The Stately Clubhouse at Sedgefield Country Club stands as a reminder of its momentous history. The hallways feature photos of golf legends from Wyndham Championships long ago. The first Wyndham Championship was played back in 1938 at Sedgefield and Starmount across town. These two courses would share hosting duties until 1960, when Sam Snead offended Starmount’s owner and was banned from the property. Sedgefield hosted the annual event from 1960 until 1976, and the tournament returned home from Forest Oaks to Sedgefield in 2008, where it continues to thrive.

This return to Sedgefield has conjured both the history and memories from some of the games’ best. World Golf Hall of Fame member Curtis Strange recalls coming to the tournament in the early ‘70s while playing at Wake Forest.

“We would come over at least one day and set up on the 16th tee [current- ly No. 7] and sit right behind the tee so we could get a look at all the players’ alignment and watch their swings,” recalls Strange. “Of course, we drank a few beers too, but it was incredible.” Strange goes on to say that one of the most valuable lessons he learned back then came from standing on that tee at Sedgefield. “It became pretty obvious that none of the players aimed right of the target. That was an eye opener. And they are hitting these long irons or fairway woods and they are all aimed to the left.”

Strange played the tournament at Sedgefield once or twice, but his career spanned the Forest Oaks era. “I don’t really remember much about playing in the tournament at Sedge- field other than loving the golf course, a great old course. But I remember going as a college player and soaking it all in. Back then, Sam Snead was still playing, so you had to go watch him play a few holes. And of course, Arnold came to town.”

The landscape of professional golf has changed dramatically since that golden era, but the classic courses, like Sedgefield, remain in high regard. They are favorites among today’s best, just as they were decades ago. Since the Wyndham returned to Sedgefield in 2008, four of the ten winners are major champions, including the defending champion Henrik Stenson.

Stenson’s name is just the latest to be added to the wall of champions that stands at the foot of the clubhouse behind the ninth green. It is fitting that the first name on the list is eight-time champion Sam Snead, whose love affair with Greensboro started at the inaugural event in 1938. Next summer, the Wyndham Championship will enter its eighth decade with one of the richest histories on the PGA TOUR. Thanks to Wyndham and Sedgefield, the future of the annual stop is secured — but it’s the rich history that sets the tournament apart.

It's no secret that dining at a McConnell property rivals that of any restaurant in town. And when you add in the number of growing wine society programs at several clubs, you’ve got the recipe for something really good.

A key proponent of the programs is Dave Marra, who spent time at Sedgefield Country Club before taking his current position as director of club operations for Grande Dunes. He’s credited with growing the thriving wine society programs at both clubs, which offer monthly Grape Nuts and quarterly Wine Indulgence dinners.

At Sedgefield, the Grape Nuts dinner series began in 2010, named after a core group of wine-enthusiast club members who called themselves — what else? — “the grape nuts.” Today, this popular monthly dinner typically showcases a specific winemaker and is enjoyed at a reasonable price point.

“Grape Nuts dinners are attractive because they’re themed and focused on cost-effective, member-friendly wines,” says Marra. “It’s not about the formality of wine tasting. It’s a social affair.”

Recent Sedgefield Grape Nuts dinner themes include “Pinot, Pinot, Pinot,” “Blockbusters of Wine,” “90+ Pointers,” “Kings of California,”and “Syrah, Sirah, Shiraz.”

These dinners feature a tapas-style, three-course menu paired with pours that complement the food. Sedgefield Executive Chef James Patterson, along with Maya Panayotova, Sedgefield’s director of dining services, plans a menu after meeting with a wine distributor and sampling the varietals. “I’ll look at the year, the weather, and expectations of the grape,” says Patterson. “I examine the wine’s flavor profiles and come up with a menu from there.”

At a recent Sedgefield dinner, the menu consisted of baby spinach with baked apples and pears; Italian sausage-stuffed ravioli with ricotta and smoked-gouda cream sauce; and peppercorn crusted New York strip with herb-smashed Yukon Gold potatoes and grilled Portobello, topped with a Gorgonzola bacon demi.

“This is a chance to do something entirely different,” says Patterson. “To try things that our members may not normally order .... We can be a bit more aggressive in the style of food we’re presenting. We can serve things like beef tongue and pork cheeks, and we can think outside the box.”

In addition to the Grape Nuts dinners, Sedgefield and Grande Dunes host a quarterly Wine Indulgence dinner. These events are a bit more elaborate, according to Patterson, and the menu is more ambitious. “We recently had a truffle dinner featuring truffles hand-selected and flown to us from Italy,” says Patterson.

Take a look around your garage, chances are, there are some golf items you just don’t use, or need, anymore. But instead of throwing these things away, one group of Sedgefield members found a way to donate items where they’re needed most.

