Candyroot Lodge: Course One 2026 - Mike Koprowski Public The Southern Sandhills has been booming with amazing new golf courses. But with a problem, most of the new golf courses built are private clubs. Candyroot is going to change that in a big way. Course One is open for preview play and is making a splash. Mike is fresh off his super well reviewed Broomsedge Golf Club and he actually had a tough challenge: Build a golf course down the road that somehow feels different. Not only does it feel different, somehow it doesn’t even feel like the same designer. It’s a totally different golf course. Candyroot is a big and bold golf course. He did not follow the common modern themes. It’s not overly wide. It’s not an easy walk. You won’t always find your golf ball. This is not a place to build up your self esteem. It’s a test of golf. The land has the sandy soil that we are used to in the region. But the movement is more dramatic than most. There are no flat golf holes and you have to think about the fairway slopes before you hit your drives. If you play a fade into a big left to right sloping fairway, you might be in trouble. (And vice versa.) Mike had some tough decisions with how many blind tee shots he wanted. The land calls for them, he would have had to bulldoze a lot of dirt to get rid of some. He chose to keep them and it adds a thrill to so many holes. You will have to trust your caddie to know which line to take many times and that’s rare at a resort golf course. It’s clear he is not adverse to taking risks. The greens are also not typical modern giant landing areas. Many are very small, you are expected to hit good approach shots and to choose targets where your misses are okay. The green surrounds have some very steep run offs, your short game will be tested with some testy chips off of tight lies. If you miss and hit the slopes, your ball can bounce and release a long way. There are some other unique choices made in the design. Back to back 3 tough par 5’s. (Including a 700 yard hole from the tips!) A par 4 with multiple greens, leading into a par 3 with alternate tee boxes! On the longest par 5, the green is shockingly small. Yet it works. So how is the golf course overall? Incredible. It’s the kind of bold and new design that we can use more of. It’s very hard, but in the creative way that makes you want to try again and again. Each play will unlock more secrets, you aren’t going to figure it out after one play. (I sure didn’t.) You will need to gain confidence in your driving lines and that won’t come easy. The small greens means learning where to miss and that’s not always obvious. It’s an ode to where golf came from. It’s not always supposed to be right in front of you and you aren’t always supposed to beat the golf course. But when you do post a score here, it will really mean something. It’s challenging but also super fun, which is hard to achieve. Candyroot is a home run.