CHARLOTTE'S
BALLANTYNE
A
REAL
SOUTHERN
BEAUTY
by MARC ATCHISON
One of
Executive
Traveler
magazine’s
"BEST OF"
series
winners.
Ballanyne’s
spa is
recognized by
Conde
Nast Traveler
magazine as
"One of the top three facilities in
North America", and it's amazing golf course is rated as
"One of the world's great resort course" by PGA Magazine.
You’ll need your best
game face to tackle this “resort” course that is so
tough most professionals
would have a hard time taming its narrow fairways, small greens and long, curly Bermuda rough.
The backdrop at the No. 8 hole is one of the most unique in the world and our only concern here is that this course is too tough a test for most vacationing golfers. However, the challenge keeps people coming and each year 32,000 golfers tee off here.
At $69 US a round, the Ballantyne course may also be the
greatest value among high-end resort courses.
There’s
also a
Dana
Rader
golf
school on
site
and a
world-class
tennis
facility.
Charlotte is where
North
and South
Carolina
intersect and
become the
Carolinas.
There’s many
historical
places from
both
the
Revolutionary
and Civil
wars to explore
and
lots
of Rockwellian
towns to wander.
This is
the heart of
golf country
and
some
of the best
courses on the
continent
are
located here.
Charlotte is also where
stock car racing rules
and
the city recently
won
the
right to build
the
NASCAR
Hall of
Fame.
If you’re visiting Charlotte
for business or pleasure,
Ballantyne is the place to
base yourself. It’s close to
Charlotte’s excellent
international airport and is
far enough from the city’s
hectic downtown
core that you won’t have
many traffic problems.
Book early if you’d like a
spa treatment– remember it takes 6
weeks to get an
appointment.
You might
also like to
take a lesson
at the
resort’s golf school
before tackling the
course,
which many rate
higher
than the
outstanding
Ocean
Course
on Kiawah
Island,
near
Charleston.
For more information on Ballantyne Resort visit
www.ballantyneresort.com.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Marc Atchison is the former Travel and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.
