North Carolina’s Woodlake Country Club makes the most of its rebirth

If there’s one thing more potent than imagination, it might just be reimagination.

In an area rich with some treasured golf courses and traditions, Woodlake Country Club in Vass, N.C., is emerging as an attractive destination for both golfing tourists and locals who have discovered a rare golf gem that offers pure value and doesn’t take forever to play, according to the club.

Woodlake Country Club, nestled in the sandhills of North Carolina not far from such legendary golf locales as Pinehurst Resort, Pine Needles GC and Tobacco Road GC, was named the 16th best course you can play in North Carolina by GOLF.com. When you consider that Pinehurst alone has 10 18-hole courses, it can put into perspective how far Woodlake Country Club has come.

And, all things considered, it happened in a short amount of time.

The club’s half-century history met unexpected challenging times in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew raged through the area. Heavy rainfall forced the Army Corps of Engineers to compromise the dam and drain the gated community’s once-thriving 1,200-acre recreational lake. The result was that not only did club members and locals lose their beloved boating and gathering haven, the golf course also lost irrigation and the course and lake club. The heart of the community eventually closed.

Fortunately, the club was bought out of foreclosure in 2021 by Atlantic National Capital. The new owners — the Allison family who owns and runs North Carolina-based Systel Business Equipment — partnered with Bobby Jones Links to not only bring the course and club back, but to raise it to heights it never reached before. An ambitious plan and a hopeful beginning fortuitously aided by golf’s newfound post-pandemic popularity.

Since that time, Woodlake has been operating to a grateful clientele from a new 3,500-square-foot clubhouse with amenities like pickleball, swimming, a new fitness facility and, most importantly, a golf course that is better than ever. The original Ellis Maples design first opened in 1971, with many holes built close to the lake, but it was never as good as it is now or will be in the near future.

The Allison Family brought in architect Kris Spence, a renowned Donald Ross and Ellis Maples expert, to lead a full restoration and rebuild of the course, including a newly designed 18th hole. The work on the par-72 course, which can stretch to more than 7,200 yards, included new Tif Eagle greens, a new irrigation system and exacting standards for pristine turf conditions.

General manager Jeff Crabbe, who came to Woodlake in August of 2023 shortly after the course reopened, said being ranked 16th is amazing, but they aren’t done yet.

“I think when the lake comes back, with the aesthetics of that, we could be top 10 in the state,” said Crabbe, whose career includes a decade-long stint at Pinehurst Resort. “We opened at a time when this area needed another golf course for people to join or just play. Many of the area courses have become so busy that you are seeing five- or six-hour rounds of golf. We’re still building our membership, so even when it’s a beautiful day, we’re in that temporary phase where they just show up and go to the tee.”

The long-anticipated construction on the dam has begun. When that happens, everything will have come full circle. And even though the course is receiving impressive reviews at present — while it features a bit of a South Carolina Lowcountry look with marshes and wetlands bordering many holes — when the 1,200-acre lake returns on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 17 and the newly designed 18th, the course should really be spectacular.

There’s never been a better time to play or become a member, and Woodlake is presently open for daily-fee and resort play. Guests can book stay-and-play packages at Woodlake’s six luxurious one-bedroom condominiums. The Woodlake experience is a worthy addition to any Sandhills golf trip itinerary. To add this unique course to a visit to the Pinehurst Resort courses, Talamore, Tobacco Road, Pine Needles and Mid Pines brings a fresh new dimension for golf aficionados visiting the region for prime golf.

Dues and initiation fees are surprisingly attractive currently, especially for a club that has added nearly 200 members in less than two years. Crabbe expects membership will increase as more amenities open but will still be of tremendous value in this coveted golf market. For locals, there’s never been a better time to consider membership at one of the most dynamic and growing clubs in the golf-rich region.

The club continues to improve under new ownership and expertise of Alpharetta, Ga.-based Bobby Jones Links, a premier golf management company that operates more than three dozen courses in 11 states.

Crabbe, a graduate of the PGA Professional Golf Management program at nearby Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C., said having Bobby Jones Links’ expertise and experience at their disposal is invaluable.

“They have other clubs that are similar to ours, so we can always share ideas and best practices,” Crabbe said. “Their relationships with vendors is certainly helpful. I would say more than anything, just the support of the professionals that they have on staff picking the phone up and having someone to call is extremely helpful.”

When Crabbe started at Woodlake, the course had already been open for a couple of months, so he didn’t see it at its worst; but he did see the pictures.

“I’ve been in the golf business a long time — 22 or 23 years — and I can’t believe the quality of the golf course and the club amenities that we have compared to the old pictures,” said Crabbe, who gives much of the credit to superintendent Chris Dwiggins and his crew. “There were trees in the bunkers, there was grown-up brush that was eight to 10 feet tall. It’s amazing what has been done to bring this course into a position to become one of the best golf experiences in a state full of legendary places to play. To see the conditioning of the golf course that we have now, it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a brief period of time.”

Not to be overlooked is the brand-new clubhouse with its patio dining and cuisine at Maples Grille, led by award-winning executive chef James Regan. Crabbe said the membership is learning just how good the dining experience is at Woodlake. Most recently, a group of members were able to go back into the kitchen with Regan and learn how to prepare a multi-course meal of stuffed mushrooms, marinated beet salad, steak au poivre and chocolate mousse.

“I can’t believe it’s been only 16 months.” Crabbe said of rebuilding the member experience. “I love every second of this chapter in Woodlake’s history.”

Chances are, as many more golfers discover the new Woodlake, they will grow to love it, too.

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