Balsam Mountain Preserve
Sylva, North Carolina · 18 holes · par 70 · Private/Resort. Designed by Arnold Palmer, opened 2007.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 3,500 ft the ball carries about 4% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 144. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 12, where the green sits 92 ft above the tee and plays about 31 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 8, where the green sits 203 ft below the tee and plays about 68 yards shorter.
- 13 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Black | Blue | White | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 447 | 404 | 380 | 326 |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | 422 | 396 | 332 | 284 |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | 196 | 176 | 155 | 117 |
| 4 | 5 | 15 | 494 | 463 | 444 | 310 |
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 348 | 325 | 298 | 270 |
| 6 | 4 | 3 | 458 | 430 | 404 | 356 |
| 7 | 3 | 13 | 226 | 203 | 178 | 110 |
| 8 | 4 | 11 | 433 | 417 | 399 | 277 |
| 9 | 4 | 1 | 442 | 406 | 387 | 298 |
| 10 | 3 | 16 | 176 | 166 | 149 | 119 |
| 11 | 4 | 18 | 344 | 310 | 276 | 179 |
| 12 | 5 | 8 | 495 | 449 | 428 | 352 |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | 243 | 206 | 184 | 151 |
| 14 | 5 | 12 | 551 | 525 | 495 | 461 |
| 15 | 4 | 14 | 370 | 345 | 319 | 246 |
| 16 | 4 | 2 | 477 | 447 | 397 | 307 |
| 17 | 4 | 6 | 396 | 370 | 316 | 281 |
| 18 | 3 | 10 | 214 | 194 | 163 | 127 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Male | 6858 | 73.5 | 149 |
| Blue | Male | 6359 | 70.2 | 144 |
| Palmer | Male | 6050 | 68.9 | 140 |
| White | Male | 5783 | 68.1 | 132 |
| White | Female | 5783 | 73.1 | 148 |
| Red | Female | 4923 | 66.8 | 124 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 405-127 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 430 · 447 · 455front · middle · back
- Green size
- 28 × 27yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 18 ydswide at 210
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker right: 267 to reach, 316 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
- Bunker back of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 42 yards shorter: the green sits 127 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 336 yards.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 267 to reach, 316 to carry. Drives that finish short of 267 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 18 yards wide at 210.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 404-54 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 414 · 422 · 428front · middle · back
- Green size
- 23 × 32yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 61 ydswide at 227
- Green slope
- 7%falls to the back
In play
- Bunker right: 250 to reach, 313 to carry
- Bunker across the hole: 326 to reach, 334 to carry
- Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 410 to carry
- Bunker right of the green
- Bunker back of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 18 yards shorter: the green sits 54 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg right at about 279 yards.
- Fairway bunkers on the right: 250 to reach, 313 to carry. Drives that finish short of 250 stay clear; otherwise the left side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 61 yards wide at 227 and narrows to 36 at 197.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from front to back, about 7%. Finish on the back side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 3 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 155-122 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 176 · 196 · 208front · middle · back
- Green size
- 34 × 19yards deep × wide
In play
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker right of the green
- Bunker back of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 41 yards shorter: the green sits 122 ft below the tee.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 55 · Par 46 · Par 47 · Par 38 · Par 49 · Par 410 · Par 311 · Par 412 · Par 513 · Par 314 · Par 515 · Par 416 · Par 417 · Par 418 · Par 3
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 46 hazards with reach and carry
- 14 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].