Omni Grove Park Inn Golf Club

The Omni Grove Park Inn's course sits on the western slope of Sunset Mountain in Asheville, North Carolina, at just over 6,400 yards par 70, short by modern standards, but the Blue Ridge Mountain elevation changes and Donald Ross green complexes do the defending. Originally laid out in 1899 as one of the oldest courses in the Southeast, it was rebuilt by Donald Ross in 1926 and most recently restored by Kris Spence. The routing is one of Ross's few mountain courses and one of the more dramatic settings in his catalog. Ross worked with the slope rather than against it, fairways ride ridges and valleys, and greens are typically perched above or below fairway approaches, with the signature Ross pitched slopes that reject balls toward collection areas. The bent-grass greens play firm; in summer the course plays much shorter than its yardage suggests because of the elevation-assisted drives. Views of the Blue Ridge show from every hole, especially the high points on the back nine, where downtown Asheville sits in the valley below. The course has been acknowledged by Golfweek as one of the Top Resort Golf Courses in North Carolina. For an Asheville mountain trip, it's the marquee round, pair with Linville Ridge or Grove Park's sister property Blue Ridge Resort for a 2-3 day mountain itinerary that swings from historic Ross to modern mountain design.