#14 Larkin Golf Club
Course Website | Hole by Hole | Statesville, NC
Course Overview
Larkin Golf Club is located in Statesville, NC. It’s situated right off I-77, so it’s a quick drive from Charlotte (about a 40-minute drive). Statesville has been growing quite a bit in the last couple of years, same with the golf course.
The number of houses on the golf course has increased dramatically, and you can expect the trend to continue in coming years. Due to the increasing popularity of Statesville and this community, you can expect the course to continue to see improvements as well.
Larkin Golf Club was designed by Clyde Johnson, and it’s split out with three different feels that play like three different courses. The first six holes offer a parkland feel set on mildly undulating land, the next six holes will remind you of a mountain course, and the last six holes will make you feel like you’re on a beach course.
The course itself was awesome and a lot of fun. The layout will provide you with everything you look for in a golf course – bent grass greens, Bermuda fairways, elevation changes, water hazards, creeks throughout the fairway, blind shots and doglegs. All these elements make the course very challenging.
You’ll need to be accurate off the tee and know your distances otherwise you can find yourself in a lot of trouble. Driver isn’t always needed and if you hit fairways, you can score pretty well. The front 9 plays easier so try to get off to a good start before you hit the back 9.
Practice Facility
This is one area where Larkin is really struggling. They do not have a driving range, so don’t go there expecting to figure out your golf swing before the round. They have a putting green, and a very small area where you can hit some half swing wedge shots.
I’m not sure if they have the room for it, but they’ll want to try and figure out a way to incorporate a driving range eventually or put some work into the practice facility.
Greens
The greens are fairly slow and spongey. You can go at the flags and get aggressive as the ball tends to catch these greens, maybe a little too much. We were leaving putts short, even on the downhill putts.
Overall
The layout of this course is great and it’s a lot of fun to play. It’s always in pretty good shape and provides a good mix of a challenging golf course, but also scoreable. If the greens were quicker and in better shape, this would be a top-notch golf course but think they still have a little way to go before they find themselves in the Top 10 courses in our Top 20 Course Rankings in Charlotte.
Signature Holes
#6 Par 5, 512yds, Handicap: 3 – The toughest par 5 on the front 9, with a creek running through the fairway makes this a good risk/reward shot. This green is one of the more difficult ones with subtle ridges throughout.
#10 Par 4, 385yds, Handicap: 4 – This is a tough par 4 to start the back 9 that requires great distance control off the tee with a narrow fairway, with water separating the fairway and the green. You’ll want to play a long iron or fairway wood to avoid trouble and set yourself up for a decent approach going in. The green is fairly small, sloping from back to front.
#10 Par 4, 385yds, Handicap: 4 – This is a tough par 4 to start the back 9 that requires great distance control off the tee with a narrow fairway, with water separating the fairway and the green. You’ll want to play a long iron or fairway wood to avoid trouble and set yourself up for a decent approach going in. The green is fairly small, sloping from back to front.
