North Carolina's best golf courses.

Golf is a difficult game to play well, so why should anyone think that ranking golf courses is easy? Well, to sum it up: It's not.

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Just as the way you like your steak grilled is a personal preference, so is one's taste in golf courses. That's why, when I'm reviewing the annual ballots submitted by members of the North Carolina Golf Panel, I don't blink when one panelist ranks a particular course, say, fourth in the state while another judges it 44th. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

When the Golf Panel was founded in 1995 by public-relations executive Bill Hensley, the intent was to garner worthy attention for the best courses in a state chock-full of them. What is now a list of the top 100 courses in the state began as the top 50. If we expanded the rankings again, no one would object.

There are more than 500 golf courses in North Carolina, and I believe half of them would be worthy of ranking in the top 100 in all but a handful of states. Golfers in North Carolina are that blessed. And those of us who rank courses are that cursed. Course construction, after peaking nearly a decade ago, has leveled, but the new designs typically are outstanding.

That brings consequences, of course, for the other courses on the ranking. The top-25 polls in college football and basketball can change dramatically each year because the teams change--either players turn pro or exhaust their eligibility. That's not true of golf courses. They're going to stick around, often in much the same condition as the year before. New courses--or major renovations to old layouts--generate the changes.

In 2007, panelists played two new courses (Bright's Creek and Leopard's Chase), two that had undergone extensive renovations (Cape Fear Country Club and Cardinal Golf & Country Club) and three where the group previously had limited exposure (the North Course at Forest Creek Golf Club, the Cliffs at Walnut Cove and Willow Creek Country Club). Panelists left all with favorable impressions.

Ours is not an exact science and never will be. There are a handful of golf-course ratings panels worldwide, and each uses rankings criteria. Since the North Carolina Golf Panel's inception, our top 100 has been determined by averaging vote totals, with one stipulation: Our approximately 150 panelists statewide could vote only for courses they had played. While we won't change that requirement, we are evaluating how we rank courses, and we hope to have a new system in place later this year.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the stories and course rankings on the pages that follow. And if you have a steak to toss on the grill for me, I'd like it medium rare.

Kevin Brafford is president of the North Carolina Golf Panel.

Drive to Succeed

The image from last May is everlasting. After holing his final putt to win the fifth Wachovia Championship, Tiger Woods pulled his golf ball from the cup, turned and flung it into the crowd along the 18th fairway at Quail Hollow Club.

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The moment said many things. It was a glimpse into the emotional intensity of the world's best golfer, who had seemed in command of the tournament midway through the final round but faltered, giving his opponents a chance to win. Woods' relief after wrestling with the closing holes at Quail Hollow reinforced the idea that few PGA Tour events are set on a stage as compelling as that of the Wachovia Championship, which will tee off for the sixth time May 1.

Woods triumphed against a playing field that included 28 of the world's top 30 players--the strongest to play a so-called "regular" tour event since the world golf rankings began two decades earlier. After his two-shot victory over tour veteran Steve Stricker, Woods said, "Over the course of my career, I've won a few tournaments here and there, and it's been nice. This one, considering the field and the golf course and the conditions, I am ecstatic to have won."

How did the Wachovia Championship come so far so fast? In large part it was because the people behind the tournament made it happen. The creators of the Wachovia Championship--including Wachovia Corp. CEO Ken Thompson, Quail Hollow Club President Johnny Harris and retired Wachovia executive Mac Everett were intent on creating a tournament that transcended most PGA Tour events. They wanted the look and feel of a major championship in Charlotte each May.

That's what they've created. "This tournament is a really important event on our tour because we use this as our model when we talk to other tournament directors and other sponsors about what to do to improve the quality of tournaments," Phil Mickelson said last year. "Everything they've done is the right way."

There was no secret formula. Instead, the success of the Wachovia Championship can be found in themes familiar to other successful enterprises--a commitment to quality, an emphasis on details, exceptional leadership, a willingness to listen and spend money and a sense of purpose. The result is a must-play tournament for the top players on the PGA Tour and a big week on the Carolinas sports calendar. "It has become an event, not just a golf tournament," Wachovia Championship Executive Director Kym Hougham says.

When the Kemper Open left Quail Hollow in 1979, the PGA Tour disappeared from Charlotte. Arnold Palmer, a Quail Hollow member, attempted to fill the void by creating a seniors event that predated the creation of the Champions Tour. It was fun, popular and allowed the city to stay in touch with many of the players who had been so popular at the Kemper. But it wasn't the big tour. It didn't have sizzle.

To get big-time golf back, two problems had to be overcome. The PGA Tour didn't have a spot on its schedule for Charlotte, and the Queen City didn't have a title sponsor. "We always thought Charlotte deserved to have the best players coming here," Harris says.

