Roll Call: North Carolina

Community Center
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: March 15, 2022

City of Asheville | Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities

Media contact: Chris Corl, Harrah’s Cherokee Center General Manager

828-259-5452 | ccorl@ashevillenc.gov

PRESS RELEASE: City of Asheville seeking public input on the Municipal Golf Course

The City of Asheville Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities Department is soliciting qualified companies to manage the day to day operations of the municipal golf course. In February a Request For Qualifications was issued with a closing date of March 22, 2022. After companies submit Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications, staff will begin negotiation of terms and conditions to ultimately select and contract with the company that submitted the most advantageous offer for the City in relation to the long term well being of the historic course, the neighborhoods in the vicinity and key stakeholders; area golfers.

We want your input

A public meeting will be held on March 29th in the East Asheville Library meeting room at 6:00 pm. We are looking for community and stakeholder input to help guide the negotiations and subsequent contract with a new operator or an extension with the current operator Pope Golf LLC.

Unable to attend? Please complete this SURVEY to provide your input.

Background

The Asheville Municipal Golf Course is owned by the City of Asheville and affectionately known by its patrons as the “Muni.” It is one of the oldest golf courses in Western North Carolina, having opened in 1927. A Donald Ross layout, it measures 6,379 from the championship tees and plays to a par 72. The course is heavily played, with an average of 41,600 starts per calendar year, 20% of which are started by annual passholders. The front nine is flat and wide open, while the back nine is tree-lined, with tight fairways, very hilly, and requires accuracy on every shot. The front nine and back nine are completely different, giving the golfers a wide variety of shot opportunities during their 18 holes of play. The course was the first integrated golf course in the southeast.

In 2020, a local filmmaker documented a brief history of the course including the history of its prized annual Skyview Tournament. The documentary aired on PBS and on the Golf Channel and can be viewed here: The Muni | Stories From A Public Golf Course - YouTube

For more information about the Asheville Municipal Golf Course, visit https://www.ashevillegc.com/

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Not sure if we have any other Asheville refugees, but I thought I’d share this. Asheville Muni is a great course with a rich history, but she needs some TLC.

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Do I good a good chance to play the Cradle without staying at a Pinehurst property? I do know I have to call for a tee time the day before. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The date is April 3rd.

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Are you solo or a crew? That will greatly dictate your chances…

Solo you can show up and being there they will find a way.

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My wife and I

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Saturday in April May be tough.

If you get shut out, hit up the Bottlebrush at Longleaf.

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5343

this is a good call for sure

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Yeah although it was pretty difficult to see your ball after the first hole I did enjoy the twilight walk on the BB post-Vibestock rounds. I do want to go back and play LL 1-18 because I was lost between the two rounds lol

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If any of you Carolinians want to make it down to Athens for the UGA course this June, sign up are now live…More details to come

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I’m looking forward to this one. My wife has some friends and family in Athens, so got an easy yes for this! I will mention that the First Flight Roost does have an event at Wilmington Muni on the same day and will probably draw a big crowd.

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Hey crew, heading out to Charleston for a wedding the weekend of May 15. Making my way down a week early to stop by our Charlotte office and then taking Thursday/Friday off to golf around there (12th &. 13th). Was thinking it’s worth it to go a bit out of the way and head to the Pinehurst area and see what it’s all about. Thoughts on a game plan and anyone want to join? Initial thoughts was to hit Tobacco Road and maybe a Pinehurst round (maybe 2 or 4), or maybe try and get on to southern or mid pines. Let me know what y’all think!

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if you wanna play 2 or 4 you need to stay on site and call ASAP imo

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All great options but getting on is tough even for members depending on your flexibility. Good luck though…Plenty of other good options in that area if those don’t work out though…

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Should be able to get on TR without issue, but I was in Pinehurst two weeks ago and was told 2 and 4 are booked out like 18 months. Worth a shot to grab a cancellation or something but definitely want to get on that ASAP. We played No. 8 and No. 6 and loved both of them. It’s even worth it to just head over to the main clubhouse, try and get on the Cradle, hit Thistle Dhu or even grab a drink at the Cradle Crossing and watch some play. Just a super vibe anywhere you go there. (Also if you’re a bourbon guy I found out that Woodford makes 3 different Pinehurst bourbons, had no idea. They have it at bar in The Deuce and all three are killer).

Plenty of great options in the area if 2 or 4 don’t work out. I would never pass up a chance to play Southern Pines, especially after the restoration. Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Mid South all very nice and very fun.

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Great intel. Sounds like i’ll save the Pinehurst rounds for when I can make an actual trip out of it then, but I love the idea of checking it out after work for an evening and making a pit stop at The Duece, always down to try some quality Bourbon!

Sounds like the move then for my other rounds is trying to hit 36 at some combo of mid pines/southern pines/pine needles, then maybe TR Friday morning for 18 before I head out of town. Check out as much as I can while there.

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Enjoy! It’s just a really special place.

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Is Forest Oaks in Greensboro in good shape right now? Seems like great value for $40.

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Played it on Friday, greens are good and fairways are still mostly brown. I would say good shape for this time of year.

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IIRC they have bentgrass greens, I’d call and verify if they’ve been punched or not.

Edit: just saw that @bigcheese played recently. Might just want to keep an eye on the aerification schedule if going to play in the next couple weeks

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Hey All - I’m relatively new to North Carolina, and am living in Raleigh. I just started the package plan at Lonnie Poole and heard this was a great group to join. I also saw in the email earlier about getting connected to the local Roost, so wanted some information about that. Looking forward to connecting and playing with everyone!

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