Champion Hills is a community that boasts being the home of world-renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio’s Mountain Masterpiece. Fazio says it best, “Champion Hills is a golf course in the mountains, not a mountain golf course.”
Some may consider Champion Hills your classic golf course retirement community, but it is so much more than just a community with a golf course. There are many people living in the community, who may be enjoying their retirement, but the community also houses just as many who are actively working. With the ability to work remotely amid the “new normal,” Champion Hills is seeing an influx of new resident members in the prime of their careers and still going strong. No matter the situation, all in the community share one thing: they are all actively enjoying the benefits of Champion Hills every day.
You may ask, what makes Champion Hills so special? If you ask the residents, most will tell you it’s the feeling of belonging. Champion Hills is a welcoming community.
“I look at Champion Hills as a mountain golf community more than a Country Club,” says one resident, who and his wife moved to Champion Hills in 2015. “It’s a blend of people from all over the country, from all different careers and the spectrum in terms of political views and religion. It’s such a great mix of fun people who are enjoying life at Champion Hills.”
Champion Hills Director of Membership and Marketing Heather Myers states, “We see so many families coming together here across two and three generations. Whether they are on the golf course, at the pool or out to dinner, we love that Champion Hills is their ‘happy place.’”
The location of the community in Hendersonville, North Carolina, also draws many new residents in. Hendersonville is on the list of the 100 Best Small Towns in America and is also rated as one of the best places in the country to retire, but you don’t have to retire to live at Champion Hills. The town’s physical beauty and moderate climate has an allure that cause many people to make Hendersonville their permanent home.
Downtown Hendersonville is nestled in a protected valley between the Blue Ridge and the Great Smokey Mountains. The valley placement secures a moderate climate with four distinct seasons that bring brilliant spring flowers, warm summers, breathtaking fall foliage, and a coating of white snow creating a unique living experience for each time of the year. The charming nature of Hendersonville continues to draw people in and provide an atmosphere that is easy to call home. It is also located just thirty minutes outside of Asheville.
Hendersonville is enhanced by the beauty of the Champion Hills community, and Tom Fazio’s Mountain Masterpiece Golf Course and Club House takes Champion Hills living over the top.
The 25,000-square foot clubhouse offers several dining options plus a Wellness Center, with the latest cardio and strength training equipment and a spacious room for yoga, spin, Pilates and other group classes. In addition to the outdoor pool, a hydro spa and tennis courts are available for members.
Champion Hills even has an entire department dedicated to filling your calendar with social community events and member activities for every interest, so there is never a dull moment at Champion Hills. No matter your interest, you’ll find friends for life at Champion Hills!
Keeping in line with Champion Hills’ welcoming atmosphere, a Vertical Membership was created, extending the full benefits and privileges of its full range of golf and social memberships to immediate family at no extra cost.
The enhanced Vertical Membership includes Champion Hills’ new Equity 55 Golf in addition to its Full and Social Equity offerings. Equity 55 is a full golf membership for those age 55 and under. The initiation fee is divided into four equal payments over four years, dues and replacement reserve fund contributions are reduced by 50% and the club’s $800 annual food and beverage minimum is prorated for new members.
“We are excited to offer the enhanced Vertical Membership for all of our full equity membership categories,” says Champion Hills General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Dana Schultz. “When we see members’ families coming back month after month and year after year, it only confirms that vertical membership was a wonderful thing for Champions Hills.”
Champion Hills offers year-round golf, activities, and casual and fine dining options, unlike many private, seasonal mountain communities. And since 2013, property ownership is no longer a requirement for Champion Hills membership. For more information, visit www.championhills.com.
A golf course and community in the mountains like no other… that you can call home!
QUICK FACTS
- 700 Acre Master-Planned Golf Community
- 477 Home Sites; Over 300 Resident Families
- Debt-Free Community and Club
- Just Minutes From Hendersonville and Asheville
- Miles of Hiking Trails On Site; Endless Outdoor Recreation Nearby
- Tom Fazio Designed Golf Course, Open Year Round
- Vertical Family Line Golf Membership
- Extensive Fitness and Wellness Center, Tennis and Pool Complexes
- Lodge Style Clubhouse – Indoor & Al Fresco Dining Options, Fazio Bar & Grill
- Active Resident Population – Social Groups, Clubs, Activities, Volunteer Organizations
The Mountain Masterpiece – the golf course in the mountain (literally in the mountain).
