Sneak Peek of Raleigh Country Club's Golf Course Renovation

by Paul Dickens

 Oct 07, 2020 at 8:00 PM

As the days get shorter and autumn leaves begin to change, the Raleigh Country Club (RCC) renovation project moves one step closer to completion. The tasks completed over this next month are key as final details are buttoned up with small-scale landscaping, the course bathroom remodel, new tee box installments and delivery of the new golf carts with GPS technology.

Below is a sneak peek of snapshots on what members can expect to see on the fairways when the course reopens. Stay tuned for more updates over the next few weeks regarding the renovation.

Hole #1

Players will first notice the addition of bunkers on the left side off the tee and a wider fairway that has been shifted slightly right of the original hole. A new barranca helps extend the penalty area from the pond across the entire fairway. Players will also need to navigate a similar fairway-cut area in front of the green. The first green still maintains its original integrity that will favor the high left-to-right approach.

Hole #2

From the tee, players will see three new bunkers up the left side to help frame this dogleg right hole. Beware of the new barranca in front of the green as any shot that comes up short will repel further away from the green. Also, don’t miss the green long as an up and down will be almost impossible.

Hole #3

With the back tees softly integrated just off the right side of the second green, players will be faced with an uphill tee shot to a diverse green that has been modified to allow for more hole locations than the previous green. A par 3 still goes a long way in getting your round off to a positive start.

Photos courtesy of Chip Henderson Photography

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Making Business a Pleasure

by Jessie Ammons

 Dec 21, 2016 at 5:13 PM

Winter's lull is the perfect time to plan your next corporate outing

Country club involvement need not to be off-the-clock time only. “I’m proud of my membership in the McConnell group and wanted to showcase the club and its people,” says Kerry Doughty, a nine-year Raleigh Country Club member. Over the years, the president and CEO of Butterball, the nation’s largest producer of turkey products, has used RCC as the setting of annual company national sales meetings and quarterly management update meetings.

For Doughty, using the country club as a corporate event space is a way to share his love of the facility and add a sophisticated, leisurely ambiance to business gatherings. “I know the quality of the people and the operation at Raleigh Country Club, from both a golf and hospitality vantage,” he says. The clubhouse’s conference room spaces are perfect for “meetings that require space and entertainment opportunities.”

This year, another showcasing opportunity arose. Doughty was the chairman of the 2016 Triangle American Heart Association Heartwalk, and when it came time to organize a unique fundraiser, he turned to that place he knew as perfect for both space and entertainment. “We decided to have the Butterball Has Heart charity golf tournament, and host it at RCC.” The inaugural event on August 29 was a smashing success: 148 golfers and 40 volunteers turned out for a day of golf and socializing. “It’s not easy to have a club make its facility available for a charity event with this many golfers,” Doughty says, and “the team at RCC was very supportive. They provided full food and beverage service as well as golf essentials.”

First-time visitors were impressed with the caliber of play and with their overall experience. “The course is fantastic, and it was a cool opportunity to provide non-members a chance to play this historic course,” Doughty says. “The staff was attentive and passionate about the cause, and the food was awesome. It was a good time that everyone enjoyed. And we exceeded our fundraising expectations!”

“Hosting member-sponsored events is a great way for all of our properties to help give back to the local communities and assist charities in raising money for their great causes,” says Brian Kittler, McConnell Golf vice president of golf operations. “We do our best to balance the number of outside events at each facility to allow the golf course maintenance teams an opportunity to keep courses in championship-caliber conditions all year.”

While Doughty didn’t need convincing, the summer charity tournament’s success encouraged him to continue considering his home McConnell club as more than a place to play a round with friends. “RCC is an excellent venue for business or charity outings. Of course I plan to do more at RCC in the future.”

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Celebrating America’s Military

by Brad King

 Dec 03, 2015 at 2:54 PM

On a beautiful November morning leading into the Veterans Day holiday, McConnell Golf honored all branches of the military and helped bring awareness to our veterans with the first annual Army vs. Navy Golf Challenge at Raleigh Country Club.

Under the leadership of General Tony Tata — a Raleigh CC member currently serving as Secretary of the NC Department of Transportation — the Army Black Knights managed to squeeze out an exciting 486-497 win over the Navy Midshipmen, who were led by Admiral Donald Gintzig, CEO of WakeMed and also a Raleigh CC member. The format was a four-person, Texas scramble using two best ball nets of a foursome.