He refused to surrender the dream of bringing the PGA Tour back to the club his father founded. Over the course of several years, Harris and Quail Hollow hired renowned course designer Tom Fazio of Hendersonville to rework the layout. It was transformed from a nice course for members into 18 holes capable of hosting--and challenging--the game's best players.

That was a critical piece of the puzzle. Without a suitable venue, there was no reason for Charlotte to petition the PGA Tour for a tournament. When Fazio turned his attention to Quail Hollow, the result was dynamic. "Tom always felt strongly he could create something the members would like and also create a course that went from one the pros didn't like to one they loved," Harris says.

When Thompson approached PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem about creating an event in Charlotte with Wachovia as the sponsor, the time was right. The Tour was looking for another high-profile sponsor, it liked the idea of returning to Charlotte, and Quail Hollow was the ideal venue. The deal was made and, in the process, the Charlotte sports scene and the PGA Tour were transformed. "We had no interest in being anything other than the best stop on the tour," Harris says.

Nevertheless, both Thompson and Harris have said the event's stature and overall success surprised them. They both had big dreams but hadn't anticipated everything happening so quickly.

In all the talk about the success of the Wachovia Championship, one important element often has been overlooked--the date. During negotiations with the tour, organizers insisted they didn't want the event to immediately follow the Masters, even by two weeks. Greensboro's tour stop had struggled mightily in that spot, so it was important that the Wachovia Championship avoid it.

It got a date in early May, but that was no guarantee of success. When the Wachovia Championship was born, the early part of May was considered a dead zone on the tour schedule, a time when many of the top players took a break. "When we got the date, it wasn't a great date," Hougham says. But the Wachovia Championship made it into a great date, so great in fact that with The Players Championship following immediately after the Charlotte stop, many consider it the strongest one-two punch on the Tour schedule.

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Initially, the success of the Wachovia Championship was attributed to the sparkle that came with it. Each player was given a new Mercedes to drive during tournament week. Wives were treated to trips to Biltmore Estate in Asheville and Charleston, S.C. Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord was made available to players who might be interested in driving a race car. It was meant to enhance the experience, but as the tournament has grown, the focus has shifted away from amenities.

There are no more wives' trips or stock-car afternoons. As Hougham likes to point out, he doesn't have a trip to Fenway Park or dinner in the French Quarter to offer but hasn't needed it. "Our experience is more about what happens on the grounds than off the grounds."

One often-overlooked bit of brilliance was the creation of a two-man Wednesday pro-am. Many tournaments put four amateurs with a pro and create rounds that routinely run close to 5 1/2 hours, draining some of the fun and making them a chore for players faced with getting prepared for their real business. At the Wachovia, Wednesdays are popular among the players. Tournament Chairman Everett summarizes the approach by suggesting that the Wachovia Championship wants to say yes to everything until it's forced to say no.

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Perhaps the greatest attribute of the tournament is the people who have brought it to life. The marriage of Wachovia, Quail Hollow and the PGA Tour has worked well, with the groups enhancing each other. Thompson and Wachovia Senior Vice President Dan Fleischman, along with many others, found a good vehicle to market the bank. The tournament came along just as First Union was completing its acquisition of Wachovia and taking its name. The bank needed a way to push the new brand. What was an unknown name in much of the country is now familiar to millions of golf fans around the world, particularly after Woods' victory last year.

In Harris, Everett and Hougham, the tournament has a threesome of leaders who understand that great golf tournaments are about more than 72 holes of golf and selling beer to fans. They know that the best tournaments have a style that separates them from the routine weekly stops. The tournament organizers are fortunate to have a budget that allows them not only to offer one of the largest purses on the tour schedule but also to spend what they feel is necessary to enhance the championship, whether it's adding a spectator bridge on the 18th hole, reworking the traffic pattern behind the practice range or making sure the barbecue sold on the course is just right.

Everett, a good player who retired from the bank in 2004, has done a good job managing the constituencies involved in the event. Hougham, previously director of the John Deere Classic in Moline, Ill., is well respected within the industry and has the confidence of tour players who rely on him and his staff before and during their stay in Charlotte. Tony Schuster, who directs the construction of the small city that comes to life during the tournament, is good enough to have caught the eye of a titan. When Woods hosted the AT & T National in Washington, D.C., for the first time last summer, he asked Schuster to duplicate his Wachovia Championship role.

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One of the most telling signs of the good feeling surrounding the tournament is that not a single significant member of the organization has left in five years. "We don't change," Harris says. "There will be a point when we'll have some transition, but we haven't yet, and that gives us huge strength."

Attention to detail is one of the tournament's greatest attributes. If you want coffee, you can get Starbucks. If you want something other than a hot dog, you can get a freshly made crepe. Walk around Quail Hollow during tournament week, and you won't be assaulted by advertising and signs. Everything is understated. There are no gimmicky giveaways.

During every tournament week, Harris, Everett and Hougham keep notes on what can be improved. Sometimes they make the changes overnight, sometimes the changes come the next year.

