Crescent Golf Club has a new head pro, former Campbell University golfer Ross Desmond.

Desmond, a 27-year-old native of Wisconsin who grew up in Durham, has been head pro at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek for the past year. He replaces Bo Bowden, who left Crescent last month for a similar position in Alabama.

Signet Golf Associates of Pinehurst, which recently took over management of Crescent, hired Desmond.

“I had a good relationship with Barry Embler (of Signet) from a long time ago. He and my brother actually used to work together at Arthur Anderson (accounting firm) in Charlotte,” Desmond said. “I just have an awful lot of respect for him and his dedication and some of the other golf courses he’s worked with and manages.

“After talking to him, I just think the opportunity here is great,” Desmond added. “The potential for this area with the growth is fantastic. It was time for a change, and I’m just ready to take on some new responsibilities and hopefully be a part of that growth.”

Desmond had an outstanding golf career at Northern Durham High School and earned a golf scholarship to Campbell in 1990. His best season at Campbell was in 1994, when he won one tournament, made all-Big South Conference and was named his team’s most valuable player.

Keith Hills is Campbell’s home course, and Desmond started working there as an assistant after graduation. He was a teaching pro one year, then head pro for a little more than a year.

Desmond saw about five or six holes at Crescent on a recent visit to Salisbury and was impressed.

“What I saw was very eye-appealing, a little bit of rolling terrain, little hills here and there, and the greens kind of set down in some areas,” he said.

“They (Signet) are looking for some changes, but their main focus is going to be getting people to come see the Crescent. It’s a great golf club from what they tell me. It’s just a matter of getting people here ... We want to get people to not only just come here once. We want to get them to come back over and over again and go out and tell some friends. Hopefully, those friends will come out here.”

Desmond emphasizes that the course has to appeal to golfers of all ability levels.

“Any course can be as good as the product — if it’s a good layout, if it’s fun, if you give somebody the opportunity to play well. It’s not the low-handicappers that you’ve got to go after. That’s such a minute part of the golfing world. You’ve got to go after the average players. If they can come out and be rewarded for those good shots ... if they can have fun, I think it could be a very good golf course,” he explained.

Crescent, since its opening in August of 1998, has been praised for the quality of its huge greens.

“Any time you get a golf course this young, you should have very, very good greens. I’ve been doing this game now for 22 years. The biggest complaint I’ve heard or the biggest complaint I’ve ever given is normally about greens. If you’ve got good greens and you’ve got a good golf course, I think people will come out and enjoy it.”

Desmond expects to get settled in here about mid-December after a family trip to Wisconsin to see the Carolina Panthers-Green Bay Packers football game on Dec. 12.

Meanwhile, Desmond, wife Tanya and daughter Morgan, who will be 2 in April, are house-hunting. Another baby is due in April.

n

CRESCENT MEETING: There will be a meeting of the Crescent Men’s Golf Association at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the clubhouse.

The agenda will include introduction and installation of officers for 2000, setting tournament dates for next year and general discussion pertaining to the organization’s future and direction.

n

HOLE IN ONES: Charlie Sowers made his first ace recently at the Country Club of Salisbury when he hit a 5-iron into the cup on the par-3, 161-yard (white tees) No. 6 hole. He was playing with Mike Dunham. ... Russ Priddy got his ace on Crescent’s par-3, 180-yard No. 10 hole from the white tees with a 4-iron. He was playing with Wayne Tate, Tom Collins, Bob Clewell and Ian Brown. ... Butch Arthur used a 5-wood for his hole in one at McCanless Golf Club. He aced the par-3, 200-yard No. 9 hole while playing with Stowe Cobb, Mike Stegall, Jerry Troutman and Gary Haigler.

n