Maggie Valley, NC - Great Mountain Golf

by HENRY LISTER, OTBCP Host

Mention the phrase "mountain golf" and you will receive a variety of reactions. Such reactions typically are based on the golfer's last experience with the highs and lows of playing on less than flat land.  But everyone agrees that there is nothing like mountain golf. There are the views, of course,

that feature water falls, rock outcrops and cliffs, and distant vistas combining peak and valley. But there is also the wide variety of plants as well as the experience of observing wild animals not often seen at the home club in town.

Deep in the mountains of North Carolina, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, sits Maggie Valley Club, a golfing institution since 1963. The 18-hole course just sort of emerged when Wilmore Bremmer seeded the fairways by hand. Today, the fully irrigated course is a state-of-the-art course that hosts a variety of championship golf events each year. The course's front nine is situated in the bottom land of the hollow into which the club is built, and is actually fairly easy to walk.  But then, the back nine climbs up the valley walls, which not only creates some of the great views on the course but the most challenging and difficult shots of the day.

It had been over 3 years since my last visit to Maggie Valley Club, and I was not sure that I had come to the right place.  The new clubhouse was shockingly new, even with its attempt at rustic charm, but the layout was a welcome relief.  Some buildings above the clubhouse were removed, opening vistas to the surrounding mountain peaks unseen before these changes. I only moderately enjoyed the course on my round three years previously, as the course was a bit uneven in its condition. But after my round this past spring, the level of enjoyment rose to the quality of the changes that were brought to overall course condition.  It passed my one true test about the quality of a course; I wanted to play it again tomorrow.

Those more familiar with the course may also become a bit disoriented when they look for Alexander Drive, the road that used to cut across the middle of holes one, six and eight on the front nine, and find that it is gone. Alexander Drive never had the allure of the Road Hole at St. Andrews, admits head golf pro Mike Fox, so its absence will not be sorely missed. No more trying to miss (or hit, as your desire may have been) cars traversing the course.  And with the additional drainage work on the front nine, the course presents a pristine and idyllic pasture in which to chase your little white ball.

Don't let the 6466 back tee yardage fool you. for example, the 450-yard par 5 thirteenth hole looks tame on paper.  In reality, its uphill tack makes it a tiger by the tale and tough to reach with three good shots. I mean, it's REALLY uphill. The joy comes on the seventeenth, when you hit downhill to a 330-yard par 4 that looks driveable for even modest hitters such as your author.  However, a slight dogleg left brings trees and a brook into play, while heading to the right can cause you to go across a road out of bounds and the ball falls headlong downhill from your attempt to reach the green.

While the golf itself can bring you either tremendous joy or heartbreak, you will find the newly renovated clubhouse the perfect place to celebrate your day or salve your wounds. Guests from previous visits will barely recognize the 18,000-square-foot building with its rustic Appalachian exterior of stone and beam.  Redesigned dining areas, locker rooms, a new fitness center, gathering and conference rooms, and an upscale detached golf shop provide a feeling of casual elegance.

Green fee rates remain extremely reasonable for the outside golfer. But the club is planning to become a member's only club, so every golfer who loves mountain golf should make the drive to the edge of the national forest and experience the new Maggie Valley Club. It really is a treat.