new golfer in Wilmington, NC

[peiserma]

Hello Everyone, Just wanted to briefly introduce myself. I live in Wilmington, NC. That is on the Atlantic Coast, just about on the NC/SC border. I started golf late in life, almost 40. Sadly, that means I have no hope of ever achieving internet driving distances ... but I`m good with that. My avatar is a gravedigger. I chose it because the first 2 years I played, my divots were 4 inches before the ball and nearly as deep! This week I managed 100 (I did take two mulligans) so while I am not likely to achieve scratch, I am actively working on improving my game and feel like I am making some modest progress.

[Hammer 4]

Welcome to TST. Hang around long enough and I'm sure your golfing will get better. Tons of great info here, as well as some smart guys to help with your game, and then there's a few smart a$$'s too..lol J/K..bunch of great guys here also. Have a look around, and jump in when ever you feel the need. Enjoy your stay.

[Buke]

Welcome Gravedigger! You will be breaking 90 somewhere in the near future!

[dave s]

Welcome gravedigger.  If you've played Beau Rivage in Wilmington, I'm all ears for a review!  I'll be down there late June at a beach vacation and it looks like a good place to play ... at least on the internet!

dave

[RandyBobbitt]

What a great place to live! I lived there from 2000 to 2006 and regret leaving. In terms of golf -- the city course is a good layout, but usually not in good shape and very crowded (70,000 rounds per year). I belonged to Pine Valley CC for a few years. A great track, but dues increases and annual "assessments" got to be too much. I ended up at Echo Farms -- a great track, seldom crowded, reasonable membership fees. The only problem was that it didn't drain well after a heavy rain.

[peiserma]

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

The city course is being renovated to its original Donald Ross design. The plan was to close 1/2 of it for phase one, then close all of it for the second phase of restoration. Project was expected to be complete this October. Beau Rivage is one of the nicer courses in the area, though I have not played it recently. I may have to rectify that and let you know what kind of shape it is in. I can also recommend Cape Fear National off US-17 towards Leland. It opened 2010 (just a few years ago) and it was in great shape last week. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from downtown. Its a bit on the challenging side for higher-handicap golfers like myself. I regularly play Magnolia Greens on a work-related golf-league.

Randy, yeah great place to live, but surely Pensacola has its advantages, too. I really like the Gulf side of Florida.

PS - Dave, curious whereabouts in NE Ohio? I left that area 8 years ago to move here. I lived between Cleveland and Lorain. Its a small world I guess.

[dave s]

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

The city course is being renovated to its original Donald Ross design. The plan was to close 1/2 of it for phase one, then close all of it for the second phase of restoration. Project was expected to be complete this October. Beau Rivage is one of the nicer courses in the area, though I have not played it recently. I may have to rectify that and let you know what kind of shape it is in. I can also recommend Cape Fear National off US-17 towards Leland. It opened 2010 (just a few years ago) and it was in great shape last week. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from downtown. Its a bit on the challenging side for higher-handicap golfers like myself. I regularly play Magnolia Greens on a work-related golf-league.

Randy, yeah great place to live, but surely Pensacola has its advantages, too. I really like the Gulf side of Florida.

PS - Dave, curious whereabouts in NE Ohio? I left that area 8 years ago to move here. I lived between Cleveland and Lorain. Its a small world I guess.

Thanks and definitely keep me posted on Beau Rivage.  I'll be down there, (Topsail) with family last week of June.  We usually play Northshore and a pretty cool links style course.  I'm near Akron area just west in a town called Wadsworth.

And trust me, you're not missing anything around here since your move AWAY from here!

dave