The Omni Grove Park Inn, An Unmatched American Treasure in Asheville, NC!

The Omni Grove Park Inn is a fascinating destination and a true adventure! A place where you cannot stay and visit without taking with you an experience to share for many years to come! Of course, this was perfect for a self-proclaimed golf and life voyager and documentarian such as me! The magnitude of the Omni Grove Park Inn is massive yet it seems every little corner is intriguing and is a story in of itself! Chimneys, so big that Santa Claus and his sleigh could fit down through, have hidden elevators inside in addition to massive fires. Another lesser known unadvertised secret is a window on the outside of a regular-sized chimney that you will have a hard time finding without a tip (see picture caption below). The inspirational quotes in the granite stones of the Omni Grove Park Inn guide us on our way to a peaceful rest—from Thoreau (‘Be not simply good—be good for something’); Emerson (in part, ‘every man is a quotation from all his ancestors’); and Thomas Jefferson (‘How much pain have cost us the evil that have never happened.’) There are many more inspirational aspects to be enjoyed by you as so many other souls have enjoyed, for the last hundred years and counting. A visit to the Omni Grove Park Inn is unique, ultimately comfortable, and certainly a soul-searching experience; and we have not even teed it up on the historical Donald Ross championship golf course! Fore, let’s do that now! First a bit of the golf course history which predates the 1926 Donald Ross design by twenty six years! In 1894 a group of Asheville residents created the Swannanoa Country Club. Their course of five holes was laid out the next year by a member and located in West Asheville. Remember the timing of this from a historical perspective. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island, formed in 1891, claims to be the oldest formal organized golf club in the United States. In that same year of 1894 the United States Golfing Association was created in New York City by delegates from the Newport Country Club (RI), the Saint Andrew's Golf Club (Yonkers, NY), The Country Club (Brookline, MA), Chicago Golf Club (IL), and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Talk about having deep roots in American golf lore, this golf club has it! In 1899, the golf course relocated to the end of Charlotte Street nearby the present-day Omni Park Grove Inn. In 1910 the Grove family chipped in to hire Musselburgh, Scotland’s Willie Park Jr., who combined with his father won a total of six Open Championships. The Park’s were rivals of Old Tom Morris and his son Tommy Junior who together won a total of eight Opens. Fellow Scot Donald Ross first appeared on the scene in Asheville in 1913 to redesign Willie’s work. Ross then went on to design a whole new layout in 1926 for what would then be known as the Country Club of Asheville. Elaine and Charles Sammons, the prior owners of the Omni Grove Park Inn, went from partial to full ownership in 1976. Known as “The Big Swap,” the Grove Park Inn received the now Grove Park Country Club in its very own  front yard whereas the private country club took a golf course at Beaver Lake. But for the golf-loving owners at the time, that was not enough so they renovated the golf course in 1984, nearly ninety years after its inception. The famed links were completely restored in 2001 to recapture the spirit and form of the original 1926 Donald Roses design masterpiece. Golf, below Sunset Mountain, at the Grove Park Inn was launched into its second century of existence. The golf course at the Omni Grove Park Inn has hosted the world’s best players over the years. Soon after the original 1926 Ross design grew in, the likes of Harry Vardon and Ted Ray competed in an exhibition. The PGA’s Asheville Land of Sky Open ran for eighteen years through 1951 with the legendary Ben Hogan winning three consecutive years from 1940 to 1942! Some of the Hogan Hawk legend evolved here as one day he had a tap-in birdie on the par-3 7th hole and the next posted an eleven trying and eventually escaping from a ravine. His playing partners noted that the expression on the face of Hogan, the Hawk, never changed from one day to the next! Even the great Bobby Jones came to Asheville and the Grove Park Inn to play the lower mountain golf course that he so enjoyed! But that was then and now is now and let me tell you that this is a great, not-to-be-missed golfing experience! The first nine is the lower nine and can jump up to bite you big time same as it did Hogan. The second nine, closer to the Inn, especially the Sammons Wing, takes you on a challenging and picturesque journey up the gradual slopes of Sunset Mountain. I particularly liked the par-5 12^th hole, not because I birdied it with a nice little pitch and 10-foot putt,  but because it is a series of rolling hills and valleys that need to be navigated a certain way in order to have visibility as to where you are going—classic, pure and strategic Donald Ross! The 12^th hole eventually meanders by the old entrance and stone wall of the original Country Club of Asheville. Give me a beautiful golf course with great shot values and a touch of history and I am a happy golfer! At the far high point of the golf course, near the par-3 17^th tee, stands the stately stone Bynum House. It was the first piece of property