Hendersonville

The small town of Hendersonville is the county seat of Henderson County in the northwest of North Carolina, not far from the Eastern Escarpment. It might be regarded as a little bit off the beaten trail for golfing in the Tar Heel State but it’s here in the Blue Ridge Mountains that Donald Ross laid out an 18-hole course for the members back in the day.

Originally planned in the late 1920s as a residential development called Laurel Park Estates, with a grand hotel built on Hebron Mountain, this ambitious project ground to a halt due to the Great Depression and the municipal authorities took over ownership of the assets. The first nine holes eventually appeared in 1933, with the second nine arriving soon after.

Members originally leased the club from the city but it was purchased just after World War II, allowing the construction of additional amenities such as a swimming pool and tennis courts to proceed. Today, the golf course extends to a modest 6,523 yards and with only two par fives on the scorecard it plays to a par of 70.