The terrain rich golf courses of the Great Smoky Mountains are receiving rave reviews. Any golfer wanting to improve his or her game will not want to miss the opportunities here. As an added bonus, the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and the neighboring foothills is breathtaking.

Due to a unique landscape of rolling hills and river plains, the courses range from mountainous to flat and everything in between. Players will have to hit the ball uphill, downhill, and sidehill. Visitors to the mountain gateway cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville will find that their mountain golf courses present very different challenges from the ones they find at home.

The four local golf courses - Bent Creek Golf Village, the Gatlinburg Golf Course, Eagle’s Landing Golf Club, and River Islands Golf Club - are all championship courses, each with a distinctive personality. Serious golfers will want to play each of the courses. 

Bent Creek Golf Village lies at the very foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. Divided into two distinct segments, this very challenging golf course lies half in a scenic valley and half in mountainous terrain. Southern Living Magazine rated Bent Creek one of the top 50 golf courses in the South.

The Gatlinburg Golf Course has some of the most dramatic mountainous holes and views found anywhere. This unique and long course has lots of elevated greens, vertical drops, and tight fairways. There’s not one flat fairway to be found, and a golfer will be challenged to play his or her best.

Eagle’s Landing Golf Club was nominated in 1995 for Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Course.” A link-style course, its championship tees stretch for 6,919 yards. The first few holes lie on flat land next to the Little Pigeon River, but the rest are in hilly terrain with some very tight fairways.

River Islands Golf Club, rated four-star by Golf Digest, is the highest rated public golf course in the state of Tennessee. Five exciting holes actually rest on three natural islands in the French Broad River, making it one of the area’s most fascinating, as well as challenging, courses. 

Golfers will find additional variety and new challenges at several outlying golf courses where the terrain is less steep. Each of these courses offers golfers of all skill levels an interesting game. Laurel Valley Golf and Country Club nestles in a picturesque little valley surrounded by mountains, while Baneberry Golf & Resort offers a quiet, relaxing setting by Douglas Lake. The Dandridge Golf & Country Club has 27 holes, and Patriot Hills Golf Club is the area’s newest golf course.

The best times to play are spring and fall when the climate is temperate. In summer, mornings and evenings offer comfortable play times. Playing golf in winter can be unpredictable, but warm days are interspersed with cold days.

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, the beauty and challenge of the Smoky Mountain golf courses will make you want to play golf here all year round.