For example, they realized early on that sticking portable toilets in the woods wasn't good enough. Now they have flooring under and pine straw around them so fans won't have to tromp through mud. Nor does the Wachovia Championship just dump its garbage. It separates waste for recycling. "We're always asking, 'Can we do anything better than we did the year before?'" Hougham says.

There will be noticeable changes this year. On the course, a large tree was taken down in the corner of the par-4 eighth fairway, likely altering the players' strategy. The 17th green, a controversial putting surface among the players, was softened in a couple of spots. Behind the 18th green, a massive new pool/solarium complex has been built, where guests can mingle and get a view of the final hole. The building was made possible, Harris says, by the decision to extend the Wachovia Championship through 2014.

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Harris acknowledges some Quail Hollow members would prefer the tournament go someplace else but says an overwhelming majority like hosting the event. A survey found that about 85% support having the tournament, he says.

The tournament's success has not gone unnoticed. Representatives of the PGA of America and the United States Golf Association have indicated interest in holding a major event at Quail Hollow, possibly a PGA Championship or Ryder Cup, an all-star event that pits the U.S. against Europe every other year. PGA Championship sites are set through 2013. Ryder Cup sites are planned though 2016. "We'd expect at some point in the future to have an opportunity to host other events," Harris says. That would be another compliment for the Wachovia Championship and Quail Hollow.

By Ron Green Jr.

Best Par-4s

MOUNTAINS

1. Linville Golf Club, 3rd

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2. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, 18th, Linville

3. Elk River Club, 14th, Banner Elk

4. Bright's Creek Golf Club, 11th, Mill Spring

5. Elk River Club, 17th, Banner Elk

CHARLOTTE METRO

1. Quail Hollow Club, 18th, Charlotte

2. Charlotte Country Club, 10th, Charlotte

3. The Club at Longview, 18th, Weddington

4. Quail Hollow Club, 16th, Charlotte

5. Charlotte Country Club, 6th, Charlotte

PIEDMONT TRIAD

1. Old North State Club, 16th, New London

2. Rock Barn Golf & Spa (Jones), 11th, Conover

3. Old North State Club, 9th, New London

4. Old Town Club, 9th, Winston-Salem

5. Rock Barn Golf & Spa (Jones), 6th, Conover

TRIANGLE

1. Treyburn Country Club, 18th, Durham

2. Raleigh Country Club, 18th (pictured above)

3. Duke University Golf Club, 18th, Durham

4. Finley Golf Course, 15th, Chapel Hill

5. MacGregor Downs Country Club, 18th, Cary

SANDHILLS

1. Pinehurst No. 2, 5th, Pinehurst

2. Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, 18th, Southern Pines

3. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), 14th, Pinehurst

4. Pinehurst No. 2, 18th, Pinehurst

5. Pinehurst No. 8, 18th, Pinehurst

EASTERN

1. River Landing (River), 18th, Wallace

2. River Landing (Landing), 9th, Wallace

3. Wilson Country Club, 18th

4. Benvenue Country Club, 7th, Rocky Mount

5. Walnut Creek Country Club, 16th, Goldsboro

COASTAL

1. Cape Fear Country Club, 4th, Wilmington

2. Eagle Point Golf Club, 9th, Wilmington

3. Tiger's Eye Golf Links, 9th, Sunset Beach

4. Leopard's Chase, 18th, Sunset Beach

5. Porter's Neck Country Club, 18th, Wilmington

Best Practice Facilities

MOUNTAINS

1. Elk River Club, Banner Elk

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2. The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Arden

3. Bright's Creek Golf Club, Mill Spring

4. Linville Ridge Golf Course

5. Biltmore Forest CC, Asheville

CHARLOTTE METRO

1. Charlotte Country Club

2. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte

3. The Golf Club at Ballantyne Resort, Charlotte

4. The Club at Longview, Weddington

5. River Run Country Club, Davidson

PIEDMONT TRIAD

1. Grandover Resort & Conference Center, Greensboro

2. Rock Barn Golf & Spa, Conover

3. Old North State Club, New London

4. Cardinal Golf & Country Club, Greensboro

5. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro

TRIANGLE

1. Raleigh Country Club

2. Duke University Golf Club, Durham

3. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill

4. Governors Club, Chapel Hill

5. TPC at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh

SANDHILLS

1. Pinehurst Resort, Maniac Hill, Pinehurst

2. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines (pictured above)

3. Forest Creek Golf Club, Pinehurst

4. The Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst

5. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst

EASTERN

1. River Landing, Wallace

2. Keith Hills Country Club, Buies Creek

3. Walnut Creek Country Club, Goldsboro

4. Wilson Country Club

5. Bradford Creek Golf Course, Greenville

COASTAL

1. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington

2. Country Club of Landfall, Wilmington

3. St. James Plantation, Southport

4. Ocean Ridge Plantation, Sunset Beach

5. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington

Hidden Gems

MOUNTAINS

1. Maggie Valley Club, Maggie Valley (pictured above)

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2. Jefferson Landing Golf Course, Jefferson

