It isn’t often that a golf course architect gets to design a course for his or her alma mater. But that’s what happened with the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, NC State’s new course on Centennial Campus. It was a “dream come true,” says Brandon Johnson ’97. He worked on it with fellow alumnus Erik Larsen ’77, who’s executive vice president and senior golf course architect at Arnold Palmer Design. We spoke with Johnson, an architect for the company, about the course.
What was different about this course from others you’ve worked on?
It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a golf course for the university you attended. The piece of property was really good. . . . What was different? Not so much the method, although we did do a test bunker, which was quite interesting, to get the idea of the natural bunker look across to everybody. It was a thought of the direction we wanted to go. It would make the golf course look different from the other courses in the area. That was a really fun process at the front end of the construction, to get out there and watch them build a bunker, help them build the bunker and try to convince everybody that this is the direction it should go in, not only for aesthetics, but also for maintenance and sustainability. Introducing those native grasses and natural areas would significantly reduce the amount of irrigated acreage. That was something we were pressing that we thought was important. If we were going to build this golf course, we should be responsible. That was something that was a little bit different. It was fun to do. It added to the overall look and sustainability of the project.
What’s the most difficult hole?
I think No. 3, just being the length, if it is played as a par 4, would be the most difficult. One of the things we did that people don’t always see is how (more…)
The Autumn 2009 issue of NC State magazine will be mailed next week, and we’ll be posting to redandwhiteforlife.com some of the content as well as blog-exclusive items. Look for:
A roundtable discussion about NC State’s culture with former UNC System president Bill Friday ’41, former Board of Trustees member Suzanne Gordon ’75, organizational leadership expert and management professor Art Padilla ’69, ’71 MS, former Alumni Association president Billy Maddalon ’90, former Faculty Senate chair Jim Martin and assistant news editor for The Washington Post Dwuan June ’90.
Photographs from freelance photographer David Evans ’84, whose work has appeared in National Geographic and who helped start the National Geographic Channel.
Q&As with an alumnus who helped design the Lonnie Poole Golf Course and another who spent a year in Afghanistan helping soldiers get a college education.
There will be much more, so make sure you check in throughout the week.
Editor’s note: Because of a coding problem, we moved the WRAL interviews off the front page. You can find them after the jump.
Last weekend’s Jimmy V Classic raised about $500,000 for cancer research and attracted more than 11,000 people to the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus. The N&O has a small gallery of photos, and WRAL, which produced the Sidney Lowe ’83 and Terry Gannon ’85 videos after the jump, has a story and interviewed many of the participants, including Arnold Palmer, Rod Brind’Amour, Bucky Waters ’58, Erik Cole and Bob Valvano. An interview with is after the jump. You can read about the Jimmy V-NC State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program here. (more…)
News Services just sent us this short video from Friday’s grand opening of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. Good stuff from Arnold Palmer, Lonnie Poole ’59 and Chancellor Jim Woodward.
Just to get the opportunity to play in Tiger Woods’ event, against some of the best players in the world, was a thrill for me. I learned about the kind of competition these guys are on a week-to-week basis. I don’t think I had my A-game this week, especially on the weekend, but I do think I am capable of competing with these guys.
It was truly a successful week for me.
But it didn’t change my commitment of coming back to NC State for my junior year and competing again for the Wolfpack. I talked to a lot of the professional golfers out here on tour, and I got strong advice from all of them to stay in school and keep trying to win college tournaments. I feel like NC State has some of the best facilities in the country and we play a great schedule. I feel like there are several areas of my game that I can continue to improve.
It’s a golf course that offers interesting topographical contrasts. The front nine is more wooded, the holes intermingled with small streams. The back nine has more dramatic elevation changes — and more scenery.
Stand on the 11th tee and the Raleigh skyline is more than visible — it’s close at hand, with the tee less than two miles from the city center. Visitors also can see the university’s Bell Tower in the distance.
“The thing I like best about this course is that you could put it anywhere and it would be a fantastic course, but when you put it with the views of the city and the proximity to downtown …” said Chip Watson of Carolinas Golf Group and the general manager of the golf course. “Arnold Palmer said it best: ‘We’ve never built a course anywhere close to a city like that.’”
It isn’t often that a golf course architect gets to design a course for his or her alma mater. But that’s what happened with the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, NC State’s new course on Centennial Campus. It was a “dream come true,” says Brandon Johnson ’97. He worked on it with fellow alumnus Erik Larsen ’77, who’s executive vice president and senior golf course architect at Arnold Palmer Design. We spoke with Johnson, an architect for the company, about the course.
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