The Golf Club of Ballantyne

Getting To Know: The Golf Club of Ballantyne

An Insightful Interview With Matt Zvanut, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Matt Zvanut who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The golf course winds its way among 176 acres of wonderfully manicured grounds. With the framing of the corporate park in the background it gives a great view of the past and future of the Ballantyne area. This golf course offers challenges for all abilities of golfers. The golf course plays firm and fast and allowing for great scoring opportunities.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Golf Club of Ballantyne is the premiere facility in Charlotte, NC. We are a 100% public facility with a mission to give you a "country club feel at a public price."

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
With the speed of our greens it is always best to be below the hole with an up hill putt. Play the contours of the course they will be very beneficial in setting up better scoring opportunities.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
We were recently named top 100 places to play by "Golf Digest" This distinction makes us a must play in Charlotte, along with the 4.5 star hotel and Spa attached to the facility we offer anything and everything a golfer could want.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our 18th hole is the most photographed with the picturesque hotel in the back ground it allows for a very scenic shot of a luxury hotel and championship golf course all in one.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is #17. This is a reachable Par 5 if you find the fairway. With water down the left it is paramount to find the fairway. Tree lined right hand side keeps you from playing too far away from the water. Once you have found the fairway, a long iron or fairway wood will give you an opportunity to go at the 2 tiered green. If the green is missed there are 3 bunkers surrounding the green that make getting it up and down a chore. Pin placement will dictate score if the green is missed.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Gallery Bar will take care of any and all needs pre and post round, but for my money the burgers are the best in the area. They can also accommodate the most discerning pallet for drinks as well.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Course record is 63 since we renovated in 2008.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 6740
Slope: 71.7
Rating: 132

More Information
The Golf Club of Ballantyne
10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy
Chrarlotte, North Carolina, 28227
704-248-4383
www.golfballantyne.com

Revised: 06/05/2013 - Article Viewed 30,880 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.