CHINA GROVE — Twenty-five years ago, four families had a vision to create a semi-private destination for the middle-class golfer that balanced accessibility and affordability with quality. A quarter century later, Warrior Golf Club is thriving, thanks in part to the founder’s lasting commitment to their vision.

“We are a first-name facility,” Club Pro Brian Lee said last week. “We are not a Mr. and Mrs. club. We are a John and Jane club. We want you to feel like this is your place, whether you are a member or a guest and to have that feeling that when you leave, you had a great time and want to go back out there and play next week or next month.”

Curating that culture did not happen overnight, but it’s remained the bedrock of the founders’ plan since the onset. Lee, Rick Houston and Gerald Staton are the three remaining names from the original founding quartet after the Johnson family sold its stake in the operation.

The Lee family was represented by Brian and his father, Donald. Houston, the general and his father M.L. “Red” Houston, owned another 25 percent. Staton, the accounting and maintenance manager, and his father Roy held another quarter. Lastly, the Johnson Family comprised Ray and sons Brian and Todd. 

“Can’t let the article be run without giving thanks to our parents (Mark and Edith Houston; Roy and Geraldine Staton; and Don and Jane Lee) for investing in our dream and helping us achieve it by staying the course,” Houston said. 

Looking back now, Houston, Lee and Staton are proud of what they’ve accomplished, but it has not always been easygoing. 

They selected the land because of its proximity to Charlotte and central location in Rowan County, but it was not a singletract that was easily attainable. 

“We had to buy several parcels of land from several different land owners,” Lee said. “We had to encapsulate the entire property and then work with the town of Landis because (Lake Wright) was one of their water sources back in those days.”

The year was 1999 and construction was officially underway, when the first catastrophe struck.

“We had the worst drought in a hundred years shortly after we opened,” Houston said. “It started during construction and lasted until 2001.”

At the time, the course was largely wooded areas, so converting it to typical golf course terrain involved growing a lot of grass which required a lot of water. Not exactly ideal during drought conditions.

“We had to come up with an idea and rely on some neighbors to survive through that particular summer,” Lee said.

Houston explained that if it wasn’t for Randall Patterson of Patterson Farms, the golf course probably would “have burnt up.”

“Great neighbors and great people,” Lee added. 

As the drought subsided, the course seemed to be doing well, but then tragedy struck the country as a whole when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. A fourth plane, United 93, crashed in a Pennsylvania field. 

Houston said 9/11 had a larger-than-expected impact on golf.

“A lot of people quit playing,” Houston said. 

It would be a while before golf rates would return to something resembling normal, and the financial crisis of 2008 did not help things either. 

“We tried to hold firm and even invested more,” Houston said. “We took the clubhouse and made some improvements, like adding a bar.”

Despite the hardships, the trio have never wavered from their original concept. 

“We just tried to stay steady with our vision and move on,” Houston said. “We have maintained that focus.”

In 2018, the club went through a drastic reformation.

“We lost our greens,” Houston said.

Lee added, “They had aged out in a sense. It was hard to maintain them.”

With hot summers and cold winters, Rowan County was proving to be relatively inhospitable to the type of bent-grass greens that were originally installed. 

“Back when we first opened, bent grass was the best surface you could have in this particular part of the country,” Lee said. “That has changed and with the new hybrid Bermudas that are out there, it became cost effective for us to have that.”

However, changing the greens was not going to be a quick fix. It ended up costing Warrior Golf Club a season of golf revenue, as the club made the changes. 

“God won’t give you more than you can handle, and if you get through it, you might come out better on the other end,” Houston said. “It’s been a blessing for us.”

Those words would ring true again in a couple of short years when a global pandemic upended the world. It was tough at first, as COVID-19 shook a lot of things, but the resulting impacts have actually been positive, even if it was not apparent at the beginning. 

“Post-COVID, golf in general has bounced back,” Lee said. “Golf was a dying sport in a sense up until that time, with a lot of course closures and the baby boomers were aging out. The new generations were not playing as much golf. COVID came around and all of a sudden, the younger folks coming out and playing.

“Now, with people being able to work on their phones and not work brick and mortar 40 hours or 50 hours a week, you have a little more recreational time and they seem to have the means to get out and play a little bit more. That has been a good thing for golf in general, not just us.”

Members tourney

As a semi-private course, Warrior Golf Club is open to everyone and features membership options. 

Over the weekend, the club held its 25th annual members tournament. Lee estimated in advance of the two-day tournament that it would feature approximately 60 members. 

Chris Owens repeated as club champion, shooting a 68 on Saturday and 69 on Sunday. Robert Shoaf defended his senior club championship title, with a 70 and 71 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. 

“Another once-in-a-lifetime happening occurred in Sunday’s final round,” Houston said. 

Steve Yates hit a hole in one on No. 6 and in the group behind him his weekly playing partner and longtime friend, Billy James, hit a hole in one a few minutes later. 

It is a weekend that neither of them will ever forget. 

Providing those types of moments is what Lee, Houston and Staton endeavor to do every day for members and guests, because as Lee mentioned, that is who it is all about.

“We feel very fortunate and are grateful for all the folks not only locally but regionally that come out to support us because if it was not for them, we would not be doing what we are doing,” he said.