3. Mount Mitchell Golf Club, Burnsville

4. Boone Golf Club

5. High Meadows Golf and Country Club, Roaring Gap

CHARLOTTE METRO

1. Rolling Hills Country Club, Monroe

2. Birkdale Golf Club, Huntersville

3. NorthStone Country Club, Huntersville

4. Skybrook Golf Club, Huntersville

5. Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte

PIEDMONT TRIAD

1. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro

2. Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center (Players), Browns Summit

3. Country Club of Salisbury

4. Oak Valley Golf Club, Advance

5. Greensboro Country Club (Farm)

TRIANGLE

1. The Neuse Golf Club, Clayton

2. The Preserve at Jordan Lake, Pittsboro

3. Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Raleigh

4. Crooked Creek Golf Club, Fuquay-Varina

5. Devil's Ridge Golf Club, Holly Springs

SANDHILLS

1. Southern Pines Country Club (Elks)

2. Talamore Golf Club, Southern Pines

3. Carolina Trace Country Club (Lake), Sanford

4. Pinehurst No. 1, Pinehurst

5. Seven Lakes Country Club

EASTERN / COASTAL

1. Wilmington Municipal Golf Course

2. Currituck Club, Corolla

3. Farmstead Golf Links, Calabash

4. Oyster Bay Golf Links, Sunset Beach

4. Sea Trail Resort & Golf Links (Maples), Sunset Beach

5. Oak Island Golf Club, Caswell Beach

Best by Region

MOUNTAINS

1. Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Linville

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2. Elk River Club, Banner Elk

3. Linville Golf Club

4. Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville

5. Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers

6. Bright's Creek Golf Club, Mill Spring

7. The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Arden

8. Linville Ridge Country Club, Linville

9. Grove Park Inn Golf Course, Asheville

10. Mount Mitchell Golf Club, Burnsville

11. Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club, Morganton

12. Diamond Creek Golf Club, Banner Elk

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CHARLOTTE METRO

1. Charlotte Country Club

2. Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte

3. The Club at Longview, Weddington

4. Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte

5. Gaston Country Club, Gastonia

6. River Run Country Club, Davidson

7. The Golf Club at Ballantyne Resort, Charlotte

8. The Point Lake and Golf Club, Mooresville

9. Tournament Players Club at Piper Glen, Charlotte

10. The Peninsula Club, Lake Norman

11. Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte

12. Rocky River Golf Club, Concord

PIEDMONT TRIAD

1. Old North State Club, New London

2. Rock Barn Golf & Spa (Jones), Conover

3. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem

4. Willow Creek Country Club, High Point

5. Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro

6. Grandover Resort & Conference Center (East), Greensboro

7. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro

8. Tanglewood Park (Championship), Clemmons

9. Alamance Country Club, Burlington

10. Bermuda Run Country Club, Advance

11. Cardinal Golf & Country Club, Greensboro

12. Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center (Champions), Browns Summit

TRIANGLE

1. Duke University Golf Club, Durham

2. Raleigh Country Club

3. Treyburn Country Club, Durham

4. Governors Club, Chapel Hill

5. Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill

6. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham

7. Brier Creek Country Club, Raleigh

8. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham

9. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary

10. The Heritage Club, Wake Forest

11. Tournament Players Club at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh

12. The Golf Club at Chapel Ridge, Pittsboro

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SANDHILLS

1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst

2. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines

3. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst

4. Forest Creek Golf Club (South), Pinehurst

5. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst

6. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst

7. Forest Creek Golf Club (North), Pinehurst

8. National Golf Club, Pinehurst

9. The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst

10. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, Southern Pines

11. Mid South Club, Pinehurst

12. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst

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EASTERN

1. River Landing (River), Wallace

2. River Landing (Landing), Wallace

3. Keith Hills Country Club (Creek), Buies Creek

4. Wilson Country Club

5. Walnut Creek Country Club, Goldsboro

6. Keith Hills Country Club (River), Buies Creek

7. Gates Four Golf & Country Club, Fayetteville

8. Benvenue Country Club, Rocky Mount

9. Cypress Landing Golf Club, Chocowinity

10. Greenville Country Club

11. Bradford Creek Golf Course, Greenville

12. King's Grant Golf & Country Club, Fayetteville

COASTAL

1. Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington

2. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington

3. Tiger's Eye Golf Links, Sunset Beach

4. Leopard's Chase, Sunset Beach

5. St. James Plantation (Reserve), Southport

6. Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington

7. Bald Head Island Club

8. Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington

9. Sea Trail (Jones), Sunset Beach

10. Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash

11. Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington

12. Rivers Edge Golf Club, Shallotte

Best New Course

North Carolinians are proud to claim Tom Fazio as one of their own--and with good reason. The Hendersonville resident is widely acclaimed as America's Greatest Living Golf Architect, the capital letters supported by the fact that he has 14 courses ranked among Golf Digest's top 100 in the country, more than anyone in the business.

