Editor Note —- I still remember somebody asking me, a long time ago, if I thought there was enough golf news to fill a paper. In the past couple of weeks there has been more than enough and unfortunately we have fallen behind, We will be catching up in the next few days here at SCgolfclub.com and adding new stories as high schools and colleges wrap up their seasons. Thanks for your interest and patience. —Stan

Our headline feature this month is a special preview look at what Greenville Country Club Chanticleer Course golfers and their guests will see when the Chanticleer Course reopens for play.

The Chanticleer Improvement Project has taken nearly a year and a half, and while there is still work to be done, the course will welcome its first golfers back on May 21.

Our story focuses on the biggest changes made to the historic Robert Trent Jones Sr. design.

Local course designer Beau Welling, who has built a national reputation through his design and renovation work on courses around the world, grew up playing Greenville Country Club and now has his company offices in the city. In many ways, this has been a home game for Welling rather than another project requiring a flight across the country.

As you’ll see in the story, while there are certainly many changes throughout the property, the most noticeable adjustment is the flipping of the nines, making the picturesque former ninth hole the course’s new finishing hole.

That move also changes the role of several other holes. The former finishing stretch now takes on a different personality, while the demanding par-5 eighth hole once again becomes one of the course’s signature challenges.

Another major change is the former 18th hole — now the ninth — being converted into a par 3, reducing the course par by one. But with the dramatic redesign and new finishing sequence, it’s hard to imagine golfers objecting.

We’ve also included some unique graphics in the feature. Using OpenAI image-generation tools along with Welling’s sketches, charts, and our own photography, we created visual concepts to give golfers an early look at what approaching the new 18th hole could feel like.

We know golfers have always loved Chanticleer, and from what we’ve seen, we believe that relationship is only going to grow stronger as the improvement project continues to evolve.

We also hope you’ll take time to check out several other stories featured in this month’s edition:

• Presbyterian Blue Hose men’s golf captured the Big South Championship and will advance to NCAA Regional play for the first time in program history.
• The BMW Charity Pro-Am returns with one of its strongest celebrity lineups in years, led by Bill Murray of Caddyshack fame and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens.
• While the tournament remains based at Thornblade Club, early rounds will also be played at Country Club of Spartanburg, where superintendent Zac Ramey explains what players and members can expect as the club prepares for professional tournament conditions.
• Before the high school championships Bennett Scaletta and his Hanna teammates won the only high school tournament all levels of schools can play —The Southern Cross.
• Tournament coverage from the Greater Greer Open and the Jimmie Evatt Texas Two-Man
• The Anderson women’s team beating some long odds to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship.

We hope you enjoy the May edition.

And remember, if you can’t get to one of the courses or shops that carries the paper, a downloadable PDF edition is available right here on the website.

Thank you,

Stan

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