Michael Jordan didn't pick up golf until he got to the University of North
Carolina, where he played with his teammates on the basketball team, as well as
a member of the golf team named Davis Love III.
Given Jordan's passion for golf, he might have started playing sooner had a
place like St. James Plantation in Wilmington, N.C., existed when Jordan was
growing up there. (If so, who knows what might have happened? Would Jordan have
turned out to be a PGA Tour star?)
Alternate history aside, while basketball undoubtedly is king in North
Carolina, golf is quite important in the state. After all, it is the home of
Pinehurst, one of the game's meccas. And about 120 miles to the southeast on the
Atlantic coast, there are several large golf communities that have elevated
Wilmington's status as a golf city.
There is the 36-hole River Landing and the 45-hole Country Club of Landfall.
Then there is the largest of all, St. James Plantation, located in Southport,
just south of Wilmington.
The community's original course, the P.B. Dye-designed Founders Club, was
completed in 1991 (the year Jordan won his first NBA title with the Chicago
Bulls, coincidentally). Since then, St. James has added three more courses-the
Players Club (Tim Cate), the Reserve Club (Nicklaus Design) and the 27-hole
Members Club (18 holes by Hale Irwin, with nine by Cate)-to now boast 81 holes,
making it the second largest golf facility in the state, after the 144-hole
Pinehurst Resort.
And although the newest layout and the community's showcase, the Reserve
Club, isn't quite on the level of Pinehurst No. 2, it's a very good course. The
7,212-yard layout hosted this year's North Carolina Open, in which only eight
players finished under par and the winning score was six under in the 54-hole
event.
Although there are no backbreaking holes, the strength of the Reserve Club is
its core of medium-length par 4s-there are eight that measure between 400 and
433 yards-that reward consistently precise iron play.
The other courses are more friendly for golfers of all skill levels, and
provide a great day of relaxation and enjoyment for residents as they play among
forests, through marshes and along the Intracoastal Waterway, whether they are
competing in a spirited match or playing a late-afternoon round by
themselves.
There is more to enjoying St. James Plantation than the golf. It has a beach
club on the Atlantic Ocean and a marina on the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as
tennis facility, fitness center and miles of trails for enjoying the outdoors.
And for those looking for a little more action, downtown Wilmington is just
miles away, and attractions include the Riverwalk, the shopping and historic
district, the U.S.S. North Carolina, and the Cape Fear Museum, which provides
insight into the region through exhibits like the Michael Jordan Discovery
Gallery, an interactive look into the area's natural environment.