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Roughly a dozen of his more than 120 designs are in North Carolina, including Old North State Club in New London and two courses at Forest Creek, a private club in Pinehurst. So when Fazio speaks in reverent tones about his newest design, Bright's Creek Golf Club, part of a 5,000- acre development of the same name in Rutherford County, one tends to listen. "It's about as spectacular and beautiful a place as anyone could ever expect in golf. It's as good as it gets."

Members of the North Carolina Golf Panel agree, as they anointed Bright's Creek their Best New Course for 2007. It had stiff competition from Leopard's Chase, a Tim Cate design and the newest of four courses at Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach. Those were the two new courses visited by panelists during 2007. On a scale of 1 to 10, panelists assessed 10 elements: routing, flow, design, strategy, fairness, memorability, condition, variety, aesthetics and the experience of the round. Bright's Creek received an average score of 83.4 from the 88 panelists who rated it, compared with an average score of 79.8 from the 74 panelists who rated Leopard's Chase.

While the courses are distinguishable by their topography, separating them from a ratings standpoint was difficult. "I played Bright's Creek first, and I just knew it would be voted the top new course in the state--that is, until I played Leopard's Chase," panelist Nat Walker of Greensboro says. "Brand new, they are both easily in my top 20."

Bright's Creek measures 7,435 yards from the championship tees. Panelists were most impressed by the quality of each hole and the vast expanse of land with which Fazio worked. "The separation of each hole from the rest of the course gave the impression of truly playing one hole at a time," says Glenn Miller of New London.

Fazio's work at Bright's Creek isn't done. A second course is in the works, and a third is expected to follow, each rising higher in an elevation that ranges from 1,000 to 3,200 feet.

Leopard's Chase is Cate's third design among the 72 holes at Ocean Ridge, a development just off U.S. 17 near Sunset Beach. It has already been named to the "Top 10 Best New Public Courses in America" by Golf Digest and in the "Ten Best New Courses You Can Play" by Golf Magazine. Measuring 7,155 yards from the championship tees, Leopard's Chase is scattered with native grasses and plants--including preserved wetlands.

Open to Change

Jim Hyler is a vice president of the United States Golf Association, the national governing body for golf. A native of southern Virginia, he graduated in 1970 with a bachelor's in accounting from Virginia Tech. After 10 years at Ernst & Young, he moved to Raleigh in 1980, where he joined First Citizens BancShares. He recently retired as its vice chairman and chief operating officer. Hyler recently talked about golf in the state.

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What drew you to golf?

Hyler: I got hooked on the game through television. It was the late 1950s when Arnold Palmer burst on the scene, winning the '58 Masters, the '60 Masters and the '60 U.S. Open with his dramatic final-round charge at Cherry Hills. I was 11 or 12 when he got my attention.

Did you play as a teen?

Hyler: Not really. I didn't really get into playing golf until I went to Virginia Tech. I played basketball, baseball and football and ran track in high school. When I got to college, I quickly realized that team sports were going to be a thing of the past. To have a sport that offered a lifelong opportunity to play, it was going to be golf for me.

You made yourself into a scratch player on a couple of occasions. How?

Hyler: I had played a fair amount in college. Then when I started working, I began playing a lot. I was in public accounting, which was demanding, but I made time to play. My formative training came from looking at Golf Digest or a Ben Hogan book and trying to emulate what I saw. Hogan, Palmer, Byron Nelson--I'd buy their books and put into practice what they said. Getting to be a fairly good player wasn't easy, though, and boy, it'll leave you quickly.

What do you mean?

Hyler: How much you improve and how you sustain it is directly dependent upon how much you practice. Your improvement is your ability to turn double bogeys into bogeys and bogeys into pars. It's accepting bad shots and minimizing the damage that they cause.

Do you remember the milestone rounds?

Hyler: Absolutely. I broke 80 for the first time at Grandview Golf Club in Winston-Salem in 1975. I shot 77. The first time I broke 70 was at North Ridge Country Club [in Raleigh]. My low round was a 65 at Blowing Rock Country Club. But I've only had one hole-in-one--on the second hole of the new course at Ballybunion [in Ireland] in 2000.

How did you become chairman of the President's Council for the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens at Pinehurst No. 2?

Hyler: The President's Council was a joint idea between Pat Corso [then president of Pinehurst Resort], Jon Wagner [then managing director of Pinehurst Championship Management] and me. Pat was concerned with how he could sell the Open. He, Jon and I decided that we'd have to get the business leadership of the state involved. Pat and John took that idea and came up with the President's Council, which they asked me to chair.

Was it a hard sell?

