Mountain Man Trip, Part 1...

Maybe it was just me, but this past winter (at least I think it is passed) seemed particularly snowy and cold.  Perhaps it is just that I am getting older.  Maybe it is just that I am getting more impatient with snow and ice.  And maybe it is just that I was particularly anxious to get out and play some golf.  Whatever it was, I found myself looking for accommodations for our annual golf trip a little earlier this year, with more anticipation, and higher expectations. 

I wanted to try a mountain course or courses this year so I looked for something in North Carolina that might offer not only good golf, a complete absence of snow, and good Bar-B-Que, but also great, mountainous scenery.  I thought it might also be a good idea to avoid any area where there might be an NCAA tournament game, so I picked the Asheville area.  My Google search came up with a great place called The Smoky Mountain Country Club.  Their golf course looked pretty nice and when I talked to the coordinator, Mike C., I told him we also wanted to play at least three courses in the area, nice ones, and have the option to play 27 holes each of the first two days.  Mike did a great job of getting us lined up to play his course as well as The Waynesville Country Club and the Maggie Valley Country Club.  Even though Mother Nature didn't cooperate with us and we were not able to play the Maggie Valley Course, we had a great time at Smoky Mountain and Waynesville.

The Smoky Mountain course was literally carved out of the mountains.  Fairways wound their way up through valleys, and greens had a habit of falling off the mountain on three sides.  Accuracy was pretty important -- and sometimes lacking in our group.  Given the loss factor in our foursome, we pretty much insured continued golf ball sales for several years to come.

I have to apologize for my lack of pictures.  I was so into the game that I forgot to take a lot of them.  I also forgot to take my good camera with us so I had to use my phone for shots.

This particular hole appeared to be cut from the top of a small hilltop.  The T-box was to the far left and you had to hit a 3 wood to a spot down near the end of the fairway.  Then you had to line up a shot that went over the cliff to a green that was another 150 yards away from the bottom of the cliff (and of course, it was surrounded by sand traps). Following your shot over the cliff, you then had to drive your golf cart down the side of the mountain/hill (?), winding back and forth until you got to the bottom.  What a great hole.


This hole featured a fairway that had a mountain side to the right coming down to the fairway and a drop-off to the left side.  If that wasn't enough to scare you, the small  green was elevated, fell off into a creek on two sides, and was sloped back toward the fairway.  If you missed the putt, the ball almost surely ran back down into the fairway for about 10-15 yards.  In these pictures, you can see the uphill drive (left picture) and the elevated green back by the condos.  This was a pretty good challenge.

Again, I apologize for the lack of pictures on the Smoky Mountain course.  Sometimes you get caught up in playing the game and forget everything else. 

Chuck was in pretty good form.

Oh, did I say "FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE" ???  Well one of the things that is very clearly outlined in the OPORD (it's an Army thing -- an Operations Order I publish prior to the trip to give all the details to the guys, just like I used to do with troops.  Old habits are hard to break.) that all participants are to take every precaution not to forget or lose anything on the field of battle because there would be very limited recovery assets available.  Well, it seems one of our party (Whoever it was --see left -- will remain unidentified) "lost" his 3-hybrid club one one of the holes and couldn't recall which one.  We duly notified the club managers, the cart guy, Mike C., the North Carolina National Guard, all local residents within a five mile radius, and even the local sheriff, who searched every foursome on the course that day.  Fortunately, the club showed up the next day.  If offered any of four or five possible scenarios for its possible recovery, how many of you would have chosen the one that had it in Dave's bag all along?  You would have been absolutely correct if you had !!!  Oh well, at least he had the club back although it wouldn't have mattered -- he says he can't hit that club anyway.

                                         We also were able to play the Waynesville course.  It was quite a bit different from Smoky Mountain.  This was an old school country club.  It had that look and feel to it when we pulled into the parking lot.  There was a very nice looking lodging area and I am sure it is filled in the summer and fall. This course had 27 holes and I shot a pretty good round (43, 39, 44).   Check out these mid-season forms.  Not bad for this early in the year. The one on the left kinda looks like I had divine inspiration shining down on me.

Playing the Waynesville course was also enjoyable because the temperatures were in the 60s and it was very sunny.  And although it was an old school country club layout, we also got a pretty good variation in elevations and enjoyed some good scenery.  If you click on the picture to the right, (a par 3 shooting from an elevated tee to a small green 178 yards away with a creek on the left and OB long and right) you will see green grass all around, some trees beginning to pop some buds, and snow on the mountain top in the background.  What a variety of natural beauty that was especially welcomed after this winter.

So now my batteries are recharged and I am once again ready to take on the challenges of Ohio weather, golfing at The Oaks, and doing yard work. But I can't wait to go back there and see these places in the summer or fall.  Shold be even better.

You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, makes all the putts, and never hits one out of bounds.

Hooah