COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW: Sequoyah National Golf Club By Brian Weis

COURSE PROFILE INTERVIEW: Sequoyah National Golf Club

By Brian Weis

What You Need To Know: Sequoyah National Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Travis Erickson, Group Sales/Retail Manager

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Travis Erickson who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
With panoramic views of the surrounding Smoky Mountains, the beauty of Sequoyah National's property is breath taking from the practice area through the 18th hole. Designer, Robert Trent Jones II, artfully constructed this demanding par 72 course to incorporate five par-5's, five par-3's and five sets of tee-boxes making it exciting for all formats and skill levels.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Our close proximity to Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort and many other WNC attractions in combination with pristine course conditions, Sequoyah National sets itself apart from the rest of the pack. It is truly a unique experience and offers memories for a lifetime.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
1) Play from the appropriate tee box for your skill level. The overall course yardage is misleading because there are dramatic elevation changes throughout the course.

2) Hit to landing areas that you can see. This risk-reward golf course will tempt you, but for first timers I say, "Play it safe."

3) Pay attention to surrounding hills and creeks when reading a green. Try to picture the direction water would flow.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
In 2020 the original Robert Trent Jones II design team headed a bunker renovation and converted all teeing areas, fairways and green surroundings to Zeon zoysia. The bunker project was complete with new drainage, capillary concrete, and G-angle sand and included removing and/or combining many, thus reducing the overall number significantly. The warm weather native Zeon zoysia grass has proven to be a huge upgrade to the playing experience year-round.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
It never gets old hearing guests say, 'it was the best golfing experience they have ever had', whether they played well or not.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Each hole is unique and picturesque, but Hole #15 "Mulberry Place" always gets your attention! From the tee box you can spot Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Lurking below is a drastically downhill, 90-degree dogleg right par-4 that is just short enough to temp most players to try to drive the green and just tight enough to make you hold your breath until your ball has safely landed...or not...LOL

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
I love #3 "Thunder". This par-5 demands accuracy and restraint off the tee. A well-placed tee shot, usually less than driver for most players, will set you up with a reasonable attempt at the green for your second shot. However, beyond the fairway's edges to both sides on this narrow and gradually right bending hole are forests from which recovery is nearly impossible.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Grab a local brew or your favorite classic from the beverage cart or at the cafe and enjoy the view on the back patio while warming up or tallying your score.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
Unfortunately, we do not have lodging onsite.

Local Partners:

Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort
Less than 4 miles away and all guests always get our lowest rates!!
(828) 497-7777
www.harrahscherokee.reservationscenter.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

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
PGA Tour players J.T. Poston, who played at WCU, and Patton Kizzire have both shot 62(-10).

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6502
Slope: 143
Rating: 71.3

More Information
Sequoyah National Golf Club 79 Cahons Rd, Whittier, NC 28789, USA Whittier, NC, 28789 (828) 497-3000
www.sequoyahnational.com/

Revised: 12/16/2024 - Article Viewed 970 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.