Hyler: When we began selling the '99 Open, the economy was roaring, and we actually had companies that we turned down for hospitality tents because we had to make sure we could service what we had sold. When we first began selling the '05 Open in the early 2000s, the economy wasn't good. Fortunately, a lot of the larger North Carolina companies stepped up early and took the largest packages. Then the economy took a turn for the better in 2003, and we were able to make our goals--though we never turned anybody down.

How did you start with the USGA?

Hyler: I got a call out of the blue in May 2003 asking if I would interview to be on the Executive Committee. The call came from Stuart Bloch, a past president of the USGA and then the chairman of the nominating committee. Laughingly, I said, 'You sure you have the right number?' It really surprised me because I had no USGA connections whatsoever.

What was going through your head?

Hyler: I didn't think anything would come of it--I just figured that Pat Corso had persuaded them to talk to me and that they were doing it out of a courtesy to him. But luckily for me, it wasn't. I really got excited when I got a call back in October. Later, I found out that I was going to go on the executive committee in 2004.

You got your feet wet quickly, didn't you?

Hyler: I really did. The first year, you typically just listen and soak everything in, but the USGA was in the midst of some changes, and I got assigned to several great committees--each of us can serve on six to nine committees. One of the ones I was assigned to happened to be new, the marketing committee. It made sense since I was a business guy. In fact, I'm sure that's why I was considered for the executive committee in the first place, because of my role in the '99 Open at Pinehurst. It couldn't have worked out any better, because I had the platform in which to suggest new things.

What were those new things?

Hyler: The business environment of golf was and is changing, and we needed to adapt. We have corporate partners now, for example. And broadcasting revenue has changed tremendously, which made us look at avenues to diversify our revenue streams.

You made a significant leap up the USGA ladder early in 2006. How did that come about?

Hyler: Walter Driver became president in February 2006, and he made me chairman of the championship committee, which, third year on the executive committee and not being an officer, well, that was an incredible honor. As it happened, Tom Meeks had retired in late 2005, and Mike Davis had moved up to become senior director of rules and competitions. So here's a new championship committee chairman and a new guy coming in to run the day-to-day stuff, but we absolutely clicked on how the championship should be run.

So how should the Open be run?

Hyler: Winged Foot was our first Open, and we introduced some new concepts there that were well received by the players. Two are apparent, and one is very subtle. The most talked-about change was the different cuts of rough, where it becomes more penal the farther off the fairway you are. The second noticeable one is that we used different teeing grounds on some of the holes. One day, we'll play a hole up; the next day, we'll play it back. That had never been done at a U.S. Open--we think it adds flavor and spice. The subtle change was to introduce a concept of course setup: what the players get on Monday [for practice] is what they'll get on Sunday [in the final round]--to the best of our ability. Put another way, the course setup is not intentionally made harder throughout the week.

Keeping a course consistent during championship week isn't as easy at it sounds, is it?

Hyler: Not at all. The weather is the wild card, of course. The last two years, at the U.S. Open, the Senior Open and the Women's Open, we've worked diligently to keep the greens speeds consistent, and we've cut the rough every day. The average fan might not notice that, but the players have--and they appreciate it. When they arrive on Monday at an Open, they know that it's going to be a tough week, that the course is going to be difficult, and that it's going to be a grind. That's part of the allure and the differentiating factor that sets the Open apart. Water management, wind, rain, humidity levels--it's really an art to get it right, and boy, you're hoping you get it right.

How much of an Open do you watch?

Hyler: Thursday and Friday, I don't watch much live golf. We might go to a place where we have a hole location that we have some concerns about--I'll go out and watch four or five groups go through and see how the hole location plays. The last two years, as championship committee chair, I walked with the next-to-last groups the last two rounds. I probably will do the same at Torrey Pines.

Being chair of the championship committee means more than just overseeing the U.S. Open, correct?

Hyler: Our committee is responsible for all of our championships, but my primary events are the U.S. Open, the Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur. Of those, there's something about the Amateur that's special, because it's pure and it's fun. This year, it's extra special because it's in Pinehurst, and No. 2 is a great match-play course.

What's something that the casual fan doesn't know about the USGA?

Hyler: That it's not an organization of just stiff guys in blue blazers. We're down-to-earth people with a common goal--to give back to the game. Each year, the USGA gives away $5 million to $6 million to organizations that primarily serve low- to moderate-income kids. During the last 11 years, we've given away almost $60 million.

What's your stance on distance?

Hyler: The governing bodies have done a good job managing distance. If you look at scoring on the PGA Tour, except for Tiger Woods, it's not all that much lower than it was 10 years ago. And driving distance on the tour has been virtually flat for the past three years. Keep in mind that there are several variables in place. It's the bigger club head and the better matching of shafts to club head to ball. Then, the athleticism of players today, influenced largely by Tiger, is much better than 20 to 30 years ago. I favor of one set of rules for everybody--the touring pro, the club pro and the average player.

