North Carolina course converting from bentgrass to Champion Bermudagrass greens

Rumbling Bald, the 36-hole golf resort on North Carolina’s stunning Lake Lure, has selected Champion Bermudagrass for the greens on Apple Valley, its marquee course.

 

Designed by noted golf course architect and Pinehurst native Dan Maples, Apple Valley will start its transition from its original bentgrass greens to smooth-rolling Champion Bermudagrass in June. Champion was chosen for its superior performance profile, heat tolerance and maintainability. 

 

“We provide our golfers with the best possible experiences and Champion Bermuda checked all the boxes,” Rumbling Bald general manager Jeff Geisler said. “Dan Maples’ layout and routing at Apple Valley is so pure from tee to green that smooth, true rolling Champion greens are the perfect fit.”

 

Apple Valley is in elite company with its conversion from bentgrass to Champion. Quail Hollow Club, site of the 2017 PGA Championship, and Pinehurst No. 2, host of the 1999, 2005, 2014 and 2024 U.S. Opens, have undergone the transition in recent years.

 

“We did our homework and Champion Bermuda came out ahead by a longshot,” Rumbling Bald director of golf course maintenance Matt Lovell, CGCS, said. “We’re excited to see golfers’ reactions and receive their feedback once the conversion is complete this summer.”

 

Located along the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, golf is played year-round at Rumbling Bald. Champion is suitable to North Carolina’s warm summer nights and temperate winter climate.

 

In addition to Apple Valley, golfers enjoy Bald Mountain, the resort’s original 18-hole mountain-style course. Designed by George Cobb protégé W.B. Lewis, Bald Mountain is a 6,300-yard shotmaker’s venue located next to lodging and amenities.

 

Apple Valley will close in early June and is scheduled to reopen in late August.