KDUORWWH·V )LUVW - Carolina Golf Journal

Photo Credit: Beech Mt. Club
been available for several years via
local stay-and-play packages. Approximately
three-fourths of all
lodging operations on the mountain
have club memberships, thus providing
golf access for their guests.
This summer, lodging owners
decided to work with the club to add
a little spice to the stay-and-play
For the third straight year the
North Carolina golf media
team captured the Battle of
the Smokies trophy in the Ryder
Cup style matches held at The
Beech Mountain Club.
The Tar Heel state team,
captained by Keith Jarrett of the
Asheville Citizen-Times, staged a
strong second round and forged to
an insurmountable lead that resulted
in a 43-1/2 to 28-1/2 victory to take
a 3-2 advantage in the yearly event.
For the second time in the three
North Carolina victories, Rich
Rushforth of Star 102.5 FM in Pinehurst
recorded the winning point in
the final day singles matches.
The three-day event was started
in 2008 for bragging rights between
the golf news media of Tennessee
and North Carolina. The Volunteer
state golfers started strong winning
the first two matches at Maggie
Cool temperatures
and a beautiful golf course
showcased at Beech Mt. Club.
packages. The
end result is a
season-long
promise of
comfy temperatures
for longsuffering
legions
of Southern
golfers who
sweat it out each
summer on the
links.
“The great
thing about the
Summer of 79° promotion is there
aren’t many places that can offer a
deal like this,” says Calder Smoot,
chair of the Beech Mountain
Tourism Development Authority.
“We always brag about how cool it
is here in summer. This gives us a
chance to put our money where our
Valley in 2008, and in 2009 hosted
by Beech Mountain Club and Sugar
Mountain Golf Club.
Prior to the 2012 visit to Beech
Mountain again, the competition
was hosted by the Mt. Mitchell
Golf Club
(2010) and
the Primland
Resort (2011).
In addition
to the hospitality
of Beech
Mountain
Club’s General
Manager Brian
Barnes and
host PGA pro
John Carrin,
the Pinnacle
Inn Resort furnished
housing
for the competitors.
Along with
mouth is.”
The Summer of 79° stay-andplay
packages are available May 21
through Oct. 21, 2012. Double occupancy
prices start at $79 per person,
per night, in a standard room with a
two-night minimum. Upgrades to
condos, chalets or vacation homes
are available as well.
“Up here on this mountain with
the cool, crisp air and lower humidity,
it’s just so much more pleasant
to get out and play during summer,”
Barnes says. “Folks who do come
here and experience the course
typically want to come back, and
we want to see them back.”
For full details,
call (800) 468-5506 or visit:
www.BeechMtn.com/summerof79
North Carolina captures a trio of wins
in the Battle of the Smokies By Sam Smith
the excellent dinning provided by
Beech Mountain’s Executive Chef
Roger Cote, the players also enjoyed
breakfast at the Blue Ridge
Cannery, Fred’s General Mercantile
and dinner at Beech Alpen.
North Carolina Team - Front row (left to right) henry Lister, Eric
Eckard, Captain Keith Jarrett, Tom horan and Tom McAuliffe.
Back Row - Betsy Mitchell, Jeff Smith, Sam Smith, Michael Dann,
Chuck Werle and Rich Rushforth. (Not pictured - Craig Distl)
_____________________________________________________________ www.CaRolinaGolfJouRnal.Com - SummeR 2012 - 27
Photo Credit: CRAIG DISTL PR