Historically golf travelers have fallen into a pattern when it comes to Carolinas-based golf trips. Those searching for 36 holes a day and a robust nightlife have flocked to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Serious players looking to pay homage to the “Home of American Golf” make the pilgrimage to Pinehurst and the Sandhills of North Carolina, often opting for famed Pinehurst Resort and its storied No. 2 course.
But more and more golfers are discovering what so many Old North and Palmetto State residents already know: the Western Blue Ridge Mountain region of North and South Carolina is home to many of the states’ most breathtakingly scenic layouts.
Greenville, S.C.: Cherokee Valley Course and Club
The burgeoning small city of Greenville, S.C. is home to Cherokee Valley Course and Club, the Upstate region’s premier golf destination. Its P.B. Dye designed, mountain-style golf course and collection of on-site cottages make for an enjoyable and efficient stay-and-play experience.
With wrap-around front porches and all the comforts of home, the cottages are just a few steps from the golf shop and first tee. Full cottage rentals start at $400 and single rooms at $130 per night (tax not included). Add on a round of golf for as low as $30.
Cherokee Valley has an ideal location, only 30 minutes north of award-winning downtown Greenville and 45 minutes from the craft beer capital of Asheville, North Carolina. Cherokee Valley is the perfect basecamp for exploring the beauty and adventure of the western Carolinas.
For more information, visit www.cherokeevalleyclub.com.
Lake Lure, N.C.: Rumbling Bald Resort
Rumbling Bald, the 36-hole golf resort on North Carolina’s stunning Lake Lure, is just an hour’s drive north of Cherokee Valley. Open year-round. The resort offers golf packages customized for golf groups of any size and ideal for weekend or weekday buddy trips.
Rumbling Bald’s “Hole-in-One” package (Starting at $345 per person) features a two-night stay, two rounds of golf, breakfast both days, and complimentary, unlimited range balls. Lodging options include the recently updated Apple Valley Studios and two- and four-bedroom Fairway Villas.
The resort features two contrasting 18-hole layouts: W.B. Lewis-designed Bald Mountain and Dan Maples-designed Apple Valley. Apple Valley stretches to nearly 6,800 yards and offers expansive views of Bald Mountain and the surrounding Lake Lure area. At 6,300 yards, Bald Mountain is renowned for its unique configuration of five par 5s and five par 3s.
For more information, visit www.rumblingbald.com.
Hendersonville, N.C.: Champion Hills
The Western Carolinas might be one of the Southeast’s best-kept secrets when it comes to golf travel. But the word has gotten out that it’s a beautiful place to retire, semi-retire, or relocate.
After all, a public course golfer is often a private club golfer just waiting to happen.
Champion Hills is situated just outside Hendersonville, N.C., in the heart of this sought-after region. It’s just minutes from both Greenville and Asheville, a location its residents covet for its access to the arts, entertainment, and the best hiking east of the Mississippi.
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Champion Hills and Hendersonville were long the home of renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio. The World Golf Hall of Famer’s office is on Main Street.
His design work at Champion Hills is legendary, a magical mountain layout wrought by Fazio and many of his brightest architecture pupils of the time, such as Beau Welling and Tom Marzolf.
At Champion Hills, Fazio devised a brilliant routing through the heavily forested hills, deep ravines, and cool mountain streams of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He pulled ridges into valleys and filled hollows to create “playing platforms” that provide golfers with level lies amid 350-feet of elevation change.
The result? Pure golf enjoyment.
“Six holes play slightly uphill on the entire course, but only six,” Fazio says, smiling. “Overall, the majority of holes play downhill. We did it through grading and do it through transition areas from the green to the next tee.”
For more information about memberships and real estate, visit www.championhills.com.