Anyone seeking insight into the creative genius embodied in the late Mike Strantz need look no further than the name of his course design and construction business.
Maverick Golf.
A true renaissance man, Strantz was without question a maverick who looked at a landscape – be it an oceanfront coastal plain or rugged and rocky mountain range – and saw a canvas on which to create art. Boldly dramatic, yet aesthetically beautiful art.
Arguably, nowhere is his artistic talent more evident than at Tot Hill Farm, a public-access course less than an hour’s drive from Pinehurst and North Carolina’s famed Sandhills, yet worlds away from anything one could ever imagine finding so close to the golf mecca that will again host this year’s U.S. Open in June.
“The first time I saw the golf course, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Where are we?’ And I say that in the most positive way,” said Greg Wood, director of golf operations at Tot Hill since Charleston, S.C., businessman Pat Barber acquired the property two years ago. “It was hard to believe what we were seeing. It was like being transported somewhere, almost like the feeling you get going to Disneyland for the first time.”
The par-3 third hole at Tot Hill Farm, played downhill to a boomerang-shaped green, has been named as one of the best 18 holes built in America since 2000 by Golf Digest magazine. The green is guarded by a scenic mountain creek that wraps three sides of the huge putting surface, which is dominated by a fittingly large "nose" pushing into the green from the right. (Photo courtesy of Tot Hill Farm/Ryan Barnett photographer)
In the very short time since taking ownership, Barber has invested untold dollars in Tot Hill Farm, making it a must-see, must-play for any golfer who appreciates the game’s inherent ability not only to challenge one’s skill but to excite one’s senses.
With only one exception, everything has been done in accordance with Strantz’s original design, that exception being the conversion of the greens to Prism Zoysia, a turfgrass that provides perfect putting conditions –it’s almost impossible to find a ball mark on the tight, grain-free surfaces – in summer, winter, sunshine and shade.
Everything else Barber and his excellent staff have done and are continuing to do at Tot Hill is guided by the intentions of the late architect.
In a career cut far too short when he lost his long battle with oral cancer in 2005 at age 50, Strantz designed and built just nine golf courses – seven original designs and two renovations so major in scope as to be recognized as “Strantz originals.” And while his portfolio includes layouts overlooking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Strantz called Tot Hill Farm “the best piece of land” he ever worked with.
Set in the Caraway range of the ancient Uwharrie Mountains in central North Carolina, Tot Hill is a gallery-worthy piece of artwork sculpted from sprawling meadows, rocky crags and clear-flowing mountain creeks. Stark in its contrasts, the site features more than 250 feet of elevation change, most of it tumbling down from the hilltop site of an 1840s farmhouse transformed into a welcoming clubhouse that sets the tone for what can only be described as the “Tot Hill Experience.”
A restored 1840s farmhouse serves as the clubhouse at Tot Hill Farm. (Photo courtesy of Tot Hill Farm/Impact Marketing)
Located just 10 minutes from Asheboro, home to the North Carolina Zoo and its more than 250 species of animals, Tot Hill Farm opened in 2000, giving travelers, at least those who love golf, a new reason to visit Randolph County. Depending on the individual tastes of the critic, the course quickly drew polarized reviews, some heaping praise and others serving equal portions of disparagement. (What do you expect of a course designed by a self-proclaimed Maverick?)
In 2007, Golf Digest named Tot Hill the seventh toughest course in the country. However, playing the course today, one has to question that appraisal.
Over the years, Tot Hill’s original ownership group ran into financial difficulties and the course suffered accordingly. The once gallery-worthy piece of art began to fade. Maintenance suffered as greens shrank and bunker faces eroded or grew over. Mother Nature didn’t help either, as trees and other growth encroached, narrowing playing corridors and altering sightlines. The real estate recession of 2008 only exacerbated the problems.
Fast forward to 2022 and enter Barber.
A highly successful medical staffing professional, Barber already owned two courses in South Carolina – The Links at Stono Ferry and The Plantation at Edisto, both just south of the historic port city of Charleston. He immediately saw the potential represented in Strantz’s vision for Tot Hill and upon purchasing the property, set about restoring the course to its original glory.
Wood, director of golf operations for all three of Barber’s properties, emphasizes the word “restoration,” as opposed to renovation. And Barber’s team had plenty to draw upon as they set about their labors – the operative word in the phrase being “draw.”
Blessed with numerous drawings by the architect, many of which now adorn the walls of the farmhouse/clubhouse, as well as videos showing the architect at work in the field, often on horseback, the new owner has spent untold dollars to faithfully transform Tot Hill Farm into a showplace that is sure to add to the ranks of the “Strantz Fantz Club” – devotees with their own Instagram address.
In addition to installing the new Zoysia greens, more than 1,500 trees have been removed, restoring (there’s that word again) fairway widths and playing angles. Bunkers were completely rebuilt or, if not part of Strantz’s original design, eliminated. On two holes, bunkers that had been lost were re-established, and Wood added, another lost bunker will be rebuilt on the demanding par-4 17th hole later this year.
