Scenic Sequoyah National is best bet at Cherokee

For visitors to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, booking a tee time at Sequoyah National Golf Club may be the safest bet during their stay.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2009, Sequoyah National offers spectacular open views of the surrounding Smoky Mountains and well as dramatic elevation changes and immaculate playing conditions in an isolated setting near the nation’s most visited national park.

Almost hidden, just a modest tee shot off U.S. 441 outside of tiny Cherokee, Sequoyah National has top-quality amenities, including a driving range and chipping area, despite a small clubhouse and modest parking area. Managed for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee National by Kemper Sports also has a well-stocked pro shop and offers lessons from a PGA member.

Many of the tough challenges of the course are easy to see from elevated tees. Shots must be navigated over and through vast ravines, deep rough edging into fescue, gaping bunkers and a variety of ponds and streams.

“It’s a challenging course,” said Holden Straughan, the course’s director of strategic partnerships and a Cherokee native. “The views are awesome. It’s tough to know how to play the contours and other stuff.”

The fast, undulating, bent greens can continually confound first-time visitors unable to see all the tiers and slopes from the fairway. And, though the carts have GPS, judging distances to landing areas and greens is particularly difficult on the uphill and downhill shots at high elevation. The Zoysia fairways are lush, and sometimes cause carts to skid slightly, but noticeably.

Though some holes are lined by forest on one side, fescue-filled rough and ravines provide most of the hazards. Most par-4s and par-5s also have fairway bunkers that serve as hazards and targets.

The mission is simple: Hit fairways, greens or bunkers. Or hit another ball.

The par-72 layout stretches to only 6,517 yards, but plays longer on some holes, especially a few where drives can roll backwards after hitting into hillsides. The course rating is 71.3 with a hefty slope of 143. From the second-longest set of tees, 6,135 yards, the rating is 69.7 with a slope of 140.

An early challenge comes at No. 2, a 165-yard par-3 with a forced carry over a ravine to a green perched above a rock bulkhead, the few yards between the rock and the green sloped sharply down into the hazard.

The quirkiness of the course is never more apparent than at No. 4, a sharp dogleg left measuring only 332 yards from the tips on the scorecard, but much longer in reality.

A solid drive carrying more than 200 yards can hit the middle or left side of the fairway and tumble downward off the fairway into fescue. The safe shot for most players — though not apparent to visitors — is to hit to the flatter right side of the landing area.

From the left fescue, the dramatically uphill shot to the green is tough to navigate. If left short, shots tumble back into the fescue. A tiered putting surface can send shots rolling away from pin positions.

The meat of the course is a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 9 that includes three par-5s of more than 500 yards each and perhaps the toughest hole on the course, the par-4 10th, measuring 414 yards with a forced carry all the way to a putting surface perched atop a hill.

At No. 13, the second of three par-3s measuring at least 216 yards from the tips, players must accurately judge the approach down an open steep slope to horizontal green framed by the mountains.

The best view — and the quirkiest hole on the back nine — comes at No. 15. From a tee perched on a hill, players hit dramatically down on the dogleg right, where the optimal shot is over tree tops to a landing area not visible from the tee.

The rack rate is $150 during the summer. Casino guests get a small discount.

If you’ve never been to Cherokee, it’s a unique experience — nothing like more gentile mountain getaways such as Blowing Rock, Linville or even the nearby (as the crow flies) hamlets of Cashiers and Highlands.

The nearest nightlife and public golf options are in Waynesville, about 30 minutes away. The small town of Silva, close to Western Carolina University, is a few minutes closer with a few restaurant options.

Waynesville Golf & Inn has an 18-hole course renovated a few years ago by architect Bobby Weed with accommodations renovated in the past few years and placed under the Hilton umbrella in 2024. Laurel Ridge Country Club, designed by Bob Cupp, has a 6,900-yard layout and offers limited tee times with accommodations on the property.

The best restaurants are at the casino hotel, where the choices include Ruth’s Chris and an offering from Bobby Flay. There’s not much else in Cherokee — a few fast-food chains, a couple local spots and a few hotels. Restaurants and convenience stores close by 9 p.m.