North/West at Etowah Valley Country Club & Golf Lodge

I recently had the opportunity to play at the Etowah Valley Golf Course and had a somewhat disappointing experience. The course has three 9-hole courses, we played the North/South combo. Unfortunately the courses, especially the North Course, had drawbacks that significantly impacted the overall enjoyment of the game.

Starting with the North Course, one minor grievance was the kitchen was closed at the turn, which happened around 5pm. This was quite inconvenient for players who wanted to grab a quick bite to eat during their round. Although the bar was open, the lack of basic hot dogs was disappointing.

Another issue on the North Course was the inconsistency between the pin positions and the GPS system in the cart. It was frustrating to rely on the GPS for accurate distances and then find out that the pin was in a different location. Additionally, it was evident that the pins had recently been moved, but the old holes had not been filled, which created an unappealing and inconsistent putting surface.

Furthermore, the bunkers on the North Course were in extremely poor condition. They had not been raked, and there was noticeable growth, ranging from minor to major, which detracted from the overall aesthetic appeal. Additionally, there were major drainage problems, making it challenging or impossible to play out of the bunkers effectively.

On the South Course, one of the main issues was that it was designated as "Cart Path Only." While this is sometimes necessary for maintenance purposes, it significantly affects the pace of play and limits the overall experience of navigating the course freely.

Moreover, there was a technical issue with the cart locking itself on the cart path when the GPS mistakenly believed that we had entered the fairway. This unexpected occurrence disrupted the flow of the game and created unnecessary inconvenience.

On a positive note, the greens on both courses were well maintained and in nice shape.
Taking everything into consideration, I have mixed feelings about the Etowah Valley Golf Course. While the greens were in good condition, no food, unfilled pins and pin position mismatch, bunker maintenance, drainage problems, cart restrictions, and technical glitches dampened the overall experience. At a price point of $47, I would hesitate to play this course again unless significant improvements are made to address the aforementioned concerns.

I played the south course today. It was in nice condition overall and I really enjoyed the layout. The staff in the pro shop where very polite and easy going. I will be back again soon!

Had groups of 4 stacked on top of each other, pretty unfortunate to have such a slow outing on a Tuesday afternoon.

Went on a vacation and this course was only 5 mins from where we were staying. The Senior rate was $32 for 9 holes (with cart). It had 27 holes and when we called to make a tee time the South course was closed so we were booked on the West course.

This review (as all my reviews) are from the forward tees.

First impressions - the website said it was a "resort" course so when we pulled into the parking lot we were a bit surprised because it did not have a "resort" vibe at all. It looked like your local older muni that you only play because it's inexpensive. Looking back at the history section of the website, it was built in 1964 and the buildings definitely have that 1970s look. But just because the buildings have an "old school" feel doesn't mean the course won't be excellent. Well, the course fit the buildings.

I will say the staff was great! All very friendly and helpful from the Proshop to the starter/ranger.

As my title states the course has good bones. It's pretty, the 9 holes we played on the WEST course had some variety, the greens had undulation (so depending on pin placement could be tricky). All good.

However, the conditions of the fairways were just awful, the bunkers were in terrible condition (lucky for me I did not end up in any) and really took away from the golf experience. Yes, NC and SC have had a lot of rain this spring but I've played a lot of courses which are in great condition (given the rain and we are coming out of winter).

So I can't really say the weather was the excuse for the conditions.

The fairways were in just very poor condition and seemed to have a lot of what looked like "crab grass" and dead spots? I'm not an agronomist so I'm not sure what was up with the fairways but it was not a pleasant experience.

I always feel a bit bad when I can't recommend a course but I have to be honest with my opinion. My gage for recommending a course is "would I play this course again" and I would NOT go out of my way to play Etowah.

The holes are varied and interesting. I look forward to playing there again, only without 30 mph winds.

Greens in very good shape, but fairways in winter recovery. Staff always friendly.

1st time playing this course. Played south to west.... really liked the hilly west course.

1st time playing this course and really liked the layout.

I'm not exaggerating or embellishing at all. Let me start by saying I'm not one to hold grudges or be petty, and up until this last visit this was still my local go-to course due to proximity of my house. But I've played just about every public course in western NC and this place continues to be the WORST golf experience within the western part of NC. Even long term members agree that this course is a trash hole and only belong because it's nearby.

Conditions are always terrible. I've never once played here where there was actually sand in the bunkers. The fairways are always a mud bowl and it's regularly cart path only.

Driving range, if it's even open, is nearly always mat only and the machine is almost always out of balls. The staff is always standoff-ish and unfriendly as if you're an inconvenience to their already failing property.

All that said, this course was still a regular visit from me as it's the most local course to me and paying to walk 9 was always a reasonable experience to get some practice reps in. BUT NOW A NEW RULE to the course is NO MORE WALKING unless you're a member?! These clowns tried to charge me $30 to walk 9!!!

If you're local, go to Cummings Cove or Connestee Falls. If you're looking for a range for to ForeU in Brevard or Fireside in Hendersonville.

If you were considering a stay-and-play package: Don't do it. There are so many better option than this trash.

Closed course for storm the night before and never told us. Drove an hour!!!

First everyone in the pro shop was GREAT. The young lady made sure we knew where everything was. The starter is an extremely cool gentleman. First rate veteran and enjoys helping folks out. We were a little unfortunate to catch a tournament going on after like 5 holes. 7 groups. We were a 2some and I understand 4somes have the right of way. It was a cart path only day and these guys would leave their carts like 50 yards back from the green and have to walk back to get it. One going back to get the cart to drive to the green would have saved considerable amounts of time. This went on on each hole. Oh well - greens are very good and course is very fair. We will go back. Again I can’t say enough about the young lady in the pro shop and the gentleman that is the starter. Awesome ambassador’s for their club ! Thanks for looking out after us.