And since we mentioned it, what a hole the 17th is. A long par-4 stretched over rolling meadowland and boasting the No. 1 handicap, the Road Hole – every hole at Tot Hill is named – is punctuated by a green that is true Strantz all the way. From the steep false front to the deep ‘thumbprint’ depression that presses in from the left to the stacked stone wall and the eponymous road tightly guarding the entire right side, the green demands a precise approach. Anything less and you face a tough up-and-down chance.
Sporting the No. 1 handicap, the par-4 17th hole at Tot Hill Farm, name The Road Hole, plays across rolling meadowland, culminating with a deep, narrow green guarded by a steep false front, a pronounced depression pushing into the left side of the putting surface and a stacked stone wall tight to the right, reminiscent of another great hole with the same name. (Photo courtesy of Tot Hill Farm/Carolina Pines Photography)
But much can be said of just about any hole at Tot Hill. While the fairways are wide – generous, even – green complexes require precise, well-struck shots if you’re seeking birdies. Even hitting the greens, pars can be hard earned, if you put yourself on the wrong side of Strantz’s sweeping elevation changes that are best measured in feet, not inches.
Think about the bold contouring architects C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor built into their greens at classic courses like National Golf Links, Chicago Golf, Fox Chapel and Yale Golf Club. The greens at Tot Hill are that dramatic … and that much fun.
More than once, Strantz offers greens with distinctly different targets. For example, the par-5 fifth green has a tiny, narrow and much lower front protrusion leading to a broad upper section, much of the right side of which hidden by tall rocks surrounded by artistic bunkers. At 13, a short par-3 set between a rocky creek to the right and a gentle up-slope to the left named “Strantz’s Back Yard,” the larger, more inviting part of the putting surface is at the front, with a very small adjunct climbing up and around a huge rock face to the rear. Knowing Strantz – as this writer did very well – it’s not by accident that the smaller target also requires the longer tee shot.
The unique two-tiered green at Tot Hill Farm's par-5 fifth hole at Tot Hill Farm features an extremely narrow front portion that is much lower than the broad upper section, much of which is guarded by bunkers and rock outcroppings. (Photo courtesy of Tot Hill Farm/Ryan Barnett photographer)
Any review of Tot Hill wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the 10th and 12th holes, two par-4s that share a double green that cascades down a very steep slope like a stair runner in your grandmother’s house.
The short 10th, called “Great Wall,” gives players the option of driving over another of those stacked stone walls – think Irish links courses – or playing left and skirting the wall entirely. But the real excitement starts when you approach the two-level green. Higher in the front, the putting surface drops rapidly to a lower rear section before tumbling completely off the hill, down to the 12th green, which is surrounded by water. The grass connecting the two formal putting surfaces is mowed at fringe height, but it won’t prevent a misjudged or poorly struck approach from going all the way down to the 12th, appropriately labeled “Old Dam.”
The green at the par-4 10th hole, approached from the top of this picture, is part of an original "double green" that cascades down to the green at No. 12, approached from the bottom right of the frame across a small pond. The steep slope separating the two putting surfaces is now mowed at fringe height. But that doesn't stop poorly played second shots to the 10th from rolling all the way down to the green at No. 12 ... or possibly into the lake. (Photo courtesy of Tot Hill Farm/Carolina Pines Photography)
And we haven’t even talked about “The Rock,” the par-3 third hole, which Golf Digest recognized as one of the 18 best holes built in America since 2000.
The fact is, any review of Tot Hill Farm could devote countless words describing each and every hole. But short of that, suffice it to say that every hole is its own canvas, most not revealed until you leave the previous green and reach the next tee. And no hole dictates strategy but instead presents options. As Wood is quick to point out, every hole offers multiple ways to play, depending on how one chooses to utilize corridor width, slopes and native skill.
“The more you play this course, you realize that Mike gives you 10 ways to play a hole,” Wood said. “If you want to shoot a score, you have to take on more risk. But he always gives players a ‘safe route.’ It’s up to the player to decide which route they want to take.”
Risk vs. Reward. Isn’t that what great golf courses are all about? If so, then Tot Hill truly deserves the far-too-often used title of “Modern Classic.”
For more about Tot Hill Farm, take a visual tour of the course or to book a tee time, go to the club’s website, tothillfarm.com. And if you’re heading to the U.S. Open and want to test Strantz’s work of art during your trip, hurry. The tee sheet is filling quickly.
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(Long-time Charleston resident Reid Nelson spent more than 40 years in golf-specific public relations, working with more than 25 courses that earned “Top 100” and/or “Best New” accolades from major national publications. Over the years, he worked with Mike Strantz on several projects and was a founding member of Strantz’s Bulls Bay Golf Club, just north of Charleston. Now retired and living in the North Carolina foothills, he is very happy to still be within easy driving distance of his late friend’s designs.)