By: Ross MacDonald

Nothing could be finer than golf in the Carolinas. And if the destination is Western North Carolina, well, there may be no better place to elevate one game and spirits.

Consider the magnificent backdrop. This is God's country, where the Great Smoky Mountains run along much of the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The state boundary bisects Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which encompasses some of the oldest mountains on earth.

But that's only part of the picture. The Smokies converge with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the area's southern highlands. Now we're in the heart of "mountain golf" country, a golfer's paradise that spreads across Western North Carolina from Murphy to Asheville to Spruce Pine. An assortment of country clubs and inns and golf resorts, courses and communities dot the landscape. Two of the best amenities – the extraordinary year-round climate and breathtaking views – come free of charge.

Golf central is Asheville, Western North Carolina's largest city and generally considered one of the best places in the world to live. Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is home to the Great Smoky Mountains Golf Association, which includes 16 courses within driving distance of Asheville. Each may provide a varying degree of challenge but they all share one thing – the breathtaking vista and natural surroundings that frame every shot.

One of those courses is the recently opened Sequoyah National Golf Club in Cherokee. The newest public course in the region is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and was designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones II, with consultation from Notah Begay III, the only Native American on the PGA Tour. The 18-hole, par-72 championship course offers stunning views of Clingman's Dome peak and the historic Thomas Valley, and is a reasonable 6,600 yards.

The $16 million project is also about more than just a great golf experience – it's a tribute to the Native American heritage and a key to job creation and tourism in the area. There's plenty of available accommodation, including upscale cabin rentals, and lots of other activities. Anyone with a gambling itch can visit Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel.

Two other major developments in the area make Western North Carolina not only a great place to visit, but to also call home.

Though the recently redesigned Lake Toxaway Country Club is private, it's open to guests of the adjacent Greystone Inn. The two add up to a first-class resort that also offers a full-service spa, gourmet dining, water sports, daily champagne cruise and afternoon tea.

Lake Toxaway Country Club sits near the shoreline of North Carolina's largest private lake. The $9 million Kris Spence redesign is a playable, championship layout that has a tee box for every level of player. Also new are a practice and teaching facility and a championship croquet lawn with a lakefront view. Club members are treated to special rates at the Greystone and can take part in social events and many other recreational activities throughout the year.

Sequoyah National Golf Club
Lake Toxaway Country Club
Greystone Inn

The internationally recognized Greystone Inn provides a level of luxury unmatched in the mountains. World-class cuisine and heavenly accommodations are just a couple of reasons why the Greystone has earned AAA Four-Diamond status for 22 straight years.

Signature to the Inn is its evening champagne cruise aboard the 33-foot mahogany Miss Lucy. The hour-long cruise glides by beautiful lakefront homes while the captain regales guests with tales of famous visitors like the Fords, Rockefellers, Edisons and Firestones.

Two dozen privately owned Lake Toxaway Estates homes are available throughout the year for short or extended rental. A number include a Country Club temporary membership providing access to our dining, golf, tennis, fitness, and pool facilities.

Taking "living the high life" to a new level is Tiger Woods' first American course design, The Cliffs at High Carolina. Scheduled to open in mid-2010, the course will be part of the eighth gated community in The Cliffs' collection of private residential developments. The communities are located only minutes apart in the Carolina Preserve, which connects Asheville, North Carolina to Greenville, South Carolina.

Woods joins some esteemed course designers – Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio and Gary Player, among them – who have put their stamp on The Cliffs' communities. Unique to the High Carolina course is that it will be a walking course with elevations up to 4,000 feet and views extending more than 50 miles.

As a sidebar, it's interesting to note that the legendary Bobby Jones, whose accomplishments have been one of the benchmarks for Woods' own career, spent his summers in Asheville playing the rich and powerful on the Grove Park Course.

If you haven't read this far, we understand. You're probably already busy packing your clubs. Thoughts of a visit to the land of mountain golf can easily do that – make people forget what they were doing in the first place.

10/09

 

 

 

 
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