McConnell Golf's North Carolina Courses Secure Top Spots on Golf Panel's Premier Rankings List By Brian Weis

McConnell Golf's North Carolina Courses Secure Top Spots on Golf Panel's Premier Rankings List

By Brian Weis

The highly anticipated 2025 class of premier golf courses has been unveiled by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Once again, McConnell Golf proudly boasts a strong presence on this prestigious list, with Greensboro's Sedgefield Country Club (No. 8), Old North State Club (No. 11) in New London and Raleigh Country Club (No. 18) all securing spots within the top 20.

Moreover, 10 of McConnell Golf's North Carolina-based layouts were included among the state's Top 100. The N.C. Golf Panel presented its 30th annual report on the state's 100 best courses in the April issue of Business North Carolina magazine.

McConnell Golf courses recognized in the Top 100 include:

Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro - No. 8

Old North State Club, New London - No. 11

Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh - No. 18

Treyburn Country Club, Durham - No. 29

Country Club of Asheville, Asheville - No. 54

The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro - No. 57

Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington - No. 60

Providence Country Club, Charlotte - No. 83

The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh - No. 94

Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville - No. 96

Several McConnell Golf properties were also ranked in the top 12 courses in their respective regions:

Western: Country Club of Asheville - No. 10

Charlotte Metro: Providence Country Club - No. 10

Piedmont Triad: Sedgefield Country Club - No. 2; Old North State Club - No. 3; The Cardinal by Pete Dye - No. 11

Triangle: Raleigh Country Club - No. 2; Treyburn Country Club - No. 5

Eastern: Brook Valley Country Club - No. 4; Wilson Country Club - No. 10

Coastal: Porters Neck Country Club - No. 6

In addition, The Cardinal by Pete Dye in Greensboro continued to demonstrate its reputation as a top public-access course by ranking No. 18 on the North Carolina Golf Panel's list of the 2025 Top Public Golf Courses. Known for its challenging design and strategic layout, The Cardinal remains one of the premier destinations for both local golfers and visitors.

In March, McConnell Golf continued its expansion with a pair of announcements: the acquisition of Cobblestone Park Golf Club in Blythewood, S.C. - now known as Cobblestone Golf Club - and a renewed commitment to preserving public golf at Raleigh Golf Association (RGA) through a $3.5 million investment. The company, founded by CEO John McConnell, now owns and operates 17 private clubs across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

About McConnell Golf

McConnell Golf offers its members access to a collection of properties with pure golf, legendary service, and vibrant amenities, each a distinct icon in their locale. Its portfolio of 16 properties spans North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, with courses designed by celebrated architects like Donald Ross, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, and Greg Norman. This collection is the byproduct of visionary John McConnell, CEO of McConnell Golf, the largest owner of premier country clubs in the Southeast region. McConnell Golf provides best-in-class destinations with exceptional golf and revitalizing amenities, from contemporary fitness facilities, resort-style pools, tennis, and pickleball to dining for the epicurious. This includes management of the top-ranked Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford, Va., and Raleigh Golf Association (RGA) in Raleigh, N.C.

Revised: 04/04/2025 - Article Viewed 183 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.