Linville Golf Club
Linville Golf Club, is a Resort, 18 hole golf course located in Linville, North Carolina.
Designed by Donald Ross in 1924, the championship 18-hole course at the Linville Golf Club is open to members and to guests of The Eseeola Lodge. Tucked away in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, players are surrounded by breathtaking mountain scenery and a creek that winds its way across the beautifully conditioned fairways. Linville Golf Club is one of the most esteemed in North Carolina:
The historic course was North Carolina’s first golf facility, opening a few holes at a time in 1895. The resort had 14 holes by 1900, was hosting tournaments in 1910 and had a full-time professional.
The Linville layout, at an elevation of 3712 feet, was built on a picturesque 130-acre tract to help attract guests to the Eseeola Lodge, which was opened in 1892. The lodge, on the national register of historic places, will begin its 117th year as a popular mountain destination in May of 2009.
Ross, who was living in Pinehurst, designed the current layout, which was begun in 1924 and completed in 1926, using mules and pans to carve out its spectacular mountain setting.
Linville Golf Club is located in a valley beneath Grandfather Mountain and features many changes in elevation. The fairways are severely sloping, and the small greens are fast and slightly undulating. The valley creek runs through the course and must be crossed at least fourteen times. The signature hole is #3, a 449-yard, par 4, requiring a tee shot over the crest of a hill to a valley, then uphill approach shots over the creek twice to a small green.
Linville Golf Club plays to a par of 72 and a maximum distance of 6,780 yards for a course rating of 72.0 and a slope rating of 132.
Greatest 100 Holes of Golf (Linville Golf Club Hole-3, Par-4) — Golfweek
Recognized for Excellence - America's Top Rated Golf Courses (Course: 28, Facilities: 24, Service: 25, Value: 28) — ZAGAT Survey 2006/2007
Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2006-2007 #40 — Golf Magazine