! Cbr />
-Traditional Golf Management

A Canadian lender has taken ownership of four Charlotte-area golf courses that were part of the troubled Carolina Trail group, according to letters from the company.

After the foreclosure process, Toronto-based Romspen is the new owner of the Birkdale, Highland Creek, The Divide and The Tradition golf clubs, the letters say. The new ownership is effective as of Tuesday.

Carolina Trail golf courses have new owner

The fat lady is warming up her vocals....

Complaints of unpaid wages persist at Carolina Trail golf courses

Update: Birkdale will supposedly reopen tomorrow on July 4th:

Birkdale Golf Club has paid back taxes

This article includes a lot more detail on the legal and financial problems for the Carolina Trail courses, including a suggestion that the county has considered foreclosing on them -- though Waterford and The Divide are not mentioned.

I wouldn't give the Carolina Trail a cent after this:

WSOC TV Report

Charlotte Observer article

I posted this comment on the review and I'll repost it here. I got in touch with Wes Jones about this one and received a quick response.

Paraphrasing:

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. At Birkdale our goal is to have all players enjoy themselves and feel they have received a good value. It is difficult to please all the people all the time and unfortunately we were not able to do that with Mr. Looney's group... a group teed off at 8:23 and then the first of Mr. Looney's three foursomes teed off at 8:35, 12 minutes later... his group played the front nine in 2:38. His group had been warned for slow play twice in the first seven holes. This forced me to make the difficult decision of asking his group to skip the 10th hole. We ! want our guests to enjoy themselves but not at the expense of our other guests... the two groups following Mr. Looney's group played the front nine in 2 1/2 hours and well under two hours on the back nine after his group left.

On June 4th we had 182 rounds played and 144 players after Mr. Looney's group at 8:35. If I had allowed his group to continue on their pace we would have had our other rounds in the 5 1/2 hour range or worse. I do not want Birkdale to have a slow play reputation. In short, we would like people to play Birkdale. You will find the course conditions very nice, we take pace of play seriously and as Mr. Looney said, we have a friendly staff.

Sincerely,

Wesley Jones
Birkdale Golf Club
General Manager

Pace of play is a touchy subject. Obviously, you hate to be playing fast and easy, then get caught up in a logjam where you are waiting on every shot. On the other hand, if you are having fun but get behind because of a few stray shots where you lose time trying to find a lost ball or get back in play, it can be nearly impossible to catch up and get back on time with other groups on the course. So it is indeed a tough situation for the general manager. It's a bit of a Catch-22 -- which is worse: disappointing one or two groups by having them skip a hole to keep up pace of play or angering half a day's worth of groups that play 5 hour rounds?

I think in this situation you've got to be 100% sure that groups are truly backing up and tee times are running late before you ask a group to skip holes. If the groups behind are not complaining, not waiting, then there shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure whether the GM made the right decision in this case, but it does seem like he carefully considered everything before speaking to the group.

I can certainly understand why you guys left. This has only happened to me once or twice in my 11 years of playing and I was very angry. I'm glad you had a good experience over at Fox Den. I've yet to play it, but keep hearing great things.

Thanks for the feedback.

Love the site and knowledge B-Man

Yes - I have played Skybrook, Highland Crk and Rocky River within last two weeks. I play Highland Crk, Skybrook, Rocky River and Tradition often because I live up here. I am not positive how they are comparing to other courses in the area as I stick to northern trail and this area usually.

However with these courses - Rocky River had some serious issues with their greens last year but they seem to be much better now. Some of the greens were totally gone last year but they are back nicely, I heard they made some changes with the superintendent staff. Highland Creek I like because it is challenging, tough but fair course, relatively easy to get on, and people have a nice attitude. Highland Crk was in not so good shape last year but it seems like ownership was not investing in any of these courses last year much. It looks better this year. They recently aerated the greens but they are back to normal now. I like Skybrook the best but it is overpriced for what you get. They have had and have brown and bare spots in fairways. Rocky River does not have GPS / yardages on the carts which is odd in this day and age but I like the course, and it is typically in good shape - minus the green issue from last year.

I am down on Tradition because it is over crowded, slow, and the staff have borderline rude attitude often. But I have not played there recently. I like Birkdale, the only down side is the electrical lines. It is a nice course in good shape.

EA ratings of Northern Trail area courses below -
Skybrook and Birkdale T1
HCGC and Rocky River T3
Tradition 5

Played Birkdale today (7/30). Course was in good shape, although wet because of recent rains. Only negative is that all the pin placements were tucked at the edges of the greens. Seems to be a popular trend lately.

I played birkdale on tuesday the 10th, and the only two things where the driving range is getting some work done so we had to hit off those damn mats, which get your clubs all green! Then there were the greens... just re-airated. Made your puts almost impossable. Your chips had to be rolled on, if not they bounced everywhere. other then that, had a lot of fun, and thats what it is all about right.

Played today 10/18/08..Course was in good condition (Alot better than my swing..lol)..Greens were nice and fast ..The rough was ROUGH tho,we lost several balls that should have been easy to find!..Still it was pretty much top-notch for this time of year..can't go wrong here!

Played today at 1 and finished around 5:20. The first nine was fast, no one in front of us or behind. Second nine slowed down a lot... waited about 5 mins on each tee box. Course was a little wet here and there. The right greenside bunker on #1 was gunky. Tee box on the par 3 #6 was pretty long, really long actually. There are a few short par 4's, only one I can get close to getting on the green (#7). MOst of the greens were in great condition, rolling pretty fast.
Fairways were a bit soft. Course in general was in great condition.

I have been coming to South Carolina for every year for about ten years with a group of eight. We have an "unwritten rule": Always play Birkdale in Huntersville, north of Charlotte. It is an Arnold Palmer course with lots of neat/challenging holes - and the pub is great with good menu. We usually end our week of golf with the golf at Birkdale and lunch. I would also give high marks for Regent Park and Waterford.

Played Birkdale today and it was in good shape. #10 green was a little beat up, but that was the only issue. All greens rolled true. The range was pretty packed, but the course played pretty quickly.

Played Birkdale this past weekend and the greens were really a mess. We got stuck behind a real slow group and ended up spending five hours out there... won't be going back any time soon.

Played Verdict Ridge the previous weekend and enjoyed the round. Conditions are among the best I've played in the area recently. Pricey at $74 though.

Heading to Ballantyne on Saturday morning...