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TWO DELIGHTFULLY QUIRKY GOLF COURSES AROUND RALEIGH WHERE YOU CAN SQUEEZE IN AN EMERGENCY NINE
Garner Country Club and Paschal Golf Club offer a nostalgic slice of North Carolina golf history.
KENDRA LITTLE
Visual storyteller at Lie + Loft
PHOTOS BY KENDRA LITTLE AND LUKE DAVIS
Coming out of the hustle and bustle of Lie + Loft’s Home on the Range campout at Tobacco Road, I was still hungry for more golf in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. In years past I have played a few courses in the Charlotte area, but central NC was still a bit of a mystery. Among many things I appreciate about Luke, Lie + Loft’s founder, is his appetite and eye for golf courses with history + character. We both very much share this admiration.
Look, I enjoy playing the nicest and most pristine golf courses just as much as the next golfer. But there is A LOT to be said about the charm and allure of the golf courses off the beaten path, rough around the edges, where a few bucks gets you swings + a nice walk.
It was my last full day before heading back to Oregon, the weather was great, and I didn’t even need to communicate with Luke; he already knew where to go. We threw our sticks in the car and headed south of Raleigh to Garner Country Club, a 9-holer with a funky, challenging layout. (You can check out our Garner course maps here). As we made the turn into the property, a long driveway through woods + farmland, a visual treat of time travel awaited us.
Garner was everything I could’ve hoped for and more. From the track itself, to the people on the grounds.
One little story sticks out:
Luke and I walked into the pro shop after the round to grab some cold drinks. As we went to pay we began talking with the man behind the counter — I can only assume he has worked at Garner for decades. He told us about the membership rates and how good of a deal they were ($50 a month?!). It was then I told him that I would be highly interested if it weren’t for the fact that I lived in Oregon, to which he said “Wow! Oregon?! You sure came a long way to come visit us.” I laughed and nodded and told him it certainly wouldn’t be the last time either.
Luke and I sat inside for a bit taking in the allure of the dated clubhouse. It was pretty slow, so the man behind the counter went over to go sit next to a teenage boy, who I imagined was his grandson. As we got up to leave I could hear the man tell him, “Did you hear where that young lady came from? Oregon! Do you know where that is? It’s all the way on the other side of the country!”
I just smiled. It’s hard to articulate the feeling that gave me. It just felt pure.
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We left Garner and headed north. Next up: Paschal Golf Club in Wake Forest — the golf course Arnold Palmer played at as a member and coach of the Wake Forest University golf team. So if the idea of playing another 9-hole track wasn’t enough, that tidbit of history made me even more anxious to get there to tee it up. (If you’re already familiar, you can peep our map of it here.)
We hung out in the clubhouse for a bit, taking in various pieces of photography and memorabilia of Arnie before heading to the first tee.
Unfortunately, with the round coming to an end, it sunk in that this will probably be the only time I’ll ever play here… a course that Arnold Palmer graced on his way to greatness. A local real estate development project may force it to shut down. It seems like more and more I’m hearing about golf courses with rich history and unique plots of land being sent off into the sunset to make way for housing communities and business districts. It makes me not only appreciate the first hand experience in playing these golf courses, but it also is a great reminder that these accounts of rounds of golf we play are important documentation of places that may soon no longer exist.
These emergency nines are ones I’ll always remember and just what was needed to prepare for the journey back to Oregon. I imagine there are courses just like Garner and Paschal near where you live, and I encourage you to get out and play them while they are still there and keep supporting them as a golf operation. Drop us a line if you have any favorite loops like these, and keep spreading the good word that Golf is Home!
