Reems Creek Golf Club (Weaverville, NC on 08/27/16)

I decided to stick around the area for the rest of the weekend as my golf friend said that he could play again on Sunday. After breakfast with everyone on Saturday morning, I had the rest of the day to kill and decided to check out Reems Creek near Asheville, North Carolina.

I’ve played many of the public courses in Northeast Tennessee so I decided that I’d look to the south for a new place to play. Plus, I wanted another chance to drive on the section of I-26 between Johnson City and Asheville! The interstate is in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is one of my favorite stretches of interstate. I didn’t get any pictures from the drive, but if you get the chance it is worth going out of your way to drive this section of road!

Reems Creek had good reviews and it was convenient to where I was staying, so I thought that I’d check it out. Plus, the pictures that I found of the course were stunning! It took me a little under an hour to get to the course, which is approximately 15 minutes from downtown Asheville. The course is close to the interstate but still very secluded because of its mountain setting!

The surrounding mountains are what makes Reems Creek memorable! There are some downright gorgeous golf holes here with the Blue Ridge Mountains on full display! Most of the holes play in a small, open valley beneath the clubhouse while the perimeter holes are tree lined. There is a nice mix of both of these type of holes on the front and back nines. The setting reminds me a lot of Stoney Creek here in Central Virginia.

I played the Blue tees which are 69.8/132/6492 and left with mixed feelings about the difficulty of the course. On one hand, I was pleased to find that the layout was very player friendly given the topography of the area where the course is located. On the other hand, I think the rating should be higher, somewhere around par!

When I say the course is player friendly, I mean that you can generally find the ball. Except for some of the wooded holes on the perimeter of the course, Reems Creek has an open and inviting feel to it. The fairways aren’t what I would call wide and the tee shots can look intimidating, but there is a lot of grass out there to track down a wayward shot! On the 2nd you can miss through the fairway and on the 7th, 8th, and 15th you can chicken out to the left and still swing at it again.

I think the course should be rated harder because of all the up and down that it has! There are many holes that have shots going downhill on one shot and then back uphill on the next. Calculating the distance, especially at some elevation, became difficult because of this. I couldn’t always figure out where the pins were nor see the slopes on the greens. As a result, I was off balance with my irons all afternoon and didn’t knock anything close. If you catch the course on a busy day, then be on the lookout for incoming shots! I caught up to some groups on the back nine and was always worried if I was going to hit into them because of the semi blind shots. Take the 9th and 18th for example, the drives plays over the top of a rise and then the layups get hit down into a low area. I couldn’t see the group in front on any of those shots!

All in all, I found the design enjoyable and there were some great holes! The 5th and 6th, a short par 4 and mid length 3, respectively were my favorite holes on the front. They play beside a couple ponds and have a great look to them as trees outline their edges! The 11th is my favorite hole on the back nine. It is a downhill par 3 with great views of the area! If you are into golf course photography then stop for some pictures on these holes.

Unfortunately, the conditions left a lot to be desired and there isn’t much of a way for me to get around saying that. The highlight of the maintenance were the greens which were smooth and rolled at a medium pace. If you end up on the proper tier you might be able to run some putts in here! The fairways and rough were very patchy and affected my shot choice. The tees were beat up pretty bad and I struggled to find some grass on them. I’m hoping that I just caught the course at a bad time!

In closing, Reems Creek offers a playable mountain experience which I see as the draw. It shouldn’t hurt you too much either on the scorecard. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about public golf in Asheville so I’d welcome any comments if you are a local! My green fee was a reasonable $40.

#1 (328 yard par 4):