Great news for The Divide! The course was approved for a $350k greens renovation starting this month. The greens will be sodded with Diamond Zoysia grass, the same as Eagle Chase in Marshville (and those have been good year round).

The work starts next week and the course plans to re-open for play around Labor Day. Stay tuned for progress details and a more solid date for re-opening, as I will be keeping tabs on it (I live 3 minutes away).

I spoke to the team at The Divide and Pinnacle Golf Properties and they said Birkdale is on the schedule for next summer -- which will leave only The Tradition and Highland Creek of the former Carolina Trail courses under PGP management with Bentgrass greens. Those courses would be next on the list for future renovations.

Whenever you hear rumors about courses like this or have major issues with a course, send me a feedback message -- as I can usually get an answer directly from the course in less than 24 hours.

Played The Divide on Saturday 10/18. The recent reviews are accurate - the course is really showing signs of dramatic improvement. Good job by new management to turn things around. And the green fee was only $40 for prime time. Time to put this course back on my play list.

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

Played this course on 4/7. This is the first time I have played it in several years. I found it to be in the usual winter shape like most courses in the area. Thin fairways but the greens were in better shape than what I remembered them to be in. I really enjoyed the round. Although not my favorite course I enjoyed it enough to want to play it again when things green up. Pace was good and the staff was very friendly

Played yesterday (10/4) and the greens look like they're about to go bad. At least half have spots that have been colored green with fertilizer or something. They seemed a bit dried out and super fast. Fairways and rough were good though. Rough is nice and thick... lost a ball on one of the par 5's b/c the rough was so dense. Bunkers are 50/50... some are hard with rocks and some are nice and soft. Pace of play was great! Hope something can be done about the greens...

Played there last week and I forgot to post a review. I agree with John, the greens were great (color was good and they rolled well)! Haven't played there since March when the greens had brown spots. Def will go back for a round soon.

Tega Cay update: not sure if anyone goes out there from this site but they are almost done resodding all 18 greens and are hoping to open back up early November. They are using Mini-verde, a bermuda hybrid which allows them to cut the greens short to allow them to roll fast. Hoping for the best... Also, they are making changes to a few greens to make them wider and more playable than before.

Played The Divide on Monday Sept 20th and was pleasantly surprised. The greens are in the best shape they have been in for a while. However alot of the greenside bunkers are still like hardpan. I have avoided this course over the past 6 months but if they can get the bunker issue resolve it will get some of its luster back.

We're planning on playing both courses next week and was wondering if anyone could provide some insight. Last I heard about Divide was that it was a mess... hoping it got a little better. Thanks!!

I played The Divide on June 13th. We were delayed by 20 minutes from our original tee time and the groups were stacked up all day. All in all we had a 5.5 hour round and the conditions were pretty bad. The greens were soggy and were really tracked up around the holes. The tee boxes were horrible-- what little grass was growing on them desperately needed to be cut. The bunkers were among the worst in Charlotte-- some with standing water, some with 2 feet of course beach sand to slog around in, 1 with perfect white fluffy sand, one that had gravel in it, and the rest of them were thin and crusty. Several of the holes were double cut so that there was a rim of loose dirt around the edge. Fairways were okay but a bit shaggy. The only positive was the ranger and beer girl. Ranger was really nice and helpful with our disfunctional GPS-- the beer girl was an 11+ on a scale of 10 and charming to boot. I get the feeling that someone has cut the maintenance budget at this track by 50%.

There are some good holes out there on this one but I would wait until they get there act together from a maintenance perspective before I played again.

Played the divide this week and the greens are a mess. I don't see how these greens will get any better all year in 2009. Save your money and play somewhere else! Also played Olde Sycamore this week. Course is always in good shape and you can get good deals during M-TH. Greens were fast and rolled great for Feb. They had some evil pin placements out there on Thursday.

Been playing here quite a bit since it's cheaper. We get an email almost on a weekly basis. Played Sat for $39 at 11am. It was pretty wet from the rain on thurs/fri, but it wasn't bad. pace of play was slow! Divide is one of the worst about pace of play... their rangers need to monitor the course better. there were a bunch of 2somes which could've been joined into 4somes. but i also blame the cart path only rule... but still, we waited up to 10 mins on some holes. bunkers still have rocks scattered throughout them.

Played there(Charlotte Golf Links) last weekend 9/28/08..VERY happy with the condition the greens were great and the fairways were good (My god though the rough was like the US open...Give us a chance guys)..Overall it was in great shape.
Played the Divide 9/27/08 and was not as pleased with it..the greens are getting beat up in my opinion ..pockmarked and burnt in spots.
I'm playing Mooresville tomorrow and I'll report on the conditions there... Its a Donald Ross track thats actually a REAL cool layout... the question there is the condition I have heard they aerated 2 weeks ago... so I'll report tommorow.

