Southeast
Southeast
Asheville, North Carolina
Two Donald Ross originals, a 1913 stone resort perched over the Blue Ridge, and the best food-and-beer town in the mountain South.
Overview
Asheville is the rare golf destination where the town would justify the trip on its own. Tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina at 2,100 to 2,800 feet, it pairs cool mountain mornings and long-range ridgeline views with a downtown that punches far above its size: James Beard-caliber restaurants, more than thirty breweries, and an arts district built out of old industrial bones. This is the destination for groups who want serious golf but refuse to eat resort buffet three nights running.
The golf here runs on Donald Ross pedigree. The Omni Grove Park Inn course, a 1926 Ross laid across the slope below the resort's granite facade, is only a par 70 at 6,001 yards, and it does not care: the panoramic Blue Ridge backdrop and the tumbling terrain are the point. Asheville Municipal, another Ross from 1927, sits on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the genuine bargains in Southeastern golf at $40 to $60, though the front nine is under restoration through 2026 so call before you count on it. Black Mountain Golf Course, the oldest track in the area, and Reems Creek Golf Club up in Weaverville round out a rotation that stays well under premium-resort pricing.
Practically, this is a car trip built around a walkable base. Asheville Regional is fifteen minutes from downtown with a growing list of nonstops, courses sit ten to thirty-five minutes apart, and the Blue Ridge Parkway threads past most of them if you want the scenic route. Groups of four to eight fit perfectly: mixed skill levels are fine on these forgiving yardages, non-golfers have an entire city to work with, and the altitude adds a real but manageable 4 to 6 percent to your carry. Plan at least one non-golf day. Everyone who skips it regrets it.
Courses · 4
Omni Grove Park Inn
Resort/Public · Moderate
$95-$150
Best for: Mixed-skill groups and anyone who wants the view round. At 6,001 yards nobody gets embarrassed, and the scenery does the heavy lifting.
Insider tip: Do not judge this course by the scorecard. Par 70 at 6,001 yards sounds like a pitch-and-putt until the elevation changes start distorting every yardage, and at roughly 2,400 feet you are also picking up 4-6 percent of carry. Take one less club than instinct says on the downhill shots and expect to guess wrong at least twice.
Asheville Municipal Golf Course
Public (Municipal) · Moderate
$40-$60
Best for: Value hunters and Ross devotees. The best dollar-for-architecture round in western North Carolina when the full eighteen is in play.
Insider tip: This is a 1927 Ross on the National Register selling tee times for forty dollars, which makes it the best value in the region, but only if the restoration schedule cooperates. Call two days before you drive over. The greens read faster than the mowing height suggests because of how Ross tilted them into the hillside, and the altitude carry bump means your wedges land hotter than they should.
Black Mountain Golf Course
Public · Approachable
$35-$55
Best for: The relaxed round. Arrival-day warm-up, an inexpensive second eighteen, or the day the group wants golf without a scorecard argument.
Insider tip: The oldest course in the area and it plays like it, in the good way: short walks between greens and tees, no forced carries, and a lot of character per dollar. Use it to calibrate your altitude yardages, since the 4-6 percent carry gain at this elevation is much cheaper to learn here than at $150 up at the Grove Park. The valley holds morning fog longer than town, so skip the very first tee time.
Reems Creek Golf Club
Semi-Private · Championship
$45-$75
Best for: The strongest players in the group. Of the four, this is the one that demands real shotmaking and rewards a good ball-striker.
Insider tip: Fred Hawtree, whose family shaped courses across Britain and Ireland, routed this through the Reems Creek valley in Weaverville and the result is the most demanding golf in the rotation. The elevation changes here are steep enough that they matter more than the 4-6 percent altitude carry gain, so play the shot shape before you play the number. Fifteen minutes north of downtown.
Lodging
Premium
The Omni Grove Park Inn
$300-$700The legendary 1913 granite resort above the city, with the Ross course, a subterranean spa carved into the mountain, and Sunset Terrace all on-site. Staying here buys priority tee times and the ability to play, spa, and eat without touching a car key. It is the splurge, and for a milestone trip it earns it. Ask about golf packages rather than booking room and round separately.
Foundry Hotel Asheville
$250-$500A former steel factory in the Arts District turned into a genuinely handsome luxury boutique, with exposed structure and a strong bar. Walking distance to downtown dining and the South Slope brewery district. Better for a group that wants the town at the center of the trip rather than a resort campus.
Mid-Range
AC Hotel by Marriott Asheville Downtown
$200-$350Modern, efficient, and dropped right in the middle of downtown, steps from restaurants and breweries. The rooftop bar has the best in-town view of the mountains and is a reliable place to reconvene after golf. The practical choice when the budget belongs on tee times and dinner.
