Golf With Altitude
Golf On A Higher Plain
Want to take your game to new heights? Then it's time you discovered the courses that grace North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountain Golf Trails.
Up here, where the Smoky Mountains weave in and out of the Blue Ridge, you'll find lush fairways, flawless bent-grass greens and mountain scenery so spectacular, you'll have a difficult time keeping your head down.
Here's a quick look at just a few of the fun challenges awaiting you.
The 27-hole Etowah Valley Country Club gives golfers a choice of three distinctive sets of nine holes.
"The whole course here is actually pretty wide open, which surprises a lot of people who have pre-conceived notions of mountain courses," says Hayes Albea, head professional. "On our South nine, all the holes are relatively flat. The North nine, on the other hand, is hillier, with smaller greens. The West nine is a very nice mixture between the other two.
"We've long been known as an excellent championship course, but we've also recently built new tees to make the club more enjoyable for ladies and seniors."
Small wonder Etowah is ranked among Golf Digest's "Top 50 Golf Destinations."
At Mount Mitchell Golf Club, a pristine trout stream runs through the property. And what a spectacular property it is. Nestled in a valley 3,000 feet below the apex of Mt. Mitchell the highest mountain peak east of the Mississippi River – it boasts bent grass from tee to green. It was recently ranked among the top ten public golf courses in the state by North Carolina magazine and received a 4 1/2-star rating from Golf Digest's "Places to Play."
Just minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the appropriately named Smoky Mountain Country Club an 18-hole design by Thomas Walker combining all the best features of mountain golf. Some holes located on gently sloping valley floors; some carved into mountainsides, and some par 3s where you actually hit your tee shot off a mountaintop.
Your round comes to a suitably dramatic finish at the 18th hole, where the landing area is 200 feet below the tee box. So when you get home, you can brag about the 300-yard-plus drive you unleashed heading for the clubhouse - even though the same drive would probably measure about 250 at sea level.
Hey, but who are we to tell?
Other courses in the area:
Black Mountain Golf Club
Broadmoor Golf Links
Cherokee Hills Golf Course
Cleghorn Plantation
Glen Cannon Country Club
Grassy Creek Golf & C.C.
Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa
Highland Lake Golf Club
Marion Lake Club
Meadowbrook Golf Club
Red Fox Country Club
Reems Creek Golf Club
Sequoyah National Golf Club
Springdale C.C.
added: January 17, 2011
updated: March 8, 2013
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