TOUR OPERATOR INTERVIEW: Western NC Mountains By Brian Weis

TOUR OPERATOR INTERVIEW: Western NC Mountains

By Brian Weis

Working With A Golf Tour Operator Traveling To Western NC Mountains

An Interview With Buck Blum, Owner from First Tee Mountain Golf

Looking to plan the perfect golf trip to Western NC Mountains? Planning a buddies trip or a romantic golf getaway can be a full time job not to mention pressure filled to deliver a memorable experience. Below is an interview with Buck Blum, Owner from First Tee Mountain Golf who shares some insider information about traveling to Western NC Mountains.

please provide a brief company overview and why you enjoy being a golf tour operator?
first tee mountain golf was established in 2001 to offer golf packages for individuals, groups, or corporate outings to experience a golf vacation at affordable rates on some of the most beautiful courses in the country in the western North Carolina area.

First tee mountain golf is your leading booking company for North Carolina golf packages. Travelers have known about the riches of North Carolinas mountains for more than a century. Lowlanders traveled to the mountains for vacations to escape the summertime heat long before golf came to America. When the game did blossom, it didn't take long for the mountain area to embrace it.

Come enjoy panoramic views from elevated tees, the challenge of golf holes that run uphill, downhill, and side hill, and putting on greens that are sometimes etched around mountain streams and lakes. Golfing in the western nc mountains presents the variety of play where you may just find yourself hitting your first 300+ yard drive, going for a risky par 5 or taking way more break on a side-hill putt than you think is possible.

The mountain region starts in the extreme western North Carolina corner beside the Tennessee and Georgia borders and runs eastward through the city of Asheville and into the northwest corner of the state. Asheville is a short 2 hour drive from Knoxville, 3 hours from Atlanta, or 4 hours from Pinehurst and the sand hills region.

What tips might you share with travelers as they start planning their golf trip? (general golf travel plans)
It's important to know when, both time of year and time of the week, you would like to come, how many golfers you have, the number of rounds you'd like to play, the type of accommodations you prefer (House, Hotel, Bed n Breakfast, Villa, how many to a bedroom, willingness to use of bunk beds/sofa beds, etc...), type of golf courses you prefer (private, premier and/or value) and your approximate budget.

What benefits can your business provide traveling golfers?
Being a one stop shop for your golf trip planning needs, we can provide access to course tee sheets months in advance of your trip. We have access to many private courses not available to the public. We know when the courses are scheduled for seasonal maintenance, closed for private events or not in the best conditions to play. We are your single point of contact for all your questions and concerns through out the process from the planning all the way through the last putt drops. We can also offer recommendations for other activities to supplement your golfing enjoyment such as day spas, fly fishing, river tubing, restaurants, breweries and wineries.

Any tips on working with you or golf travel operator?
As your needs change let us know as soon as you can. The sooner we know about issues the better we will be able to address them.

How can traveling golfers get a hold of you to start the trip process?
Call us at 803-761-0047 or complete the visit us at http://www.ftmtngolf.com/proposal and fill out a proposal request to get started.

First Tee Mountain Golf
Buck Blum - Owner
buck@ftmtngolf.com
(803) 761-0047

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Revised: 04/13/2023 - Article Viewed 2,872 Times

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.