Golf Central North Carolina

The Golf Kingdom that Donald Ross Built
Part 2

by Anthony Scaggs

The Angus Barn was packed but the staff had grown used to this. Their professionalism and service never wavered as they attended to my culinary needs. According to the server, the restaurant serves 600 to 700 meals a week from lunch to dinner. They have two kitchens and multiple dining areas. One in particular is in the Wine Cellar. It is booked virtually every night and seats up to 30 guests. The price range for dining in the Wine Cellar is $100 to $150 per person. After the television show "48 Hours" aired a story on dining in the Angus Barn's Wine Cellar, the restaurant received reservations from all over the world. In addition to dining, the Wine Cellular stores over 25,000 bottles of wine including 13 bottles of Jordan's Imperial wine valued at $35,000 for the set. Another unique feature is the largest collection of single shot Colt 45's in the world.

I settled back sipping the Angus Barn's house Merlot and mentally reviewed my Mid-Atlantic golf adventure in the Golf Kingdom that Donald the Son of Ross helped build along with

Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones, Rees Jones and others.

Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club is owned by the Peggy Kirk Bell Family. It is the sister course to Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club which, in 2001, hosted the USGA's Women's Open Championship and will do so again in 2007. The par 72, Mid Pines Golf Course was built in 1921 by Donald Ross. It has a rating/slope of 68.2/120 from the forward tees to 71.3/127 at the back tees. The course yardage ranges from 4921 yards to 6528 yards, respectively. Do not let the yardage mislead you. It is challenging; the greens are unforgiving. At the 19th hole, the course will leave you wondering what went wrong.

Heritage Golf Club is the newest addition to the Wake Forest, North Carolina's plethora of golf courses. It includes a Swim and Tennis Club for the residents. The course is open to the public and caters to golfers of all ages and experience. It was designed by Bob Moore who wanted to make each hole unique, challenging but open so the errant shot would be penalized but the pace of play would continue. The 18 hole golf course emulates creek play, hilly play and playing on a piedmont course. The yardage from the forward tees is 5053 yards and 6929 yards from the back tees. The rating/slope of the course varies from 68.4/115 to 72.7/134.

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