If you could only play one more round of golf, where would it be?

Hyler: It would have to be Pinehurst No. 2. It's such a special place to me, because of the history of the course and my personal history with it. The greens at Pinehurst are just extraordinary.

How much do you play?

Hyler: I probably play about 20% of what I played 10 years ago. When you get involved in golf administration, and if you have a full-time job, the thing you give up is playing. But I'm fine with that. Now that I'm retired, I hope I can play more.

Do you have one experience with golf that stands out?

Hyler: The final round of the '99 U.S. Open at Pinehurst was incredible. I still get chills thinking about that. But the thing that stands out most is the connection that golf has given me with my son [Brad, now 29]. He started playing when he was about 6. He stayed with it through junior golf and then college golf, and I got to caddy for him at the 1998 U.S. Amateur at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., where he made it to the first round of match play. Having gone through that experience with him, well, it just doesn't get any better than that.

Jim Hyler's Top five N.C. Courses

1. Pinehurst No. 2

2. Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood)

3. Old Chatham

4. Biltmore Forest

5. Quail Hollow

Jim Hyler's Top Five U.S. Courses

1. Pine Valley

2. Augusta National

3. Pinehurst No. 2

4. Shinnecock Hills

5. Pebble Beach NORTH CAROLINA'S TOP 100 GOLF COURSES

Yardage

(back Course slope/ Panel

Par tees) rating score

1 Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst 72 7,252 75.9/138 6,042

2 Old North State Club, New London 72 7,102 74.8/142 5,525

3 Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, 71 7,015 73.5/135 5,344

Southern Pines

4 Grandfather Golf and Country 72 7,085 74.3/145 4,986

Club, Linville

5 The Country Club of North 72 7,204 75.5/140 4,880

Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst

6 Forest Creek Golf Club (South), 72 7,067 74.6/143 4,737

Pinehurst

7 Elk River Club, Banner Elk 72 6,826 73.4/141 4,702

8 Charlotte Country Club, 72 6,764 73.3/136 4,696

Charlotte

9 Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte 72 7,396 75.0/140 4,685 10 Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst 72 7,117 74.5/136 4,120 11 Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst 72 7,092 74.2/135 4,109 12 Linville Golf Club, Linville 72 6,946 73.4/139 3,822 13 Forest Creek Golf Club (North), 72 7,139 74.7/144 3,654

Pinehurst 14 Biltmore Forest Country Club, 70 6,606 71.5/127 3,314

Asheville 15 Rock Barn Golf & Spa (Jones), 72 7,126 74.4/141 3,122

Conover 16 National Golf Club, Pinehurst 72 7,125 75.1/143 3,113 17 The Country Club of North 72 7,212 75.1/137 2,916

Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst 18 Old Town Club, Winston-Salem 71 6,825 73.2/132 2,870 19 The Club at Longview, Weddington 72 7,068 74.5/140 2,638 20 Eagle Point Golf Club, 72 7,170 74.5/137 2,578

Wilmington 21 Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers 72 7,154 74.0/144 2,445 22 Cape Fear Country Club, 72 6,856 73.4/135 2,402

Wilmington 23 Bright's Creek Golf Club, Mill 72 7,392 76.1/143 2,269

Spring 24 River Landing (River), Wallace 72 7,009 73.5/141 2,144 25 Duke University Golf Club, 72 7,105 73.9/141 1,976

Durham 26 Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh 72 6,816 73.7/134 1,914 27 Willow Creek Country Club, High 72 6,972 73.9/139 1,860

Point 28 The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Arden 72 7,278 74.7/138 1,799 29 Tiger's Eye Golf Links, Sunset 72 6,849 73.3/141 1,694

Beach 30 Treyburn Country Club, Durham 72 7,070 74.5/140 1,672 31 Governors Club, Chapel Hill 72 7,062 75.1/144 1,635 32 Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, 72 6,528 71.3/127 1,511

Southern Pines 33 Linville Ridge Golf Course, 72 6,775 72.8/136 1,464

Linville 34 Leopard's Chase, Sunset Beach 72 7,055 74.3/140 1,413 35 Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill 72 7,119 75.2/141 1,380 36 Mid South Club, Pinehurst 71 6,988 73.9/140 1,298 37 Sedgefield Country Club, 71 6,737 72.9/130 1,272

Greensboro 38 Myers Park Country Club, 72 6,926 73.0/132 1,229

Charlotte 39 Grandover Resort & Conference 72 7,100 74.3/140 1,208

Center (East), Greensboro 40 Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst 72 7,216 75.5/149 1,178 41 St. James Plantation (Reserve), 72 7,212 75.2/140 1,154

Southport 42 Forest Oaks Country Club, 72 7,197 75.9/145 1,138

Greensboro 43 Tanglewood Park (Championship), 70 7,018 75.4/142 1,115

Clemmons 44 Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham 72 7,210 74.0/131 1,096 45 Gaston Country Club, Gastonia 72 7,042 74.2/135 1,080 46 Grove Park Inn Golf Course, 70 6,162 70.0/126 1,042