Budget
Mountain cabin rentals (various)
$125-$350Hundreds of cabins scattered through the mountains around Asheville, many with hot tubs, decks, and long views. Split three or four bedrooms across a group and the per-person cost drops well below any hotel here. The tradeoff is a fifteen to thirty minute drive into town and a designated driver every night. Book October well in advance.
Dining
Cúrate
$$$Spanish / Tapas
James Beard-nominated and the restaurant Asheville is most proud of, serving Barcelona-style tapas at a long bar and a tight dining room. Order broadly and share, which suits a golf group better than it sounds. Reservations open a month out and go fast, so book this before you book tee times.
Sunset Terrace at Grove Park Inn
$$$$American
Steaks and seafood on the resort's stone terrace with the Blue Ridge going orange behind you. It is the most expensive meal of the trip and the one everyone photographs. Time the reservation for roughly forty-five minutes before sunset.
12 Bones Smokehouse
$BBQ
The cash-only barbecue institution where Obama ate twice, known for blueberry-chipotle ribs and a line out the door. Lunch service on weekdays, so slot it between rounds rather than planning it for dinner. Bring actual cash.
Wicked Weed Brewing
$$Brewpub
The flagship of Asheville's craft beer scene, with a full kitchen and enough room to absorb a group without a reservation. The right first stop when you land and the right last stop after the round. The sour program at the nearby Funkatorium is the serious version.
Benne on Eagle
$$$Southern / Heritage
Chef Ashleigh Shanti's tribute to the Black culinary traditions of Asheville's historic Eagle Street, and the most interesting cooking in town. Southern food treated as archive rather than nostalgia. Reserve ahead, especially on weekends.
Pro Tips
- 1
Asheville is a food and beer city that happens to have golf, not the other way around. Build in at least one non-golf day for downtown and the thirty-plus breweries, or you will leave feeling like you missed the destination.
- 2
The Omni Grove Park Inn course is par 70 at 6,001 yards, and it is about the views, not the yardage. Go in expecting a scenic walk with real elevation change instead of a championship test and you will enjoy it far more.
- 3
October is peak for both golf and foliage, and lodging rates spike accordingly. Book six weeks out minimum, or shift to late September or the first week of November for most of the color at a fraction of the price.
- 4
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs minutes from nearly every course in the rotation. Build an extra hour into your drive back and take the Parkway instead of the highway, especially in late afternoon light.
- 5
Asheville Municipal is a Donald Ross for forty dollars, which is absurd, but the front nine is under restoration through 2026. Call the pro shop two days before your round and confirm what is actually open.
- 6
At 2,100 to 2,800 feet you gain roughly 4-6 percent of carry, though the elevation changes on these mountain routings distort yardages more than the altitude does. Play a cheap warm-up round at Black Mountain or Asheville Muni before you spend $150 at the Grove Park.
Sample Itineraries
weekend getaway
3 daysDay 1: Fly into AVL, drop bags downtown, and shake off the travel with an inexpensive afternoon eighteen at Black Mountain Golf Course; dinner and a first round of beers at Wicked Weed Brewing. Day 2: Morning round at Omni Grove Park Inn with the full Blue Ridge panorama, afternoon on the South Slope or in the River Arts District, then the big dinner at Cúrate. Day 3: Early round at Asheville Municipal if the restoration allows, otherwise Reems Creek Golf Club; lunch at 12 Bones, a short run up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and out of AVL in the evening.
full trip
5 daysDay 1: Arrive at AVL, settle into a mountain cabin or the AC Hotel downtown, warm up at Black Mountain Golf Course, and eat casually at Wicked Weed Brewing. Day 2: Morning round at Reems Creek Golf Club in Weaverville, the toughest test of the trip, then dinner at Benne on Eagle. Day 3: The marquee day, eighteen at Omni Grove Park Inn followed by the subterranean spa for whoever wants it and Sunset Terrace on the resort's stone porch at golden hour. Day 4: The non-golf day everyone doubts and nobody regrets: Biltmore Estate in the morning, a Blue Ridge Parkway drive with a stop at Chimney Rock, and dinner at Cúrate. Day 5: Morning round at Asheville Municipal for the Ross history and the forty-dollar green fee (call ahead about the front nine), a cash-only lunch at 12 Bones, and depart.
Ready to play Asheville?
Tell Alfred about your group and he'll build the trip — courses, lodging, dining, logistics, everything.
Plan a Trip to Asheville