to be sold outside the Grove family in 1920 and it took seventy-nine years to return to the Grove Park Inn in 1999. Enticingly, there is a historical picture of an elaborate party inside the house yet the sign warns one not to get too close. The back tee is situated right next to the house so you can sort of get a glimpse inside. There wasn’t any party or function the day I played, hence no invitation. Perhaps you will be luckier both with an invitation and your tee shot on the 17^th! Distracted by history and the need to voyage and document, I found myself unprepared when faced with the 171-yard tee shot. Literally in the shadows of the modern Sammons Wing, yet matching the historic part of the Omni Grove Park Inn, the 17^th, while one of Ross’ short holes, is eternally narrow. On that hole on that day I was wholesome entertainment for anybody gazing out their window. The eighteenth is a great finishing hole, nearly all downhill with a dog-leg left fairway that bottoms out and then rises up to another ingeniously elevated and inverted-saucer-sloped green. Like your visit to the Inn, playing the Omni Grove Park Country Club will be memorable, exhilarating, and fun. A lifetime memory with alternating views of the distant mountains and the majestic red-clay-tile roofed Grove Park Inn. I find it hard to believe, but true, that the Inn was designed from a sketch by Fred Seely, the son-in-law of Edwin Grove, the successful pharmaceutical entrepreneur and namesake of one of America’s true treasures. The sketch and the Inn are remarkably similar. Basically you need a week, or minimally four nights to get a thorough feeling of the Omni Grove Park Inn! Be sure to take the tour offered on Wednesday mornings at 9 am. Mine was done by a very knowledgeable young lady named Becky from Sales and Marketing. Not surprisingly I also learned that she had a minor in history. One of the best tours I have ever taken. She brought Grove, Seely, and the Sammons to life! The story of the resurrection of the hotel and its transformation into a world-class destination resort for post WWII presidents, movie stars and we the coming and going multitudes is well documented! Don’t miss the elevator ride inside the chimney, the third-floor Palm Court with its skylight, and of course the secluded window in a chimney! And the spa, the spa, the spa—constructed underground so as not to obstruct the room views of Asheville and the opposing mountains, at a cost of 42 million dollars when it opened in 2001. And the cuisine, the cuisine, the cuisine—I so enjoyed the Edison, an innovative and artistic restaurant in design and  food, so much I went back there every night of my stay! Discover Edison for yourself or enjoy the Sunset Terrace of the Blue Ridge dining room known for its Friday night Seafood Buffet, Saturday night Prime Rib Buffet, and  Sunday Champagne Brunch. The city of Asheville is literally at your doorstep. The Omni Grove Park Inn is featured Stop No. 6 on the 10-stop Grayline Hop-On, Hop-Off historic tour of Asheville. With no hopping, you can make it around in less than two hours. It’s a great way to see Asheville!   For every season there is a reason to visit the Omni Grove Park Inn.  My season was the 25^th Anniversary of the National Gingerbread House Competition but if you miss the actual competition, no worries, as there is an exhibit highlighting it year-round. In a way that is the story of the Omni Grove Park Inn—you will experience its history, all the way back to its founding in 1913 while enjoying the modern luxury that no other resort can match!         Below is a picture gallery from my visit and below the pictures are my real-time social media posts: Can you tell I was excited to be at the Omni Grove Park Inn? I am here, it is The Omni Grove Park Inn, and it IS Spectacular! OMG, the history (since 1913), the architecture, & their five–star service! Unbelievable beautiful sunset tonight. Room overlooking the golf course, a 1924 Donald Ross design that actually goes back to the 1890s & Willie Park. How am I supposed to sleep tonight? Too excited to play this historic venue in the morning! TROML Baby!   (Facebook Post with 30 pics, Andy Reistetter, 11/6/17). I have had to play golf with some turkeys in my life but this was ridiculous!!! Not to name names…   (Facebook Post with 1 Pic, Andy Reistetter, 11/8/17) Great round of golf on this vintage 1926 Donald Ross golf course! With roots back to Willie Park in the 1890s, host of the PGA TOUR in the 1940s & 50s, an expert renovation back to pure Donald Ross was done in 200! Love the Donald Ross quotes & the ‘Hawk’ story too! Here is a great golf course that has stood the test of time & is a thrill, historic & modern, to play! More to be written on this experience! A BIG thank you to Head PGA Golf Professional Simon Andres & direct from Cork, Ireland Assistant Frank Holly for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!   (Facebook Post with 30 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 11/8/17) Sad to check out this morning… but a great way to end my stay with the Wednesday 9 am group tour of the Omni Grove Park Inn. Tour guide Becky, a.k.a. Marketing Expert & Historian was terrific! Oreos, pig babies, & thermometers in the walls! More to be written about my visit… Bye Bye Asheville for now…   (Facebook Post with 30 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 11/8/17)