I played in a CGA four ball tournament yesterday and Southern Pines, and wondered if anybody here has shareable knowledge of the status of the course? I have heard that it is for sale, that it is not for sale, that McConnell is going to buy it, that McConnell is not going to buy it, that there is currently a secret bidder, that the Elks have taken the sale of the course off the table, and so on.
A google search turns up some articles from last August about the McConnell lease-purchase plan falling thru, and the Elks contracting with Legacy Golf for a one-year management deal, along with a statement from the club that sale is "off the table". But yesterday at the course, the talk was that there IS perhaps a pending sale.
FWIW, the course itself was as enjoyable as ever. The greens were in GREAT condition, and the fairways, to my surprise, had been overseeded. I doubt many of us on GCA are fans of overseeding in general, but this time of year it's a bit of a relief to play on an overseeded course in the southeast because it dries things out at least a little bit, and because the dormant bermuda by now is so thin and soggy. The course was rough around the edges, with washouts and lots of VERY bare hardpan, but all in all I was impressed by the conditions for late March.
And, as always at SPGC, you wonder what might happen, good AND bad, were the course to come under the control of a new owner. As wonderful as the conditioning at the McConnell courses is, I'd be really afraid of a conversion at SPGC to Champion Bermuda greens; at those speeds, a lot of cool pin positions would be lost, and several greens would have to be recontoured.
So does anybody KNOW anything?