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PICTURE the scene: you're standing on a viewing promontory just off Interstate 40 high up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Below lies a valley, coloured by a panoply of gently waving tree tops stretching to the horizon and beyond. The scene imitates an artist's palette as the trees prepare to shed their leaves for autumn. The landscape is drenched in every known hue, the light is so clear it dazzles, the air so fresh you want to bottle it.
Now can you visualise a string of golf courses dotted around in there? Heck, even the detour's worth a detour!
You're heading due west and climbing, up the Interstate 40 to Asheville (population 67,000, altitude 2,500 feet) in the Blue Ridge Mountains and close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The drive is 144 easy miles and with that scenery spread out over much of it, every bend in the road will demand that you stop.
You'll get to Asheville eventually, though, to find another treat in store. It's a handsome city, with much art deco architecture dating from the 1920s. It is the focal point of a region that has long been a mecca for tourists, mainly nature lovers and, these days, golfers.
Which nicely raises our subject matter. There are 52 publicly accessible golf courses within 60 minutes of Asheville but there's no need to travel far. There are six nearby, including one with a rare pedigree overlooked by one of the nation's outstanding hotels.
The Grove Park Inn (pictured below) dates to 1913, has 510 bedrooms and every amenity becoming of a top flight hotel. Anyone with claims to importance or notoriety has stayed there over the years, not least among them eight presidents and a battalion of film stars. Its reputation is legendary.
It reclines elegantly at an altitude of 3,200 feet with views normally reserved for eagles and aviators. Down below, snuggling into 80 acres of emerald woodland, lies a course designed by Donald Ross.
It began as a nine holer at the turn of the century but Ross came along in 1924, worked his usual brand of magic and converted it into the 18 holes still largely extant. In truth his signature is not obvious, but it's hugely enjoyable, which is the raison d'être of a resort course, with three sets of tees, running down from 6,500 yards, all par-70. It's a pretty course where the silence is broken only by the sound of butterfly wings and bird song.
Having come this far you must investigate some other courses, and enjoy a little sight-seeing along the way. Don't miss Mountain Air, a unique country club with a course of unequalled beauty that took several years to build. It's set at one of the highest points in the State, atop a mountain at 4,700 feet. They say the views extend for 100 miles or more, and there's one from every green or tee. See the sunset and you'll never want to leave.
US golfers spend whole vacations in the region. It's easy to see why. The courses are uncrowded and inexpensive as well as breathtaking. Many of the 52 to be found within 60 minutes of Asheville are resort-style, with accommodations and golf packages at prices you wouldn't believe. You'll struggle to pay more than $100 a day, and that's all-inclusive of accommodation, meals and unlimited golf with a cart!
An example is The Colony at Lake Lure, about 50 minutes from Asheville. Here's a family resort covering 1,500 acres with 27 miles of shore line around the lake. There are two courses, Apple Valley and Bald Mountain, named after the edifice which overlooks it, and both are top class. With a variety of accommodations in cottages and condominiums and a club dining room of repute, the Colony wants for nothing and the peace is total.
If you've never had a mountain holiday here's the opportunity to amend that oversight in one of the world's most appealing regions.
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