Tot Hill Farm Golf Course – Little Known Course Rated Among Top-10 Toughest In The States.

We’ve all heard of Kiawah Island, The Internatonal in Denver, PGA West , the Black Course at Bethpage Park, Pine Valley and Whistling Straits.

But seriosuly who has heard of Tot Hill Farm?

We came across Tot Hill Farm purely by accident driving as we were from Charlotte, and venue for the 201 P7GA Championship and won by Justin Thomas, and the short drive to Greensboro and also in North Carolina, for the Wyndham Championship.

In making my way into the Tot Hill Farm clubhouse here on one of the walls was a Golf Digest plaque signed by fellow Association of Golf Writers (AGW member, Jerry Tarde as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief to commemorate the 2007 naming of Tot Hill Farm as among the top-50 ‘Toughest Golf Courses’ in the States.   And this ranking coming just seven years after the course was opened.

In fact, a closer look at another framed item it lised all of the top-10 ‘Toughest’ courses that year and with the Island Course at Kiawah Island as No. 1, Bethpage Park Black No. 6 and Whistling Straits at No. 8.

Tot Hill Farm is located about an hour’s drive from Charlotte on State Highway No. 49 near Asheboro.

The course owes its existence to Ogburn Yates (The ‘O’ in Tot), who with his late father and brother, were store managers however in asking around on this short visit no-one could tell me the names of his father and brother (The two ‘Ts’ in Tot).

Tot Hill Farm GC – 1st hole (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)

‘Imigination’ – The opening hole presenting a big drop to the fairway below. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)

Mike Strantz, a turf management graduate from Michigan State University and who worked under Tom Fazio, designed the course laid out on 365-acres and taking full advantage of existing creeks, very rolling countryside and dramatic rock formations to ‘chisel-out’ Tot Hill Farm.

To celebrate the opening of the course in 2000, Strantz was named the same year as one of the “Top 10 Greatest Golf Architects of All Time” by Golfweek but five later he tragically passed away just aged 50 from cancer.

“Mike’s Tournament”, and an annual tournament in memory of Strantz is held every year on one of his many course designs and with Tot Hill hosting the event just a week ago.

Even in my brief inspection Tot Hill Farm is extreme golf!

Strantz designed holes that plunge down the mountainside such as the first while there are giant boulders protecting approach shots and also guarding greens.

‘Balfour’s Bridge – A view from the back of the 8th green at Tot Hill Farm. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)

And Betty McGee’s Creek, and I believe named after the wife of the first Mayor of Asheboro, comes into play on 13 holes at Tot Hill while there is hand-stacked rock walls all about the course.

‘The Rock’ and the name for the par-3 third hole. (Photo – Tot Hill Farm GC)

‘The Old Dam’ and the par-4 12th hole.  (Photo – Tot Hill Farm GC).

I look forward to returning to Tot Hill Farm.

But as a fellow journalist wrote – ‘A round around Tot Hill with a ricochet is some accomplishment’.

 

 



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