Played the Divide yesterday (9/21). Pace of play was pretty slow, but they did have a best ball tourney right in front of us. The group in front of us tried to go for the green on 18 on their second shot... crazy (had to wait about 15 mins before they all dropped on the second landing area). Anyways, the greens were faster than expected... with a lot of brown spots on them. Rough was thick and fairways were okay, some hard spots on a few. Bunkers were in decent shape.

Played last week 8/2/08 ...Fairways nice..Greens pocked up from irons into them...Still overall not bad. I think this course is pretty easy. It's pretty much wide open and short. Nice course to score on.

Played The Divide today (7/25/08). The greens were slow again - I see a trend there. I don't know why they will not cut them to be faster. Maybe it has something to do with the heat during the summer. Very strange to have to really pound the ball to get it to the hole. Unless you have a downhill putt, you'll need a bazooka. I hit 13 GIR, 0 birdies. I probably left 10 birdie putts short of the cup. I once left a 15-footer 6 feet short. Next time I'll use a driver to get the ball to the hole!

I played The Divide yesterday, and it was fairly OK. The greens are in pretty good shape, but a little inconsistent with respect to speed. The course that continues to struggle somewhat with its greens is Charlotte Golf Links. I played there two weeks ago, and about 1/3 of the greens had been re-aerated! Putting was pretty tough that day.

12/14/07 Divide is in horrible shape. Emerald Lake, Old Sycamore and Charlotte National all look like Ireland compared to the Divide. $60.00 for no yardage in the fairways; very inaccurate GPS, slow carts,leaves everywhere and poorly maintained greens and tee boxes.

1) The Divide was in decent condition, though the greens were long and slow. I always considered this a straightforward course, but on closer inspection, there are a handful of interesting holes here. But they keep the course in fine shape -- better then CLT Links (although Links finally improved the greens).

2) Stonebridge had everyone starting on the #10 hole and I'm convinced that is a better experience than normal (despite two back-to-back Par 5s). Conditions were okay -- greens were recently punched and also showing signs of wear.

3) Springfield was in very good shape, but the greens were long, slow and bumpy. Understandable, given our current drought. Bunkers were in perfect condition.

I played The Divide on 4/1, and I was told the greens were aerated on 3/13. Dissapointing - they definitely did not putt like they were aerated almost three weeks ago. The greens are a long way from healing; they actually looked and putted like they were aerated a few days ago. They need at least another two weeks before they roll true.

You might want to consider The Divide (704-882-8088). It's fairly forgiving off the tee, and has three sets of tees to vary the course length. It's one of the Carolina Trail courses, and usually in good shape. The greens are good, and very straightforward, without severe breaks on most of them. Some water holes and/or creeks, but not too many. Other possibilities are Emerald Lake (704-882-7888) or Charlotte National (704-882-8282). All three courses are within a few miles of each other off Interstate 485, and are considered good quality, semi-private courses. Charlotte National usually has great, but fast, greens. Check out the course reviews on this site to get a feel for what to expect.

If money is no object, go for Ballantyne Resort. That's a great conditioned course with all the amenities and it's not all that difficult. I did just play the Divide last week and it was fine. They don't aerate til October. Generally speaking, I'd say the Divide is overpriced compared to others around town.

Last I heard (a week or two ago), Regent was in OK shape. They had recent problems with burned out greens, but have mostly recovered.

One last one to consider is Emerald Lake. I hear it's in great shape right now. It is very playable for all skill levels.

Regent Park is a little better than the Divide in terms of overall conditioning, but I think it is also more difficult. The Divide features slightly more foregiving fairways, but the greens are a little less consistent. Check with the courses about aeration, because September is a popular time for that. A few more courses you may want to investigate are Highland Creek near the university, Birkdale, and if you really want a beautiful but tough course, Verdict Ridge. Verdict Ridge may be the most scenic course, but it's a little bit of a drive.

Thanks B-Man for the update on CGL. I suspect the greens will fully recover by the Fall. The Carolina Trail courses generally do a good job with issues like that. I played The Divide on 8/13, and their greens were in good shape, although the speed was somewhat inconsistent. Fairways were in good shape also.

The course you play depends on what type of course you prefer. Down here you will have a lot of choices. I have played them all, and here are my favorites:

1) The Tradition - my favorite course layout, tight fairways, very wooded, good greens, solid overall course, accurate tee shots critical.
2) Highland Creek - well maintained, wider fairways, excellent greens, a little pricier, but worth it.
3) The Divide - bigger greens, comfortable fairways, not as tight off the tees.
4) Springfield, Waterford (south of state line)- great layouts, a little tougher in terms of approach shots. Waterford's greens are about the fastest around.
5) Fox Den (35 miles north) - one of my favorites since I shot 69 my first time there. Great diversity of holes.
6) Verdict Ridge - the toughest course I have played in this area. Bring your A game, or you are in trouble.

There are about two dozen solid courses within a reasonable driving distance of downtown Charlotte, so take your time in picking. Just check out the yellow pages when you get here. B-man web site is a good reference too. All of the ones I listed are semi-private, so the public can usually play anytime. Good luck, and welcome to Charlotte!