Olde Beau offers spectacular beauty, challenges at a relaxing mountain retreat

The dramatic ascents and cascades from tee to green combined with the spectacular vistas of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains from the Olde Beau Golf Club consistently leave visitors in awe with one overriding question.

Check that. Two overriding questions.

How did Billy Satterfield manage to craft such an outstanding – and playable — golf course on the rugged Olde Beau Resort and Golf Club property?

Who or what is Olde Beau?

The first question remains a wonder. Carving a competitive and fun golf course though the mountainous terrain in isolated Roaring Gap was an amazing achievement.

The second question is easy, a big clue coming from the English bulldog on the Olde Beau logo. Olde Beau was the faithful companion of Satterfield, who developed the resort in the early 1990s, two decades after developing Bermuda Run.

Somehow, Satterfield accomplished his mission. Olde Beau is a course like no other. It’s mountain golf at a beautiful extreme, requiring shots not encountered anywhere else. 

“It’s instantly memorable,” said Olde Beau general manager Tommy Maines. “You’ll play it one time and remember most, if not all, the holes. It was some of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring views of any golf course in North Carolina.”

There’s no more memorable experience than the spectacular panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the hilltop green at No. 15. From the back of the green, which sits on a bluff, players can see for miles into Virginia.

The Roaring Gap location is also unique among mountain golf hot spots. Located about 25 minutes north of Elkin on twisting U.S. 21, the tiny summer destination has a post office, a church, a gas station/convenience store, a few charming local shops and three golf courses – the other two are private. That’s about it.

Fortunately for visitors, Olde Beau offers a variety of accommodations – from rental homes to studio and two-bedroom villas – plus a restaurant and various activities. Stay and Play packages with lodging and discounted golf rates are available.

The golf course is also open to non-resort guests at a price comparable to many Triad courses.

The resort is especially popular during the summer, when temperatures are significantly milder than non-mountain areas, and the fall, when spectacular fall colors add another attraction.

Other amenities include a fitness center, a seasonal outdoor pool, tennis and pickleball courts.

What makes Olde Beau different?

Several holes force players to hit blind approaches to hilltop greens. Some include blind tee shots, including the par-5 17^th featuring the most jaw-dropping approach on the course. 

Shots hit short of the green can roll back several yards, leaving blind uphill pitches or nestle down in grass. Either way, the pitch is from a steep sidehill lie.

Once reaching the greens, players want to stay below the hole on the quick bent grass putting surfaces.

“Greens are always in fantastic shape and roll true,” Maines said.

While the rough can be rough, including some awkward sidehill lies, the fairways are maintained in pristine conditions.”

But the descriptions are deceiving. Golf at Olde Beau is fun. Though filled with challenge, the course is highly playable. Club selection is important – driver isn’t always the best choice off the tees. Taking an extra minute to ride up ahead and look for targets is especially crucial on some holes.

The par-72 layout measures only 6,482 yards from the tips, but most holes play either shorter or longer due to the significant undulations. From four other sets of tees, the course plays to 6,036 to 4,455 yards.

“The course places a premium on accuracy off the tee,” Maines said. “You can get in trouble if you miss the fairway, but it’s very scoreable if you’re in the fairway.”

Each of the four par-5s are reachable with heroic options.

The first eagle opportunity comes at No. 2, which officially measures 540 yards from the back markers, offers a second shot of about 180 yards over water to the green with a well-placed tee shot. A safer option is to play left on the dogleg right and lay up.

The last is at the unforgettable 17^th, where a solid blind drive left of a target boulder in the middle of the fairway puts players on the precipice of a deep gorge, offering a carry of 200 yards or so to a green built atop another slope.

Can’t hit it that far? A modest-width fairway extends back from the green perhaps 100 yards at the bottom of the gorge. The front of the putting surface is guarded by steep slopes, sand and gnarly grass.

Of the par-4s, a dramatic descent down a hill from the clubhouse at No. 10 provides a good preview of what’s to come. At No. 15, first-time visitors should bring their phones to the green to capture the panoramic view across the mountains.

The par-3s are more fun than scary with dramatic drops with greens guarded by terrain that often funnel wayward shots back into play. At No. 8, which spans the sides of a ridge, correct usage of a two-tiered putting surface can direct approaches toward the hole.

Olde Beau is an ideal destination for visitors, especially golfers who have never played anything like it.

“It’s a challenge, but a ton of fun for players of all levels and abilities,” Maines said. “As our profile has grown over the past few years, we’ve seen more players make the trip up from Charlotte and also the Triad region — and they come back year after year and bring their friends.”