Sapona Country Club is a semi-private golf, swim and tennis club. The rolling hills of the 18 hole par 71 are both tranquil and challenging. The course was designed by Ellis Maples & Ed Seay in 1968. It features well-manicured and tricky, sloped Zoysia grass greens.
Affordable membership plans are available for all age groups. The restaurant and 200 seat ballroom are available for private events: weddings, business lunches, dinners, cocktail receptions, golf tournaments, and more.
I played this course for the first time in late 2021 for an event on TheGrint Tour (and won my flight!). It is an easy drive up I-85 North and less than an hour from Charlotte. The course was in great shape and the greens, in particular, were slick and challenging. The layout features tree-lined fairways amid rolling hills and slopes that will challenge your uneven lies game. While the course is semi-private, it offers great rates and course conditions to the public golfer and so I've added it to the listings here. I will post a formal review when I get back for another round this season.
Tee | Par | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Championship (Blue) | 71 | 6620 | 72.2 | 137 |
Mens (Green) | 71 | 6147 | 69.6 | 133 |
Senior (White) | 71 | 5750 | 68.2 | 125 |
Ladies (Red) | 72 | 4765 | 68.4 | 118 |
Played Sapona for the first time in early March. Course knowledge is everything on this course, as there are lots of tee shots that end up in blind landing areas or where fairways run out and you need to hit less than driver. Driver is not needed on several of the front nine holes, as hazards or doglegs make it a risky play. The course was in good shape for early Spring, and according to their member newsletter, work is constantly ongoing to make even more improvements. The day I played there were 3 holes that were CPO, even though it wasn't wet, but this illustrates their desire to make improvements that are lasting. There is water on several holes sometimes in the form of creeks, occasionally in the form of ponds. The tees and greens were in good shape with the dormat grass. Greens were in great shape. The practice area is good, and the staff is friendly.
Read The ReviewPlayed in TheGrint Tour's season opening event yesterday at Sapona and the greens were immaculate! I mean, they played like artificial turf. Every green, Nos. 1-18, would not make a mark even with a wedge shot. Yet, the greens would hold shots. They were firm and fast but did not produce hard bounces. These Zoysia greens are the toughest, fastest I've played all year. They were legit 13+ on the stimpmeter. And with the slopes and undulations, several pins were 10/10 difficulty. I saw a 4-putt and a 5-putt in my group. I had several 3-putts. They roll true, but if you struggle with putting, I wouldn't recommend playing Sapona. Outside of the greens, fairways and bunkers were in good shape (though I was in several with bad rake jobs). The sand is that heavy stuff that takes one swipe with a rake to smooth out, too. The tee boxes were just okay and hard to get a long tee into. The course is very challenging with tree-lined, hilly terrain throughout. This time of year you will have some trouble finding balls in the leaves off the fairway. Knowing the course or having a good GPS app like TheGrint will help tremendously. You need to know where fairways run out or what yardage you need to carry certain hazards. To give you some context on the difficulty of the course, my flight of players with handicaps ranging from 4.0-7.9 played from a mix of the Blue and Green tees (~6400yds). The winning score in my flight was 81 (+10) and I tied for 3rd with an 86 (+15). Sapona is a semi-private course. So it's open for public play at very reasonable rates. Only about 45-60 minutes up I-85 from Charlotte, too. It's worth the drive and money if you are up for a challenge!
Read The Review