Asheville 47 Brier Creek Country Club, 72 6,885 73.6/139 994

Raleigh 48 Hope Valley Country Club, Durham 70 6,671 73.1/133 955 49 River Landing (Landing), Wallace 72 7,112 74.0/132 914 50 Country Club of Landfall (Dye), 72 7,026 74.5/135 881

Wilmington 51 Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head 72 6,855 73.8/137 865

Island 52 Alamance Country Club, 71 6,900 72.8/128 817

Burlington 53 Porters Neck Country Club, 72 7,112 74.8/138 779

Wilmington 54 MacGregor Downs Country Club, 72 6,812 72.9/134 764

Cary 55 Anderson Creek Golf Club, Spring 72 7,180 75.0/140 714

Lake 56 Pinewild Country Club 72 7,276 75.5/135 706

(Magnolia), Pinehurst 57 Mount Mitchell Golf Club, 72 6,495 70.0/121 674

Burnsville 58 Bermuda Run Country Club, 72 7,082 74.3/136 661

Advance 59 Cardinal Golf & Country Club, 70 6,821 74.2/139 640

Greensboro 60 Bryan Park Golf and Conference 72 7,097 74.5/135 628

Center (Champions), Browns

Summit 61 Tobacco Road Golf Club, Sanford 71 6,554 73.2/150 617 62 Mimosa Hills Golf and Country 72 6,664 72.4/135 570

Club, Morganton 63 The Heritage Club, Wake Forest 72 6,929 73.2/135 554 64 Sea Trail (Jones), Sunset Beach 72 6,761 72.8/132 533 65 Country Club of Salisbury, 71 6,665 72.0/128 521

Salisbury 66 River Run Country Club, Davidson 72 6,947 74.2/138 519 67 The Golf Club at Ballantyne 72 6,735 73.0/133 502

Resort, Charlotte 68 Grandover Resort & Conference 72 6,800 72.5/136 497

Center (West), Greensboro 69 The Point Lake and Golf Club, 72 7,037 74.2/140 479

Mooresville 70 Diamond Creek Golf Club, Banner 70 7,120 74.0/144 476

Elk 71 Forsyth Country Club, Winston- 71 6,555 71.7/130 472

Salem 72 Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash 72 7,101 73.9/130 462 73 Tournament Players Club at Piper 72 6,853 73.1/138 448

Glen, Charlotte 74 Catawba Country Club, Newton 72 6,614 73.2/132 440 75 Hound Ears Club, Blowing Rock 72 6,327 69.9/129 430 76 Tournament Players Club at 72 7,257 75.2/137 425

Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh 77 Country Club of Landfall 72 7,019 74.0/140 399

(Nicklaus), Wilmington 78 Legacy Golf Links, Aberdeen 72 6,989 73.9/133 396 79 Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro 72 6,830 73.5/134 380 80 Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane 72 7,004 73.5/144 364 81 The Peninsula Club, Lake Norman 72 7,075 74.6/130 362 82 Starmount Forest Country Club, 71 6,518 72.0/136 351

Greensboro 83 Jefferson Landing Golf Course, 72 7,111 73.1/134 347

Jefferson 84 Rivers Edge Golf Club, Shallotte 72 6,909 74.0/144 346 85 Carmel Country Club (South), 72 7,008 73.8/133 340

Charlotte 86 The Golf Club at Chapel Ridge, 72 7,136 73.9/132 333

Pittsboro 87 Rocky River Golf Club, Concord 72 6,970 73.5/137 328 88 Pinehurst No. 6, Pinehurst 71 6,990 74.4/139 325 89 Tot Hill Farm Golf Club, 71 6,601 72.5/138 316

Asheboro 90 Champion Hills, Hendersonville 71 6,676 72.6/141 305 91 The Challenge Golf Club, Graham 72 6,935 73.6/134 289 92 The Southern Pines Elks Lodge & 71 6,268 69.8/125 287

Golf Club, Southern Pines 93 Carolina Country Club, Raleigh 71 6,237 70.8/133 282 94 The Country Club of Whispering 72 7,097 73.9/132 279

Pines, Southern Pines 95 Farmstead Golf Links, Calabash 72 7,242 74.5/135 276 96 Little River Golf Club, Carthage 72 6,907 73.4/135 273 97 Oak Valley Golf Club, Advance 72 7,058 74.0/144 264 98 Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach 72 6,997 74.9/136 256 99 Pinewild Country Club (Holly), 72 6,792 73.0/136 252

Pinehurst 100 Stonebridge Golf Club, Mineral 72 6,837 72.8/136 248

Springs Sources: North Carolina Golf Panel; golf-course information is from the Carolinas Golf Association and the courses.