Elk River Club
Banner Elk, North Carolina · 18 holes · par 72 · Private. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, opened 1984.
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 3,410 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 13, where the green sits 50 ft above the tee and plays about 17 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 14, where the green sits 110 ft below the tee and plays about 37 yards shorter.
- 14 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 | Gold | Blue | White | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | 478 | 404 | 376 | 335 |
| 2 | 3 | 16 | 208 | 185 | 138 | 115 |
| 3 | 5 | 10 | 550 | 496 | 449 | 429 |
| 4 | 4 | 14 | 390 | 354 | 304 | 279 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 424 | 379 | 337 | 315 |
| 6 | 5 | 12 | 501 | 472 | 415 | 375 |
| 7 | 4 | 8 | 365 | 337 | 299 | 273 |
| 8 | 3 | 18 | 195 | 153 | 127 | 110 |
| 9 | 4 | 6 | 418 | 398 | 338 | 316 |
| 10 | 4 | 11 | 372 | 353 | 321 | 286 |
| 11 | 4 | 1 | 389 | 359 | 319 | 303 |
| 12 | 3 | 15 | 165 | 151 | 118 | 109 |
| 13 | 4 | 13 | 322 | 299 | 285 | 235 |
| 14 | 4 | 3 | 472 | 412 | 337 | 310 |
| 15 | 3 | 17 | 172 | 156 | 141 | 133 |
| 16 | 5 | 7 | 509 | 488 | 425 | 396 |
| 17 | 4 | 5 | 356 | 338 | 283 | 267 |
| 18 | 5 | 9 | 557 | 496 | 445 | 385 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Male | 6829 | 73.4 | 141 |
| Blue | Male | 6305 | 70.5 | 134 |
| White | Female | 5528 | 73.2 | 140 |
| White | Male | 5528 | 67.5 | 121 |
| Red | Female | 4978 | 70.2 | 131 |
| Red | Male | 4978 | 64.1 | 117 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 480+5 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 464 · 478 · 488front · middle · back
- Green size
- 29 × 35yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 35 ydswide at 309
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front-right
In play
- Water across the hole: 339 to reach, 364 to carry
- Bunker front-left of the green
Playing notes
- Dogleg left at about 268 yards.
- Water crosses the hole: 339 to reach, 364 to carry.
- Water crosses the hole: 340 to reach, 360 to carry.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 35 yards wide at 309 and narrows to 18 at 359.
- The green is guarded on the left by bunkers; miss right.
- The green falls from back-left to front-right, about 2.5%. Finish on the front-right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 3
- Plays like
- 204-12 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 195 · 208 · 217front · middle · back
- Green size
- 35 × 40yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 1.5%falls to the right
In play
- Bunker across the hole in front of the green: 187 to carry
- Bunker left of the green
- Bunker back of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 4 yards shorter: the green sits 12 ft below the tee.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from left to right, about 1.5%. Finish on the right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 35 yards deep: a back pin can play about 2 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 3 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 551+2 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 539 · 550 · 565front · middle · back
- Green size
- 31 × 32yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 43 ydswide at 280
- Green slope
- 3%falls to the front
In play
- 4 bunkers right: 429 to reach, 472 to carry
- 3 bunkers across the hole in front of the green: 529 to carry
- Bunker left of the green
- Bunker back-right of the green
Playing notes
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 43 yards wide at 280.
- Best lay-up: 70 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 21 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back to front, about 3%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 46 · Par 57 · Par 48 · Par 39 · Par 410 · Par 411 · Par 412 · Par 313 · Par 414 · Par 415 · Par 316 · Par 517 · Par 418 · Par 5
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 50 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].