ELLERBE — Richmond County could produce the next Tiger Woods — and Michael Legrand wants to provide that opportunity.
Legrand broke ground Tuesday on Greenlake Chipping and Putting, a venture through his nonprofit — Sandhills Regional Community Development of Richmond County Inc. — to teach local children the basics about golf … and life.
“I know a lot of kids would love to play golf, and golfing is an expensive sport,” Legrand said at the site on Greenlake Road between Ellerbe and Rockingham. “So…we’re going to open up a chipping and putting green where kids can come out for free and learn.”
The facility will be targeted towards kids ages 7-18.
“I ran into a lot of kids who wanted to play golf but didn’t have clubs, didn’t have resources and didn’t have accessibility to golf courses to practice or to learn the game,” Legrand continued. “So I had some land here and I said, ‘Hey, why not, through my nonprofit, create something for kids where they can come out and play and learn the game?’”
He was joined by Alissa Dobbin, an instructor from Golf Galaxy in Charlotte and Chris Buchina from SiteOne Landscape Supply in Raleigh.
Buchina, who has been in the green industry for more than a decade said he was initially a little skeptical during his first site visit.
“We weren’t really sure what we were going to be getting into,” Buchina said. “I came out … met with (Legrand), kinda went through his vision about what we’re looking for … after that, did our map … gave it to our designers.”
Buchina said the green was “pretty easy to design, initially,” since they’re basically working with “a big rectangle at the moment.”
“(Legrand) is very dedicated to getting this facility up and running,” Buchina said.
Legrand said the green is expected to be completed in 4-6 weeks.
Dobbin said it was important for kids to have a “solid foundation” in golfing skills and “build upon that.”
“I just wanted to give kids access to golf and teach them some core values that not only apply to golf, but to life as well,” Legrand said.
“Not only are we going to just build a golf swing and help them improve their golf (game) … we’re also going to help them as far as life is concerned,” including values like integrity, Dobbin added.
Legrand said SiteOne has been “instrumental in providing the materials needed to help facilitate” the project.
Legrand began playing golf in his teens, swinging at balls in the yard, but didn’t play on the school team.
He took a break after the birth of his son, but picked his clubs back up following the death of his mother in order to spend more time with his father.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s like therapy.”
This will be the only golf facility in Richmond County, since Loch Haven Golf Center shut down in 2022 and Richmond Pines closed in 2014.
To play golf currently, players have to go to neighboring Moore, Anson and Scotland counties in North Carolina, or Marlboro and Chesterfield counties in South Carolina.
Dobbin said a facility in Richmond County will make it more convenient for kids interested in golf and cut down on the travel time.
“Getting the community involved, I think, will really get the voice of everyone …pushing everything in a specific direction,” Buchina said. “It starts with this … who knows where it ends.”
Sandhills Regional Community Development of Richmond County Inc. is “fairly new,” Legrand said, and this is the first major project.
“You have to get kids while they’re young to teach them these core values and how it would apply … (in) everyday life, where you have accountability, integrity, perseverance and courage,” Legrand said. “All of those values are important when you’re navigating through life.”
In a broad sense, Legrand added, some things that happen on a golf course also happen in life. Part of the project will be “teaching kids how to navigate through the challenges that they may face.”
“And if you play golf, you know things don’t always go as planned,” Legrand continued. “And what do you do when the unexpected happens? So you need to learn how to recover from your mistakes and know that one mistake is not the end of the road.”
The chipping and putting green is only the first phase of the project, according to Legrand, as he’s in the process of acquiring neighboring properties to expand into a training facility.
Legrand acknowledges that some children may not have some of the same opportunities and the environment he was blessed with.
“So, as adults, we have to make sure that we’re taking our resources and helping the next generation and putting them in a better situation to succeed.
“You never know what’s in a child until you give them an opportunity,” he added. “And that’s what excites me the most — giving kids an opportunity that they may normally not have. A lot of kids have a lot of good things inside of them but they don’t have the resources of someone to help bring it out.
“And we have to make sure we equip kids with the tools necessary in order for them to succeed.”