The benefiting charity for the event was the US Military Veterans Foundation® (USMV), which ensures connections and growth through fundraising, supporting, educating, and connecting veterans with communities and nonprofits. Both captains, along with Mc- Connell Golf CEO John McConnell and Wounded Warriors and veterans, delivered special words about their service and commitment to giving back and importance of helping those who served.

The Wake & District Public Safety Pipe and Drums provided the event’s ceremonial opening music, while Beverly Marler, Club Manager at Sedgefield Country Club, sang the national anthem. The event’s master of ceremony was Connie Inggs, USMV Foundation President. USMC SFC Stanley Roberts, a Wounded Warrior & Purple Heart recipient, struck the ceremonial opening putt. In addition, nearly every foursome included an active military member, a wounded warrior or a veteran.

The USMV’s mission is to bring restoration to the lives of this country’s veterans and their families through engaging and educating communities on how to give back to those that have sacrificed for the United States.

The foundation financially supports vetted nonprofits that are providing programs and services needed for these families’ lives to be restored. These include Operation Coming Home, which builds homes for wounded veterans; Military Missions in Action, which provides home modifications for disabled veterans, as well as disabled children of military families. Vets to Vets provides service dogs and training to disabled veterans, and Chambers for Hope, which provides medical treatment for military veterans suffering from TBI and PTSD.

“We believe the nonprofits that are out there making a difference need support from a passionate team that understands the needs of our military veterans and their families,” said Inggs. “ We look at ourselves as a relationship builder, which takes hard work and time, but is essential in establishing needs, motivating individuals and companies through educating them of the needs, including time, treasure and talent.”

McConnell Golf left no stone unturned during the Veterans Day event including personalized McConnell Golf challenge coins and a small, silent auction. Another beneficiary of the event was the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Army vs. Navy Golf Challenge also benefited McConnell Golf ’s “Footprints on the Green” program, through which members and staff give back by volunteering time, effort or resources to enrich the lives and environment around them. The Footprints on the Green program was established to engage all of the McConnell Golf properties around the Carolinas to support broader-based charitable causes.

McConnell Golf announced that the Army vs. Navy Golf Challenge was able to raise several thousand dollars for the US Military Veterans Foundation, and it also honored one specific veteran military family, for whom McConnell Golf was able to raise and donate $5,730 specifically to that local family in need.

With an older brother, Bob, who played football for the United States Naval Academy, Gen. Tata is no stranger to Army-Navy duels. As a young West Point cadet Gen. Tata said he would never forget how proud he was of his brother’s heralded Navy team, which captured the 1979 Holiday Bowl.

 “That pride in no way overshadows my annual desire for Army to beat Navy on the gridiron or any field of competition,” said Gen. Tata. “As a West Point wrestler and baseball player, I did my best to support the Army cause. And while Army has been unsuccessful of late in beating Navy in football, John McConnell has given us a proxy, a different battlefield, upon which to cross sabres and determine bragging rights. More importantly, John’s support of veterans and Veterans Day is noble and much appreciated.”

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Happily Ever After

by Lauren Barry

 Feb 17, 2015 at 2:30 PM

Stephanie & Chris

When the couple began their search for the perfect wedding reception venue, they hoped to find something other than an expansive rectangular ballroom. Their search was over when they discovered the beauty and warmth of the Raleigh Country Club.

Because their guest list was over 200 people, they reserved four interconnected spaces: a ballroom adorned with natural wood colored shutters encasing the windows, a smaller room with a fireplace and comfy couches, a lounge dominated by a gorgeous mahogany bar that also opened to the ballroom, and an adjoining patio. All spaces except the ballroom overlooked the beautiful rolling hills of the Raleigh Country Club golf course.

The golf course played a role in the wedding in many ways. Chris, and his groomsmen, and the fathers of the bride and groom played a round of golf on the day before the wedding. Stephanie had bridal portraits taken on the golf course in May and despite the rain on the August 2, 2014 wedding day, the bride and groom took golf carts out to the golf course with the photographer and videographer for pictures. At the end of the reception, since the rain had stopped, the wedding party sent off Chinese lanterns while their guests watched from the patio. 

Photo credit: Rebecca Ames Photography

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