Rock Barn Golf and Spa - Jackson
A view from Jackson Course at Rock Barn Golf and Spa.
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Rating Index Rating
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4.6
551 Reviews (551)
5 Stars
361
4 Stars
146
3 Stars
25
2 Stars
13
1 Stars
6
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.3
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.5
94.3%
Recommend this course
520 out of 551 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.8
9 Reviews (9)
5 Stars
7
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.4
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.6
StaffFriendliness
4.7
100.0%
Recommend this course
9 out of 9 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
55 Reviews (55)
5 Stars
38
4 Stars
11
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.2
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.5
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.5
92.7%
Recommend this course
51 out of 55 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The Jackson course's elevation changes, massive bunkers, and renowned bent grass greens consistently impress golfers seeking a rewarding challenge. Friendly, accommodating staff and smooth rounds under four hours make every visit enjoyable.

About

Holes 18
Type Semi-Private/Resort
Par 71
Length 6427 yards
Slope 135
Rating 71.9

Rock Barn Golf & Spa offers two championship courses, one designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and the other by Tom Jackson. Nestled within the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the golf courses are provided with swiftly moving brooks and sparkling lakes that accent the wooded hills and lush, grassy meadows. The Jackson Course tumbles across picturesque valleys, offering both dramatic elevation changes and beautiful scenery. The layout is shorter and less demanding than the Jones Course but it is a challenge nonetheless. The undulating terrain demands accuracy and perfect ball placement. Fast greens are balanced by generous fairways. Water hazards also come into play. The course starts out intimidatingly with a narrow, uphill par 5 but the rest of the course is not quite as daunting.

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Course Details

Year Built 1969
Golf Season Year round
Architect Tom Jackson (1969)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "The Rock Barn Golf Academy"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Bar, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities, Spa

Available Activities

Riding

Accolades

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Reviews

4.6
551 Reviews (551)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 15
Brunch 12
Patio Dining 11
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 30
Water Hazards 30
Elevation Changes 29
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 23
Locals 23
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 18
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 30
Convenient to the City 11

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 57
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

8/19/25 Greens a bit tattered

I have played this a lot. It’s a go to course. I love the set up, staff, and availability. For some reason greens are a little beat up in the Jackson course right now. Could be a bad mower knicking it up or a disease. Either way some bare spots on edges

Other than that really enjoyed the round.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Good Layout...Club Damage and No Resolution From Staff A Huge Negative

Played this course last week with my family.

No complaints about the course, but my bag was loaded up by their staff. Putting full faith in them that their staff had done this many times before I went on my way to play my round.

My bag was not properly secured and my clubs went flying out onto the pavement of the cart path after driving off the first tee. My driver sustained damage in addition to scratches on my irons.

When I went to the pro shop afterwards seeking a resolution, I was offered no immediate solution, instead handed the director of golf's business card. I received no response back after multiple emails and voice message unreturned. I have no resolution.

I wont recommend this club to anyone.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/25/2025

Hard to understand how unsecured clubs are able to make it all the way to the first tee without falling off, then suddenly fall off while driving off the first tee.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/22/2025

Alert patrons alway check on such before driving off… especially since you’ve already gotten clubs from it prior. In fact I use my own bungie strap in addition to the carts strap!

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Previously Played

Poorly Maintained

Played this course years ago and decided to take a buddy and drive up from Charlotte. I was very disappointed in how the maintenance had fallen. Tee boxes were rough, several greens had large bare spots, fairways were in good shape. I would much rather play Deer Brook in Shelby for $42 and it's in much better shape. Skybrook in Charlotte is in much better shape as well. Defineatly not a $70 course and not worth the drive from Charlotte. I can drive to Grandover in Greensboro in the same time for a much better course that is impeccably maintained.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/22/2025

actually grandovers traps were rough all summer. as was the west course fairways..

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good track

Ive always wanted to play here and finally drove west to miss the rain east and had an enjoyable round. The course has some beautiful par 3s, one even tees from what looks like a cliff from the the first tee. Lots of par 3s it seemed. Fairways and greens were perfect, some bunkers look washed out. Overall, great track. Birdie friendly and some gorgeous homes throughout the round

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/09/2025

not sure which course you played… the greens and conditions were nowhere near ‘perfect’. See recent reviews.

Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

What the heck happened !!!

Unbelievable how fast this course went from good to very bad! I’ll let this week's photos do the talking!

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/07/2025

Does this look like a $85 / $70 course? pitiful !

