Lake and pier.  Contributing feature.  1961.

The lake, one of the first features built at the club soon after its founding, is located on the northern edge of the property, with a wood pier located on the west side which projects out into the lake.  Surrounding the lake are woodlands and a dirt walking path.  Originally the country club property extended further north, including what is now a small residential subdivision, Meadowbrook Park.  These lots were sold to members in the 1970s to help raise money for the club, and have not been part of the club facilities since that time.  The pier was originally constructed by John Kay.

 

Picnic area.  Contributing feature. 1962.

This wooded area with several concrete block grills scattered across the hillside, is located just south of the lake, extending to the road and the clubhouse.

 

Putt-putt course. Contributing feature. 1962.

This eighteen-hole course, along with the lake, were the two main recreational features of the club until the golf course was built.  The putt-putt course, built by A. E. Moore, is located in its original location to the east of the picnic area and is set within a wooded landscape.  It has been cleared of an overgrowth of plant materials, and the putting greens are again visible.  While in only fair condition at the present time, it will be restored for use again. 

 

 

Golf course. Contributing feature.  1966.

This nine-hole course, with a total of 2,771 yards, and a par of 36, was designed by prominent North Carolina golf course architect Gene Hamm.  Surrounded on three sides by woods, the course is unchanged except for the extension of some tee areas for more advanced golfers, with shorter tee areas for women and youth using the course.  Aerial photographs delineate that the course was developed primarily within the open field area of the former tobacco farm, with only a small portion of woods cleared on the east side.  Through the years, the course had become overgrown, but in the last two years it has become viable once again and continues in use.  Southwest of the Club House is a driving range.  A detailed description of each hole follows, based upon the easiest of the men’s tee yardages:

 

Hole 1 340 Yards Par 4

Hole 2 110 Yards Par 3

Hole 3 300 Yards Par 4

Hole 4 329 Yards Par 4

Hole 5 313 Yards Par 4

Hole 6 328 Yards Par 4

Hole 7 140 Yards Par 3

Hole 8 405 Yards Par 5

Hole 9 506 Yards Par 5

 

The course is located in a compact area, with many of the fairways paralleling each other to fit within the space.  The course overall consists of a series of gently rolling hills, with some of the most challenging holes containing dog-leg turns or long distances which make the green invisible from the tee area.  Throughout the course are challenges for the golfer including lines of trees planted parallel to some of the fairways, sand traps, gullies, and landscaped hills which block visibility. 

 

Hole 1 has a slight dog-leg bend, a long fairway, and a line of trees which divides this fairway from that of the adjacent holes.  Hole 2 has a much shorter fairway, while Hole 3 is long and straight.  Hole 4 also has a long, straight fairway, while Hole 5 is challenging because the green is up and over a hill, so is not visible from the tee.  Hole 5 is also challenging because just north of it are residences at the edge of the property.  Hole 6 has a long fairway, with several rows of trees as obstacles.  Hole 7 has a short fairway like Hole 2, with an easy view of the green.  Hole 8 has one of the longest fairways.  Even though it is straight, it is challenging because of a gully which crosses the fairway about a third of the distance to the green.  Hole 9 is the longest of the fairways in terms of yardage, with the added challenge of a dog-leg bend.  The green for this hole is located back near the club house, nearly adjacent to the Hole 1 tee.

 

Swimming pool. Contributing feature.  1968.

The L-shape, junior Olympic-size concrete swimming pool remains in its original location but has not been in use for several years.  There is a small rectangular baby pool at the northeast corner of the concrete decking.  Built by the Greensboro Company,

 

Tennis courts. Contributing feature. 1969.

Originally, there were two tennis courts, oriented in a north-south direction.  The clay courts are still visible, but are extensively overgrown at the present time and have not been in use for many years.

 

Buildings:

 

Storage shed. Contributing building.  ca. 1940s (part of original tobacco farm)

Located just south of the tennis courts, near the eastern edge of the property, is a small one-story, frame storage shed which originally was part of the tobacco farm operations.  This weatherboard-sided, shed-roof building has had a roof covering added on the south side, a modern door, and modern windows added in the 1960s. 

 

Club House. Contributing building. 1962. Solarium and patio added 1970; Pro shop added 1971.

Built of concrete block and faced in brick, the Club House is a one-story, side-gable-roof building with a projecting front-gable-roof porte cochere at the front and a centrally located front-gable roof at the rear.  The original section of the building is an L-plan, with the pro shop added in 1971 on the east side.  Set within the “L” of the original section is the solarium and patio, added in 1970.  Windows on the original section are rectangular fixed light, with four along the west side of the façade, and two on the east, flanking the double-leaf entry door.  Windows on the pro shop addition are single light flanked by narrow fixed lights at the rear, with multi-light, metal frame casement window at the front.  The pro shop is also built of concrete block but is not faced in brick like the original portion of the building. There is a covered patio at the entrance to the shop, and a covered walkway extending out to the east.

 

The interior of the Club House consists of an entry vestibule at the front, a great room on the west and kitchen and bath/locker room facilities on the east.  The ceiling of the great room is flush board with four boxed beams in a flattened arch which end on either side into angled paneled columns.  These columns appear to carry the load of the ceiling, serving as modern-day flying buttresses.  Paneled soffits line the north and south walls, with ductwork enclosed within.  Floors are carpeted over a concrete slab. There is a concrete block chimney at the far western wall of the great room.  Interior doors have three horizontal lights in the upper portion. The interior of the solarium has a linoleum floor over a concrete slab, with a dropped panel ceiling, in poor condition in several areas due to water damage.  The pro shop adjoins the building to the east of the bath facilities and consists of a main office/check-in area at the front and two smaller rooms at the rear.  All floors are concrete slab with carpeting. A new partition wall with bifold doors has been added between the front room and the rear rooms.  A wall has also been added at the rear, dividing the original one large room into two smaller rooms.  Walls are painted concrete block and ceilings are dropped panel.  The builder for the Club House was John W. Winters, a prominent black builder in the Raleigh area.  The additions were built by A. E. Moore, George Exum, and Arthur Bunch.

 

Bathhouse. Contributing building.  1969. Addition 1971.

This one-story, shallow-gable concrete block building, located at the northeast corner of the pool area, houses men’s and women’s locker rooms.  There is a covered patio on the south side supported by iron posts.  Arthur Bunch and A. E. Moore built the bathhouse.

 

Pump house.  Contributing structure.  1968.

This small one-story, flat-roof building is located in the woods to the east side of the pool deck and houses the pump for the swimming pool.

 

Storage shed.  Contributing building. 1971.

One-story, front-gable, concrete block building with a six-panel door is located north of the covered walkway of the pro shop and is currently in use for storage.

 

Golf cart shed. Contributing structure. 1972.

The one-story structure located to the west of the club house has a metal-covered gable roof supported by wood posts.  It is in use for storage of golf carts.  Built by Herbert Harris,