COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW 2: Sequoyah National Golf Club By Brian Weis

COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW 2: Sequoyah National Golf Club

By Brian Weis

Golf Course Overview:

Insights From An Insider With Travis Erickson, Group Sales/Retail Manager terickson@kempersports.com

Local and traveling golfers love to research courses before playing them, whether it is to gain some local knowledge or to set an expectation before their upcoming round. Below is an interview with Travis Erickson who shares some valuable insight about the property, its most talked about holes and the signature dish/drink to consume at the 19th hole.

How Does Your Course Differ From The Others In The Area?
Sequoyah National feels and plays like a private course. But unlike most of those, we are open all year! There are no homes on the course, in fact you are more likely to see a flock of wild turkey than a passing car.

For someone who has not played the course in awhile, has there been any new changes/renovations to the course or property?
In 2020 the original Robert Trent Jones II design team lead a bunker renovation and grass conversion project. Every bunker on the course was completely reconstructed starting with new drainage and a capillary concrete foundation then packed with G-angle sand. Many bunkers were either removed or combined bringing down the total number of bunkers. All the tee boxes, fairways, and green surroundings were converted to Zeon Zoysia. This warm weather grass has proven to be a huge upgrade to playing conditions all year round.

What is your course's answer to Amen Corner? (Describe your best/hardest 3 back/back/back holes)
Every hole at Sequoyah National can reward you with a Birdie (or better) or punish even the smallest miss with a Double Bogey or worse!

What is your course's claim to fame, or is there a little known fact that golfers should know about the property?
Bring your camera! There are endless picture worthy views from the moment you arrive to the clubhouse.

What tournaments/events have you (recently) hosted or will be hosting? Or any recent awards?
Sequoyah National annually hosts the Carolina's Section PGA Pro-Am
Notah Begay III Junior National Championship - September 2023

Besides golf, what other amenities do you offer if a golfer wants to spend most of the day at your facility?

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
Sequoyah National does not have on-site lodging. Here are some recommendations to help you.

Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort
Less than 4 miles away and all guests always get our lowest rates!!
(828) 497-7777
https://harrahscherokee.reservationscenter.com/
Stacy Pegg (Property Sales Manager) - stpegg@harrahs.com
Heath Brown (Convention Services Manager) - hbrown4@harrahs.com

Smoky Mountain Country Club
Nearby Club with on-course cabin rentals.
(828) 497-2772
www.smcclodging.com/
Ben Cornblum - ben@carolinamountaingolf.com

First Tee Mountain Golf
Partners with many local courses and lodging options.
(803) 761-0047
www.ftmntgolf.com/
Buck Blum - buck@firstteemountaingolf.com

My Golf Vacations/Golf Excursions
Partners with many local courses and lodging options.
(888) 833-7707
www.mygolfvacation.com/
Mark Massero - mgvacation2@gmail.com

What is your signature dish, sandwich or drink at the turn or restaurant?
The Sequoyah National Cafe serves all the classics including locally brewed craft beers!

Contact Course
79 Cahons Rd Whittier, NC, 28789 18284973000
www.sequoyahnational.com/

Revised: 12/16/2024 - Article Viewed 1,002 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.