Elite Carolina mountain golf communities offer splendid long-range views from their homes and their golf courses. Few views can match those from the Arnold Palmer designed course at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Sylva, NC. The Palmer layout, actually credited to the company's then-chief-architect, Ed Seay, soars to elevations of 4,700 feet, with dramatic 50-mile views of the Smoky Mountains. When you aren't distracted by those views, you have to pay attention to your choice of clubs; those not used to altitude will find their pitching wedge shots, for example, traveling up to 10 yards farther than at sea level. Since the homes do not sit at fairway level, the golf experience is about as pristine as it gets. At one home for every 12 acres, the strong sense of quiet sharpens the focus on the beauty of the surrounding land and mountains -- and the deer, wild turkeys and black bears who call Balsam Mountain home. The Balsam Mountain Trust employs full-time Naturalists to arrange hikes and educational programs, and is also entrusted to oversee the conservation easement over 3,400 acres of land which will never be developed. Rustic and natural, Balsam Mountain Preserve lies between the two charming mountain towns of Sylva and Waynesville, and is only a 45 minute drive to the popular and urbane Asheville.