Played On
Reviews 218
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Top 50 Contributor
First Time Playing

Great except greens

Played Rock Barn for the first time today. It is a wonderful layout. Beautiful scenery. A lot of elevation changes. And a lot of really pretty holes. I would have rated it much higher-4 or maybe even 5 stars. But the greens were not in good shape. Almost all of them had bad spots. Bent grass is just so hard to keep in good shape in the heat and humidity of NC summer. Other than that. The tees, fairways, and rough were in great shape! The bunkers were washed out and unplayable. But it stormed here bad last night. And several trees were down around the course. All in all worth a play. Especially if you can score a hot deal on golf now.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/07/2025

but they still roll WAY Better than Bermuda greens which are sanded constantly in mid summer! not to mention punched!

Bent looks odd or bad to many people who are unfamiliar.

Played On
Reviews 22
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Wonderful day

Another great NC track…. I really enjoyed the undulating fairways.

Note to course- please send someone around to fix the ball marks on the greens… far too many not repaired for your caliber of course.

This is an easy drive from CLT, nice lunch spot across from the pro shop and a nice selection of merch.

Enjoy the included range balls and get ready because number 1 will challenge your skill.

I’ll definitely be back for another round!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Nicest Golf Club in the area.. but

I play quite a bit of Golf, have for many years, and now rotate weekly to various courses! Rock Barn is by far the nicest overall Golf Facility for public play in this portion of the state! Is it priced reasonably? Well, no its about $10 to pricey. Verdict Ridge Golf club is one of its closest competitors for this slice of the golfing market, and Seniors there can play for $15 less than RBarn on weekdays, however the environment, facilities and practice area at Rock Barn are nicer. Surprisingly Rock Barn is never packed/crowded like the aforementioned course, and several other courses in this area! The Bent Grass greens at Rock Barn are a major draw and roll far better than any Bermuda conversion I have ever played. The greens here are worth a few extra bucks for sure. The Jackson course is a nice ‘old school’ layout with lots of elevation changes, huge bunkers, and water and is extremely well maintained. it also has 2 new Restroom/water/ice facilities on the course as well. I actually like the Jackkson far better than the Jones course and it rather odd & inconsistent layout.

Conditions Excellent
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/07/2025

Within the past month the Jackson course has become Horrid! Its like the maintenance crew went on a 3 week vacation!

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/07/2025

Course has went downhill badly in the past month! someone needs to be demoted!

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/07/2025

Course is Horrible now… many greens have bare spots.. grass growing in sand traps, bare dirt tee boxes, and they haven’t bothered to clean up wind debris from 7 days ago!

Played On
Reviews 116
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor
Previously Played

Warm Day in the Foothills

Been a few years since we’d played the Jackson Course, but always enjoyed coming up to Hickory area hoping to get a bit of relief from the central piedmont heat. Not sure it was much cooler, but humidity was down. Course was in as good a condition as I could remember, fairways, tees and greens. Not a long course from regular tees , but you use every club. Not very crowded on a Wednesday afternoon, so we moved around in well under 4 hours, even taking our time due to the warm day. Highly recommended if you can get on with a hot deal.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 21
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Solid conditions where it mattered

Some burnt out spots on greens and one or two bunkers had liners exposed; lots of pitch marks but I think it’s because they’re fighting the heat with bent greens. None of the conditions impacted play (dead spots on greens were far away from all of the pins etc). Tee box, fairway , and rough conditions were some of the best I’ve seen for public courses.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great day, great golf. Few areas for improvement

Course layout was great, fairways in good condition. Bunkers in good condition. Greens - beat up and dried out. There were also several kids fishing on the course on the back 9, standing all around where we were hitting - not ideal, not safe. Otherwise really enjoyed the day!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Course ; Fair Value

Really enjoyed our round. Fairways and greens were very good. Layout wonderful. Staff very helpful and friendly. We will be back soon!!!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Twice a year
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Best greens we have play in Catawba played 18 holes in 3 hours

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 1000 Contributor
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Great condition… except for….

I’m fairly hard to impress when it comes to golf courses.. and I’ll rarely spend over $65 to play, however I was impressed with this place EXCEPT FOR the areas around #7 Tee Boxes as well as everything to the left of the length of this entire hole! Just plain ugly, snakey, eroded and not maintained! Its so bad as opposed to remainder of their 2 courses it had me scratching my head! The bent grass greens here will definitely keep me coming back here to play! Course fairways grasses were awesome and as good as you’ll find in the area. Nice bunkers and lots of them, my only issue was the fact that they were not consistent in their condition, maintenance and amounts of sand.

All in all.. and enjoyable outing!

Conditions Excellent
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Wonderful round!

Played early in a Sunday morning and the course was beautiful- well-maintained and the staff could not have been nicer or more helpful. Play got a little slow on the back 9 but the Marshall worked his magic in a timely manner. Will be back here again soon!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
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