Springfield Golf Club in Fort Mill ranked third on a Charlotte Observer list of the top publicly accessible golf courses in the greater Charlotte area.
Observer sports writer Langston Wertz Jr. and golf partner Bruce Bellamy played more than 25 courses within 25 to 30 miles of uptown Charlotte between mid-June and early August to compile three ranked lists: top 10 overall, top 10 semi-private and top 10 public. Springfield appeared on two of the three, listed third overall and second among semi-private courses, behind only Red Bridge Golf Club in Locust, N.C. The ranking was published Sunday, Sept. 6.
Fort Mill Golf Club also made the cut. It landed 10th on the semi-private list.
Both courses are part of the four-course portfolio run by Fort Mill-based nonprofit Leroy Springs & Company, which also operates Lancaster Golf Club and Chester Golf Club.
The Observer praised Springfield's condition and setting. "Course conditions cannot be beat, and though it sits in a neighborhood, few tracks in the region will give you the feel of peace and tranquility that this one does," Wertz wrote.
Springfield is a 6,906-yard, par-72 layout designed by Clyde Johnston on a heavily wooded, hilly site, according to the club's website. Four holes flank Sugar Creek, and 13 holes play along perennial streams feeding the Catawba River. Greens were upgraded to MiniVerde bermudagrass in 2010.
The Observer listed Springfield's course fees at $40 to $90. Individual memberships in the four-course Leroy Springs system start at $195 per month. Family memberships run up to $350 per month, with no initiation fee, according to the club's membership page. The waitlist for the four-course membership is closed.
Fort Mill Golf Club, at 101 Country Club Drive, is an 18-hole, par-72 course playing 6,801 yards, according to the club's site. Donald Ross designed the front nine, which opened in 1948. George Cobb designed the back nine, which opened in 1959.
Wertz and Bellamy visited courses without advance notice, and the Observer covered all fees. Rates listed in the ranking included junior, senior and twilight pricing as of Saturday, Sept. 5, and are subject to change.