Most mountainous layouts are riddled with blind shots and uneven lies that penalize even well-struck tee shots. That’s not the case at Champions Hills, where Fazio’s team of earth movers and shapers created level “playing platforms,” and shots often funnel to landing areas and pin placements.
Champion Hills is not considered a long course, only 6510 yards from the tips, and designed with the amateur player in mind. Featuring five sets of tees, including three rated for women and additional “combo tees” placed 15 to 30 yards in front of forced carries on some holes, to eliminate those stressful shots for higher handicappers, golfers of all abilities can find their right length. Through meticulous grading and the creation of transition areas, Fazio was able to craft a design that only requires six uphill shots, unheard of in a mountain layout.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not an easy course but it is not a course that will leave high handicappers frustrated. With breathtaking views and the severe drops on some of the holes, a round at Champion Hills can be thrilling and one that you won’t soon forget.
Favorite Holes (all of them, but here are eight that stood out the most).
#1 Par 4
Simply because it is the first hole and takes your breath away from the get-go, you have to pinch yourself to realize this course is not a dream – this is real.
A picturesque example of outstanding golf in a beautiful mountain setting that presents the golfer with a dramatic, long-range view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first shot is played across a narrow ravine to a generous fairway. The short second shot is slightly uphill to a wide putting surface carved into the natural hillside.
#4 Par 3
A downhill par 3 which overlooks an existing mountain stream. Club selection will vary with pin location on the deep green. Nestled in a valley between two hillsides, the green is supported by depressions and sand traps that flank the left side.
#5 Par 5
A beautiful par 5 featuring a downhill, tree lined fairway with a small pond on the left side of the green. This hole is carved into the hillside, sloping from right to left. The linear hourglass green is very deep and allows many pin locations and yardage adjustments.
#9 Par 3
A dramatic downhill par 3 with a 180-degree view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Due to a drop in elevation of as much as 125 feet, tee shot club selection will change by 2 or 3 clubs. Choose wisely. The large green is guarded on the front right and back left by bunkers.
#10 Par 4
The tree-lined, dogleg right fairway offers a panoramic long-range view from the tee. A well-placed tee shot, slightly left of center, can be rewarded with a distance boost on the downhill fairway, leaving a short downhill approach shot to the green.
#13 Par 5
A short par 5 with an opportunity for birdie if you can split the fairway bunker on the right and natural ravine left on the downhill tee shot. An approach shot to the right should funnel the ball toward the green, which is heavily bunkered and contoured on the left side.
#15 Par 4
A long iron or 3-wood may be the club of choice to position the tee shot for the approach on this short dogleg left. Converging brooks right and in front of the tiered green, will force you to select the right approach club.
#18 Par 4
The 18th hole has many natural features which combine to make this a memorable, dramatic par 4. A swift-flowing mountain stream edges the entire right side from the green to the teeing area. Several natural waterfalls add to the beauty and excitement. Carved out of the forest, this hole is framed with White Pines, Tulip Poplars, Rhododendron, and Mountain Laurels. The wide landing area sweeps from left to right. The uphill second shot needs to carry the front edge of this two-level large green. The smart shot should favor the left side of the green, avoiding the ever-present stream on the right.
Final Thoughts
Perfectly situated in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Champion Hills offers a four-season climate, a casually elegant country club lifestyle, and a very active club membership.
Champion Hills’ elevations of 2,500 to 2,800 feet may not be as high as some High Country Mountain communities, but excellent Blue Ridge Mountain views abound, nonetheless. It is this lower elevation that makes for a more temperate climate. The short winter features an average high in January of 47 degrees, and summers are cool with a July average high of 84 degrees. The lower elevation is what also enables the availability of year-round golf and, given the more temperate climate, perhaps presents less of a driving challenge during the winter months compared to some of the other North Carolina Mountain communities.
With numerous onsite amenities and convenient access to all the arts, dining, and culture of Asheville and Hendersonville, residents never lack entertainment or recreation options. The Tom Fazio course is consistently ranked in the top 15 in North Carolina and is challenging yet playable for golfers of all skill levels.
If you are searching for a Western North Carolina Mountain golf community, you may find what Champion Hills offers is “the full package”!