The First Tee of the Triad serves 1,500 kids, ages seven to 18, through golf clinics, classes, and camps. Last spring, the Cardinal Ladies Golf Association at Sedgefield’s Dye course, led by Nancy Patefield, collected gently-used golf bags, clubs, apparel, shoes, and more for The First Tee. And coming up soon, another donation is planned.

“We realized we have so much extra stuff that we take advantage of,” says Patefield. “How many golf towels do we really need? We all have an abundance of things to donate.”

Patefield moved to Greensboro from Texas last year, where her home club did a collection drive for USGA.

“We collected our old clubs, bags, balls, clothes, shoes, basically anything that was gently used or new, to donate to those girls,” she recalls. “So when I got to Sedgefield, I found out about The First Tee and asked about the possibility of donating to that cause. We put it out to the Sedgefield Dye membership and pretty soon collected a van full of stuff for both boys and girls.”

The initial donation was a big success, and Patefield hopes now that the word is out, even more Sedgefield members will make a bigger effort to help The First Tee. Donations will be accepted through May 2018, making it the perfect time for early spring-cleaning.

“We donated everything from golf towels and balls to shoes, hats, skorts, and even a seven-wood, because it was giving one member a fit!,” says Patefield.

The items that help kids in The First Tee may seem insignificant, but to those kids, even the smallest things make a difference.

“Some of these kids don’t have a collared shirt,” says Ellen Lapierre, director of volunteers and girl’s events for The First Tee of the Triad. “They love to wear those — it makes them feel like a golfer! Junior clubs are most beneficial, but womens’ clubs are great too, especially for teenagers who come in and don’t have any of the gear.”

According to Lapierre, the program gives kids a road map not only for success on the golf course, but for life in general.

“We want these kids to have the best future they can have,” she says. “We want to make these kids good golfers, but make them even better people. Sure, we teach them skills like putting, chipping, and course management. But we’re also teaching them, right from the beginning, how to shake someone’s hand, how to look people in the eye, and how to introduce yourself to someone. And most importantly, how to create and attain your goals.”

Sergio Garcia, the 2012 Wyndham Champion, has used Sedgefield Country Club as a springboard more than once in his career. The Donald Ross gem that hosts the Triad’s annual PGA tour stop is more than just another spot on the calendar for Sergio. It’s the place where it all started.

When Sergio’s birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on that glorious Sunday this past April, it marked the culmination of a life’s work. It was the coronation of a champion and the end of a sometimes agonizing journey. Sergio Garcia had won the Masters, and he would never be viewed the same again. Nearly 18 years after bursting onto the international golf scene at the PGA Championship at Medinah, Illinois, Sergio was finally a major championship winner.

HIS BIG DEBUT

The story begins in August 1999 when the exuberant Spaniard would duel Tiger Woods, the world’s best, and come up just short — but he would never walk in anonymity again. Four- teen months before at the Greensboro Open at Sedgefield, Sergio, then 18 years old, may have been anonymous in the golf world but he certainly wasn’t to the players on the Nike Tour (now Web.com Tour), the feeder route to

the PGA Tour. We had seen this kind of emergence a few years before when a skinny 20 year-old showed up in Milwaukee and said, “Hello, world.” Tiger ushered in a remarkable new era in golf. By 1998, he had broken records at the Masters, and it was obvious that the best was yet to come. So when the “next great player” arrived on our driving range, we were paying attention.

I remember thinking just how young Sergio looked that week at Sedgefield. But what we, the players, were most concerned about was his swing. Tiger had changed our approach to the game. For the first time in our lives, many of us went to the gym. We had our eyes opened. Sergio’s swing was lanky with a pronounced lag and down- cock of the wrists that was more old school than modern. He hit balls under the watchful eye of Victor, his father and lifelong swing coach. And Victor wasn’t letting anyone too close to his son in 1998.

Sergio would open that week with 72 on Thursday but come back with 67 on Friday to make the cut by a single shot. His 65 on Saturday was the low round of the day and put him in contention. A 68 on Sunday left Sergio in an unpaid, five-way tie for third. That last bit was fortunate for the other four of us that finished tied for third. Joe Ogilvie from Duke would go on to win that week, but it was Sergio’s debut in America that would be remembered.

A ROLLERCOASTER CAREER

After Sedgefield, Sergio won the British Amateur, which came with an invitation to the Masters the following year. At Augusta in 1999, Sergio would finish as low amateur and turn professional the next week. In July, he won the Irish Open shooting 64 in the final round for his first European Tour victory. That victory secured an invitation to the PGA Championship and a date with Tiger at Medinah.

The second-place finish for Sergio at the PGA Championship ensured that he would be the youngest player to compete on either Ryder Cup team. Sergio has represented Europe in every Ryder Cup with the exception of one, but more on that later. After 1999, his game progressed as anticipated. He would win on the PGA Tour for the first time at Colonial in 2001 and later that summer at Westchester.