Apple Valley Golf Course at Rumbling Bald Resort on Lake Lure – Played August 2021
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 309 Winesap Road, Lake Lure, North Carolina
- Year: 1986
- Architect: Dan Maples
- Course Access: Resort
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Blue: 6,625 yards, Par 72, 72.5 Rating/143 Slope
- White: 6,100 yards, Par 72, 69.8 Rating/134 Slope
- Yellow: 5,577 yards, Par 72, 67.4 Rating/125 Slope (Men’s), 72.7 Rating/134 Slope (Women’s)
- Silver: 4,898 yards, Par 72, 64.6 Rating/121 Slope
- Red: 4,573 yards, Par 72, 63.2 Rating/120 Slope
- Green: 3,447 yards, Par 72, 61.1 Rating/107 Slope
My friend Vance texted me to let me know his Friday had opened up. That means we were going to try and schedule some golf. We were coming up empty on some of our plans when he suggested Apple Valley.
I had honestly not heard of the course, although I had heard about the Rumbling Bald Resort. We determined we’d give it a shot and got signed up for mid-morning. Lake Lure is about 70 minutes from Greenville, SC. It has some pretty good scenery that the resort features on their website. The resort itself seems to have plenty of activities, but I didn’t sample any of that on my daytrip.
Let’s get into the golf course. I didn’t do a full photo tour, but instead got a few shots that should give you a feel for Apple Valley.
It’s clear the course could benefit from an increased maintenance budget. Sitting in the valley it will collect water and it’s hard to keep something like that pristine. That said, the greens were firm and rolled really well.
The photo below is a 90-degree dogleg right from a severely elevated tee.
The hole below is a solid par four with the creek running through the middle providing ample challenge.
The setting in the open portions of the valley exposed some great mountain views and good holes too (next two photos). This downhill par three was a tough one.
I didn’t love the partially blind tee shot here. Either fully commit to a blind shot or open it up.
Apple Valley is a solid resort course. Don’t go expecting outstanding conditions, especially if there has been a lot of recent rain. I’d like to see it when it plays firmer. You will get some great scenery and you could even see some wildlife. A deer popped out of the trees and walked right in front of us on one tee box!