The mountains around Asheville with their scenic beauty and pleasant climate year-round provide a magnificent setting for a game of golf at one of the area's many public and private golf courses and country clubs. But the primary attractions to mountain golf are lush fairways, sprawling bent grass greens, cool breezes and a gently undulating terrain.

The Asheville region boasts over twenty championship golf courses that offer challenging mountain golf packaged with lodging and dining. In addition, there are over forty resort, municipal and daily-play courses offering the same challenge of the mountain terrain.

Four distinct seasons of play are a highlight of mountain golf. Spring play is popular from late March through May with cool temperatures and the bright colors of spring flowers. Summer offers cooler mountain temperatures than the rest of the humid southern summer, while autumn provides a spectacular display of leaves on the mountain slopes amid warm, sunny days. Winters are the greatest surprise since snows rarely cover the courses for more than a few days and the winter sun often brings daytime temperatures into the 40s and 50s.

The lure of the mountains offered a unique design challenge to the dean of American golf course designers, Donald Ross. He designed several courses in Western North Carolina, including the newly renovated course at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa course. Continuing the tradition, Great Smokies Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort also maintains its own 18-hole championship course.

If you're looking for great year-round golf, come to the exciting city of Charlotte, NC. Charlotte offers beautiful natural settings and a mild climate that allows year-round play. When you're not on the course, you can enjoy entertainment spots, restaurants, and other recreation opportunities. You'll find virtually any type of food and drink you crave, as well as venues featuring live music and entertainment. Depending on the season, you can check out professional baseball, basketball, football and hockey. As a hotbed of NASCAR, there are plenty tours of the racing facilities and shops. The city's situated at the crossroads of I-77 and I-85 (with I-40 nearby), and Charlotte/Douglas International Airport handles over 500 flights daily. The city's location also makes it an ideal spot in which to stop over and play golf while enroute to other areas.

Centrally located halfway between New York and Florida on I-95, Fayetteville is North Carolina's largest city located on this bustling interstate. Thanks to nearby Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, the region offers a wonderful diversity that is every aspect of the community - from festivals and museums, to dining, shopping and entertainment.

The area also offers diversity in golf - in the region, you'll find a great variety of courses for every taste and budget. Courses boast the well-known names of famous course architects like Davis Love III, Ellis Maples, Gene Hamm and Willard Byrd. The same beautiful courses were the training grounds for golfing legends Chip Beck, Raymond Floyd and Marlene Floyd.

Only minutes from Pinehurst, Fayetteville courses offer the same rolling fairways and soft white native sand that made golfing in the Sandhills so popular. Best of all, Fayetteville area courses are relaxed and uncrowded for enjoyable play.

In a recent survey, Golf Digest ranked the Fayetteville area at 95 out of 312 golfing destinations. The same survey put Fayetteville at 52 out of 312 destinations for its value for golfers. Of courses nationwide, that puts Fayetteville in the top 17% in value!

More than any other resort in America, eight courses grace Pinehurst's 2,000-acre landscape. Ross, Fazio, Maples and Jones have left their mark to make each of them a unique test of golf. Try the classic courses, like No. 1 and No. 3, both perfect for an unspoiled afternoon. The championship set presents more of a challenge - but all have stood the test of time.

We suggest you combine a mix of old and new, short and long courses into your next stay, and find the fine nuances in all of them. More importantly, you'll walk where legends have for centuries, and make your own mark as well. And the region's four distinct, yet mild, seasons permit year-round play.

Centrally located in a state known for its outstanding golf, Raleigh has more than enough courses to meet your tee-time needs with more than 20 likeable layouts. Come experience all the amenities of city life, served Carolina style.

The recipe for any great golf destination must, of course, include the main ingredient -- quality golf courses. Over the past 15 years, the Capital City area has witnessed an explosion in quality golf courses that are must-plays for any visitor to the area. But like all recipes, it's the extra spices and special seasonings that really boost the flavor. For golf destinations that means the abundance and availability of things to do while the clubs are in the trunk. And they must be combined in such a way as to all be easily accessible. It is the combination of all these ingredients that makes Raleigh a tasty place to play.

The area's central location on the East Coast of the United States makes it easy to get here from almost any direction. Raleigh-Durham International Airport offers more than 400 flights daily. And Interstate 40 runs through Raleigh while I-95 and I-85 pass within 25 miles.

This area's Scottish Heritage and turn of the century villages makes our golf culture come alive. The Sandhills extends to include many other communities also known for its beautiful landscapes and challenging golf. Located halfway between New York and Florida, and halfway between Appalachian Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, the Sandhills is without a doubt one of the most scenic and enjoyable destinations in the world.

The region's courses are as beautiful as they are challenging. Well-manicured greens meander through stands of stately pines and magnolias and along sparkling lakes. And the region's four distinct, yet mild, seasons permit year-round play.