LAKE LURE, N.C. – If you’re a movie buff, you know Lake Lure.
You know it as the primary location for the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing,” which was shot in and around the 717-acre lake created in 1925 by the Lucius Morse family.
In fact, if you take a sight-seeing boat trip from the dock at Rumbling Bald Resort, you’ll pass the long stone staircase where “Baby”—the character played by Jennifer Grey—carried a watermelon in one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
And if you remember the film in detail, you’ll know that Lake Lure—and specifically Rumbling Bald Resort—features golf as part of its core offerings. The 16th green on the rugged Bald Mountain Course served as the backdrop the scenes in “Dirty Dancing,” where Baby asks her father, played by Jerry Orbach, for money.
In fact, Rumbling Bald features two distinct golf courses, located a few miles apart off Buffalo Shoals Road. The Apple Valley Course, designed by Dan Maples, plays primarily along the valley floor, with spectacular views of craggy mountains surrounding the lush fairways.
Aerial view of Bald Mountain Golf Course at the north end of Lake Lure. On the far right, you can see the 11th fairway, which climbs steeply up to the green. (Photo courtesy of Rumbling Bald Resort)
Bald Mountain is the shorter of the two courses—roughly 6,300 yards versus Apple Valley’s 6,800 yards from the back tees—but it features elevation changes that are nothing short of dramatic. The second shot on the par-4 11th hole, for example, plays steeply uphill to the high point of the course.
After that climb, the course winds its way back down toward the clubhouse. Bald Mountain was designed by W.B. Lewis, a protégé of prolific golf course architect George Cobb, who created the original layout at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club, host course for the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Bald Mountain features five par-5s and five par-3s—a healthy dose of three-shotters and one-shotters—but the course always blends harmoniously with the mountainous terrain.
A microcosm of the layout is evident on the two opening holes. The first is an uphill par-5 that plays noticeably longer than its listed 488 yards, particularly if you’re sweeping the morning dew, of if you happen to catch the juicy ryegrass rough off the tee.
The second is a par-3 of well over 200 yards from the back marker. When we played the course in late July, my 5-wood shot landed short of the left-front bunker on this demanding hole.
The finish to Bald Mountain is particularly noteworthy and equally challenging. From the tee on the par-5 15th, you face a tight tee shot to a narrow landing area, but if you keep the ball in short grass, there’s a good chance it will crest the hill at the far end of the landing area and roll out an additional 50 yards or so.
From that point, you have a choice—either lay up short of the creek that crosses the fairway in front of the green and widens into a pond to the right, or try to carry the trouble, including a bunker guarding the left-front, hoping to make an eagle or a two-putt birdie.
Golfers access the 15th green through a quaint covered bridge that crosses the pond.
The aforementioned par-3 16th (which was transformed into a putting green with multiple cups for the movie) requires a precise shot over water to set up a birdie try.
The lovely 16th hole on Bald Mountain was featured as a backdrop for the movie “Dirty Dancing.” (Photo by Reid Spencer)
The tee shot on the long par-4 17th starts in a chute between trees and widens out to a generous fairway. A challenging second shot must cross a creek that runs down the right side of the fairway and crosses diagonally in front of the green.
(The photo below is a view back down the fairway from the 17th green, with the rugged cliffs of Bald Mountain in the background.)
Bald Mountain, viewed from the 17th green, is the source of the names of both the golf course and Rumbling Bald Resort. (Photo by Lee Spencer)
The 18th, a par-5, rewards a solid drive down the left-center with an opportunity to hit the green in two shots to set up a satisfying finish to the round.
As a general rule, Bald Mountain plays longer than the listed yardage, even though the majority of holes play downhill. That should be a consideration when selecting the tees you should play.
Even though the Apple Valley Course is farther removed from Lake Lure and Bald Mountain Lake than its Bald Mountain counterpart, water plays a significant role on this Dan Maples design.
Emblematic of the layout—and one of our favorite holes on the course—is the downhill 11th, a short par-4 that requires a layup off the tee, followed by a short wedge shot over water to a narrow green.
The lovely 11th hole at Apple Valley requires a delicate wedge shot over water to a narrow green. (Photo by Lee Spencer)
As a general rule, Apple Valley presents a wide variety of holes that are as interesting strategically as they are diverse, starting with the opening par-4. A drive to a generous landing area between bunkers sets up a short-iron second shot that plays slightly downhill.
The second par-5 on the opening nine is the sixth hole, where I hit my best drive of the day—a low line drive with a tail-end hook down the left side of the dogleg-left fairway. The ball caught a downslope and shot forward toward the right side of the fairway, leaving me 7-iron distance from the green.
Feeling like Superman, I hit the approach, which landed on the right edge of the green and rolled into tall grass on the bank of a creek that sits nearly flush against the putting surface. A chip and a putt saved birdie, but I had learned a lesson. Next time, I’ll be sure to steer clear of the creek to the right.
A round at Apple Valley is eminently enjoyable from start to finish, but the final five holes are the most striking and memorable. The par-3 14th plays downhill, making club selection tricky. Avoid the bunkers on the downhill, par-5 15th and you have a chance to reach the green in two strokes.
The drop-shot par-3 14th hole at Apple Valley starts a memorable closing stretch. (Photo courtesy of Rumbling Bald Resort)
The sixteenth is a beautiful par-4 with water protecting the left side of the green. The par-3 17th plays uphill to a green that is angled to the line of play, a Dan Maples characteristic. And the par-5 finishing hole plays down a narrow corridor between water on the right side and trees to the left, rendering par an excellent score on this gorgeous home hole.
Apple Valley and Bald Mountain are located on different sections of the Rumbling Bald property, with the former off Buffalo Shoals Road to the east of Bald Mountain, which lies near the heart of the resort.
After a round at Bald Mountain, it’s a short walk to the Legends of the Lake restaurant, which provides excellent casual fare augmented with a view of the north end of Lake Lure. From the Legends, it’s another short walk down to the dock, where covered boats are waiting to provide tours of the lake.
Exploring Lake Lure on a guided boat tour is a rewarding way to learn the fascinating history of this gem in the North Carolina mountains. (Photo by Lee Spencer)
For accommodations, Rumbling Bald offers a variety of studio villas and larger condos, perfect for the stay-and-play programs at the resort.
Starting at $300 per player and running through March 31, Winter Golf Packages feature a two-night stay, two rounds of golf on the Apple Valley and Bald Mountain courses and unlimited range balls at Bald Mountain’s recently upgraded practice area. Three-night, three-round and four-night, four round packages are also available for $407 and $514 per player, respectively.
Rumbling Bald’s Weekday Golf Packages provide excellent value for those with flexible schedules and are offered Sunday through Wednesday year-round with a peak season blackout period from May 26th through Sept. 17. They start at $320 per player for two nights and two rounds and range up to $554 per player for four nights and four rounds. Customized weekend packages for groups of all sizes are available year-round.
Lodging options include the Apple Valley Studios (across from Apple Valley) and two- and four-bedroom Fairway Villas situated along Bald Mountain just steps from the first tee. Via its wide variety of spacious vacation rentals, Rumbling Bald can accommodate golf groups of all sizes. Luxury vacation homes are also available for extended stays and golf rounds can be added a la carte.
“We’ve made an impactful investment in the golf courses and facilities over the past two years, and we’re excited for golfers to experience everything Rumbling Bald has to offer,” says Rumbling Bald General Manager Jeff Geisler. “Our 36-hole combination provides two decidedly different rounds of golf, with Bald Mountain being a pure mountain-style layout and Apple Valley offering a more level playing surface.”