Mike Strantz

Sanford, NC

Tobacco Road Golf Club in Sanford, North Carolina, opened in 1998 and is the best-known work of Mike Strantz, who designed only a handful of courses before his death in 2005. The site was an abandoned sand quarry, and Strantz used the spoil piles and pits rather than flattening them. The course is deliberately theatrical. Several tee shots play through narrow gaps between towering sand walls with no view of the landing area, and fairways that look impossibly tight from the tee open up dramatically once golfers walk over the crest. Greens are large, wildly contoured and often set at angles that reward one specific approach line. Strantz routed the holes by hand-drawing them on site, and no two look alike. It is a daily-fee course, walkable, and it plays under 6,600 yards from the back tees, which has almost nothing to do with how hard it is. The Pack House serves as Tobacco Road's clubhouse snack counter, while the clubhouse bar, open fireplace, stone porches and rocking chairs overlooking the 18th green create the post-round setting. It feels more like a rustic gathering place than a polished resort restaurant, which suits the course.

Asheboro, NC

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club sits in the Uwharrie hills outside Asheboro, North Carolina. Mike Strantz designed it and the course opened in 2000, playing to a par 72 of about 6,614 yards. Strantz routed the holes around exposed granite outcrops, a creek and steep drops through the property rather than moving the ground to suit convention. Fairways bend around rock, several greens sit in natural bowls, and blind and semi-blind shots are part of the design. It is one of the boldest layouts of his short career and divides opinion accordingly. Tot Hill Farm is open to public play.

Providence Forge, VA

Mike Strantz's dramatic Irish links-inspired design in Virginia

Pawleys Island, SC

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club opened in January 1994 on a former rice and indigo plantation near Pawleys Island. It was the first solo design by Mike Strantz, who treated the routing as a composition rather than an engineering problem. The course plays through oak-canopied allées, marsh edges and sandy, tree-dotted Lowcountry terrain. The entrance drive beneath moss-draped live oaks and the marsh-side closing holes are its signature images. Compact and strategic rather than long, it set the template for the reputation Strantz built over a short career. Caledonia's Grillroom overlooks the old rice fields, the waterway and the closing hole. The back porch and full bar are the draw after golf, giving groups a front-row seat as later players take on the approach to 18.

Pawleys Island, SC

True Blue Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 public course in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, designed by Mike Strantz and opened in 1998 on the site of a 19th-century indigo and rice plantation. It stretches to about 7,126 yards from the back tees with wide, sprawling fairways, sand barrens and undulating greens influenced by Pine Valley and Pinehurst No. 2. Strantz was named Golf World's Architect of the Year in 1998 following True Blue's opening. The course has been ranked among America's Top 100 public courses by Golf Magazine, Golfweek and Golf Channel, and is the sister course to Strantz's nearby Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. True Blue Grillroom overlooks the lake and the closing hole. Breakfast, lunch, cocktails and a full bar make it the course's own post-round stop, distinct from the Grillroom at sister property Caledonia.

Last verified 2026-09-17

Toano, VA

Stonehouse Golf Club is an 18-hole public course in Toano, Virginia, about 15 miles from Williamsburg near the York River in the Tidewater region. Designed by architect Mike Strantz, the 7,013-yard course is built over rolling, tumbling terrain amid hardwood forest. Strantz aimed to make the layout blend closely with the natural landscape, resulting in large fairways and undulating greens routed through hills populated by deer and wild turkey. The club includes a driving range, pro shop, and the Stonehouse Grill and Bar. Stonehouse operates as a public course with membership options, driving range access, and organized tournament and event hosting.

Toano, VA

Stonehouse Golf Club, formerly known as Tradition Golf Club at Stonehouse, is an 18-hole course in Toano, Virginia, near the York River in the Tidewater region. The course was designed by architect Mike Strantz and opened in 1996, laid over hilly terrain among hardwoods, with large greens set on natural rock formations. From the back tees the course plays 7,013 yards to a par of 72, with deep bunkers and wide fairways shaping the mountain-style routing. The club fell into disrepair and closed in November 2017 after a period of financial difficulty, then was purchased in December 2018 and reopened for play in July 2019. Today the club offers public tee times, a driving range, practice greens, and the Virginia Grill restaurant, and hosts tournaments and outings.

Fountain Inn, SC

Carolina Springs Golf Club is located in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, a growing community south of Greenville in the state's Upstate region. The course sits on rolling piedmont terrain typical of the area between Greenville and Spartanburg. Architect Russell Breeden designed the 18-hole layout, which opened in 1968 and moves through wooded sections mixed with more open ground, with water features and contoured greens shaped by the natural topography. The course plays to a par of 72 at 6,803 yards from the back tees, with a practice range and clubhouse offering food and banquet service. Carolina Springs welcomes both members and outside play.

Sanford, NC

El Camino at Tobacco Road in Sanford, NC, is a 9-hole, par-27 short course. Mike Strantz designed it. The course features innovative angles and demanding one-shot holes. It offers a creative and challenging test of skill.