A hip simulator spot, easy-drinking canned cocktail and new Peter Millar’s women’s line expand Raleigh’s golf lifestyle offerings
by Matt Lail
Raleigh has a rich golf history. The legendary Donald Ross created his last course here in 1948 with Raleigh Country Club, and the area has produced pros like Webb Simpson, Scott Hoch and the late Grayson Murray. Arnold Palmer spent his college-playing days at then-Wake Forest College — back when the school was in Wake Forest. And later in life, Palmer designed North Carolina State University’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course, which opened in 2008. In short, Raleigh loves golf. And as the city has changed, so too have the game’s offerings. These recent endeavors speak to the everlasting allure of what Palmer once called “the greatest game mankind ever invented.”
Play Play Play
These days, you don’t have to be outside to enjoy a round of golf: simply head to one of the many local indoor simulator facilities. Dogwood Country Club opened in 2018 on W. Cabarrus Street but recently moved to a larger spot at Gateway Plaza off Crabtree Boulevard. Golf Golf Golf opened its 1,500-square-foot club and lounge on New Bern Avenue in December 2024. It features two Trackman simulator bays, indoor putting greens and even a bar. The immersive simulators mimic some of the world’s great courses while the bar offers beer, wines, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
Owner Sam Ratto’s grandmother once took him to play on a municipal course in California when he was young. After a bad shot, his emotions got the best of him:. “My grandmother said, Sam, it’s not about the shot you just hit — it’s about the shot you’re about to hit.” For Ratto, who also owns Videri Chocolate Factory, golf should be open to anyone who finds joy in it: a serious golfer who wants to work on technique, a newcomer curious about getting started, or even someone who just appreciates a good Riesling.
It’s working. Ratto — the sort of guy who seems to know just about everybody — recalls a “metalhead dressed in black” recently knocking a ball around in one of the simulator bays while on the other side of the room two traditional-looking golfers analyzed their swings and compared yardage. “One of my friends said to me, How did your personality show up so perfectly in this place?” Ratto says. He hopes to open more locations in the next few years.
Taste Taste Taste
One of golf’s great other pastimes is enjoying drinks with friends. The TK Mulligan crafted vodka cocktail was not only created with golfers in mind, but also with Raleigh in mind. “We thought, Why can’t Raleigh have a cool beverage?” says co-founder Mark Giordano. Giordano is something of a “touring pro” of the adult beverage industry, with 27 years in sales and leadership capacities. “It’s the only thing I know,” he says. Using that knowledge, he and his wife and co-creator Jenn sought to create an alternative to other vodka cocktails that they believed were “way too sweet” or tasted synthetic. Hosting tastings in their Drewry Hills kitchen, the Giordanos and friends had the enviable task of discovering the right flavors; the first two TK Mulligan flavors, Crush (refreshing citrus) and The Transfusion (grape), officially launched just over a year ago, with two new flavors on the way.
Of course, golfers appreciate the name of TK Mulligan (“Take a mulligan”). The Giordanos incorporated a little “historical fiction” to create the character of Thomas Kane Mulligan, a man of early 1900s Ireland, who — as their tale goes — inadvertently coined the term “Mulligan.” “It’s the spirit of second chances,” says Jenn. Adds Mark: “TK catches a lot of lucky breaks.”
The Giordanos themselves caught a break when The Transfusion was selected to be the official canned cocktail for the 2024 U.S. Open in Pinehurst. The drink was the top-selling cocktail that weekend. Fans of the drink are drawn to its flavors, but also its low-ish alcohol content (5% alc/vol) and calories (139). TK Mulligan can be found in Wake County ABC stores as well as select retailers across North Carolina and the Southeast with plans to be in all 50 states by early 2027.
Style Style Style
Since its founding, Peter Millar has held fast to its Raleigh roots. What began with just a single cashmere sweater in 2001 has evolved into a global brand. Yet even after being sold in 2012 to a Swiss luxury goods holding company, Peter Millar has remained true to the City of Oaks. Peter Millar recently launched a design studio at its headquarters at The Junction in Raleigh, where roughly 80 percent of its design team graduated from NC State. “We’re not a New York brand and we’re not an LA brand,” says Jason Cater, the company’s chief creative officer. “We are so proud that our brand is from this area.”
In response to a surge in female participation in golf over the last few years, Peter Millar has put a significant focus into its new, full women’s line, which launched in retail stores in October 2024 and includes both performance and lifestyle clothing. The expanded Fall ’25 women’s line, which will be available this July, will include items such as a cashmere hoodie, a cashmere topcoat and quilted outerwear.
“What we’re seeing is blurring of the lines between the world of golf and performance clothing,” says Cater. “Folks want to wear the same thing to play 18 holes, go out to dinner or run errands on the weekends.”
This article originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.
