Anybody from Charlotte, NC area out there?

[youngskip40]

I am considering relocating to the area and I'm trying to figure out how the golf piece fits into things...

How is the weather for golf? Obviously it will be warmer than where I am now (Philly area), but is it really a location where golf can be played 12 months out of the year? I don't necessarily mean warm sunny weather all year round, I play in 50-degree weather all the time up here as long as the courses are open... I just mean is it feasible or realistic for a die-hard golfer to be able to play/practice all year, or is it not really that mild down there?

How is the quality of golf down there? How affordable is it?

How about competitive golf? I am accustomed to playing a few local amateur events, and I'd like to play even more, and while I assume there would be plenty down there throughout the year if only the summers, I don't really know.

I am planning an extended weekend trip to visit in the next couple of weeks just to check out the area in general... hopefully I can make a couple stops and play at least once or twice while I'm there.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mdbuschsr]

I can't speak to the Charlotte area yet (we are planning a move there too). I know I can play here almost year round. Certainly it gets colder than 50*, but if you are wearing appropriate clothes you can play in +30* weather. My course used to have little tournaments in Nov. Dec. Jan.

[youngskip40]

I can't speak to the Charlotte area yet (we are planning a move there too). I know I can play here almost year round. Certainly it gets colder than 50*, but if you are wearing appropriate clothes you can play in +30* weather. My course used to have little tournaments in Nov. Dec. Jan.

That's good to hear, actually. Most courses around here are pretty much done after the first snow, or December 1, whichever comes first. Either they close completely until April 1, or they have "temporary greens" aka fairway with a hole in it for a good 4 months, if not longer. Thanks for the input.

[mdbuschsr]

I'm sure there are times when they close. NC does get snow periodically, and we do get cold enough for frost and such... But I imagine they are open most of the year.

[Harry SasQuatch]

Charlotte courses are open year round as long as there isn't snow on the ground. It doesn't snow much in Charlotte and when it does it usually doesn't stick around for very long. Last winter was an exception, there was snow on the ground for weeks at a time.

I love the Charlotte area, and the northern suburbs (Mooresville, Huntersville) are really growing. There are some good courses and most of them are very cheap to play, but Charlotte isn't really known as a golf destination. There are plenty of amateur tournaments around the area to play in though. It's a great place to live with many amenities of a larger city with a small city feel.

[Tar Heel]

First off, you won't find a bigger proponent of Charlotte than me and we'd love to have you down here. If you have any questions about the area if/when you relocate, feel free to ask.

As far as golf goes, almost all courses are open 12 months a year and only close for snow (and we don't get much). I really only play about 9.5 months of the year, taking a break from around mid-December to the beginning of March. It's certainly feasible to play all year, but the average highs are in the low 50's in December, January, and February. If that's tolerable for you, then more power to you.

[bkoguy07]

I go to UNCC (big school in charlotte) its great for golf. Tons of courses around the entire city and area and its always mild and quite feasible to play year round.

[Windmill]

We live about an hour north of Charlotte. My local course is open every day out of the year except for Christmas Day. This former Connecticut resident is really diggin' it.

[Doctorfro]

Live just barely north of Charlotte (Huntersville) and I moved here three years ago. Our first winter we played all but one week. Last winter we missed a few but played most of the winter. It's a good golf climate. The quality of courses? Not bad. Google "Bman golf". He plays a bunch of local courses and reviews them. He's usually pretty fair about his assessment. There are a few private tracts that you can get on if you do some weaseling. I like it here alot. Oh, and there's a local pro tour that amateurs can play that's a good test of your skills.

[youngskip40]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

I love the Charlotte area, and the northern suburbs (Mooresville, Huntersville) are really growing. There are some good courses and most of them are very cheap to play, but Charlotte isn't really known as a golf destination. There are plenty of amateur tournaments around the area to play in though. It's a great place to live with many amenities of a larger city with a small city feel.

This is actually perfect. I'm really looking to avoid golf "destinations," I'm more looking for an area where a serious player can work on their game in a warmer climate, and be able to test skills in competition on a more regular basis. Seems like a good fit, without having to deal with the downsides of tourist-ey golf destinations.

Live just barely north of Charlotte (Huntersville) and I moved here three years ago. Our first winter we played all but one week. Last winter we missed a few but played most of the winter. It's a good golf climate. The quality of courses? Not bad. Google "Bman golf". He plays a bunch of local courses and reviews them. He's usually pretty fair about his assessment. There are a few private tracts that you can get on if you do some weaseling. I like it here alot. Oh, and there's a local pro tour that amateurs can play that's a good test of your skills.

The eGolf tour, right? The old Tarheel Tour... yeah I saw they hold almost all their tournaments in the Charlotte area, along with their Amateur tour. Looks pretty cool. I checked out the Bman's golf site... looks pretty cool, I'll have to surf around there. Thanks for the tip!

First off, you won't find a bigger proponent of Charlotte than me and we'd love to have you down here. If you have any questions about the area if/when you relocate, feel free to ask.

Awesome! Thanks for the response. Certainly more than tolerable for me. Those are basically the temperatures I play in during the end of our season (October/November) and beginning of our season (March-ish) up here anyway.

Any course(s) specifically you'd recommend checking out when I come visit in a week or two? Anything else you'd recommend checking out? Or just anything to do in general that might help give me a feel for what it might be like to be down there full-time... Thanks again!

[Rounders]

Check out the eGolf Tour in Charlotte

http://www.amateurgolftour.net/charl...s/default6.asp

They play almost year round - Feb through Nov

[Doctorfro]

Actually, I was thinking of THIS ONE . Check it out. There's also Find a Golfer . Basically, they play all over Charlotte and vicinity at a group rate. FWIW.

[youngskip40]

Actually, I was thinking of

Oh wow, awesome. Yeah, I didn't know about those. That's awesome. Thanks, Doc.

Actually I just decided I am going to come down this weekend instead of next. Any tips you can give in the meantime I'll be sure to take into consideration! Thanks again!