New Road Open

On Friday, December 19, the new Pleasant Grove Church Road officially opened to the public. This road reroutes outside traffic away from the Premier Golf Course, and outside the gates of the community. Although the surface has been complete for some months, the necessary paperwork has now been processed by the Department of Transportation and we were able to open to area residents.

The following video shows the final touches being applied before the barricades were removed and the new road opened.

Although work has, of necessity, slowed for the winter months, we continue to press forward building the infrastructure of our community and our club. If you would like to come out for a tour, drop me a line.

Practice is NOT an Afterthought

One of the things that is so unique about Seven Falls is our golf academy. I've talked in some detail about the myriad of technologies, the 80,000 square feet of practice tees, our incredible academy building, and the first class instruction; but one component of the academy that we haven't discussed is our practice campus.

Although it looks like a nine hole golf course, it is much more than that. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Vinson believe that practice is more than an afterthought, and so they created an environment where you can perfect every aspect of your game. The 60-acre facility allows you to practice any on-course shot of up to 300 yards before arriving at the first tee. Grab a couple handfuls of Pro V1s and get your game face on.

The greatest part of my job is that I get to try out all our wonderful amenities (keep in mind: I am the Member Services Director, not the golf pro)-

This campus can help to improve everyone's game, even a hacker like me.

Still Falling for Western NC

For all of the talk in the national press regarding the slumping real estate market, the activity levels in western NC offer a more optimistic outlook for the economy. A couple of weeks ago, we had another successful event at Seven Falls. The Little River Band and Gary Ross entertained 300 of our Members and guests under perfect autumn skies. For many it offered a first look at our academy building and the fully completed practice campus, featuring nine championship quality green and bunker complexes. Everyone was blown away by what is the premier private practice facility in the country.

See Slideshow

Analysis of our local real estate market shows that prices are holding steady and most local experts predict that the coming year will be a strong one. While much of the country is staggering under the weight of decreasing property values, western NC remains comparatively strong. Just this past weekend, Tiger Woods held his grand opening at High Carolina, just down the road, and had a successful sales day. We couldn't be happier about it. It demonstrates the fact that our real estate market remains strong despite all the doom and gloom assessments that are permeating the press.

Come out and experience Seven Falls for yourself and see why we are all still falling for Western NC.

Picnic on the Green

Over the last couple of days, the saturation levels on the hills surrounding our community have slowly been dialed back and the first hints of yellow, orange, are appearing. Fall has officially arrived in western North Carolina. I have lived in many parts of the country, but nowhere is fall a more spectacular season than here.


On October 19, we are looking forward to celebrating autumn with our Members and a selected number of potential Members. The Little River Band will be providing entertainment at the Park at Palmer Place.

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The Picnic on the Green, our fall Member appreciation event, will serve as the official opening of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy. Although we opened the practice campus in June, the academy building is just being finished. After its opening, the entire facility will be open 7 days a week.

See the Latest Developments

For some amenitized communities, autumn is the time when things start to slow down. At Seven Falls, we are continuing to pick up momentum.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today it is raining. We haven't been able to say that very much this summer, but with Tropical Storm Faye making her slow way past, we are enjoying several solid days of much needed rain.

Water conservation has been all over the news lately. Droughts all over the southeast have led to quite a bit of press coverage. Although less serious here than in other parts of the south, it has been dry in the mountains this summer. All are being asked to tighten the metaphorical belt. Seven Falls is blessed to have a golf course superintendent who is able to manage conditions better than anybody in the business.

Joe Baidy, past president of the Golf Course Superintendents of America, knows more about growing grass than any other human being I've ever met. His knowledge has helped Seven Falls dramatically during this dry summer as we have been able to utilize a small fraction of the surface water that we are permitted to draw. This is a direct result of his knowledge of drought resistant hybrids, wetting agents, and targeted watering practices.

Seven Falls is committed to natural resource management and believe that every challenge presented is an opportunity to improve our performance and efficiency. Through the intelligent deployment of technology and proper planning, we believe that sustainable growth is an achievable goal.

Summer Event Series

Beginning in July, we have started hosting weekly events at our newly opened Arnold Palmer Golf Academy. These themed events are being held every Friday (through the end of August) and Saturday (in September) nights through the remainder of the summer. These weekly events will be capped off by our Fall Festival coming on October 18-19.

See a slideshow of this week's event.


So far, we have held three weekly events and have maxed out our attendance limit for each one. These events have been a fantastic opportunity for our Members to get to know each other and get acquainted with our ever growing staff.


I am often questioned about the construction timeline for the academy building and I am pleased to be able to report that we are on schedule to have the facility up and running by January. This mecca of high tech golf instruction is going to be a welcome addition to the growing list of amenities enjoyed by our residents.

If you are interested in attending an upcoming event at our golf academy, please contact our Concierge, Katie Smith.

Now That Was A Party!

Although some of our guests may be suffering from a hangover, the club has no such issue. Our June 7th event was an unmitigated success. Mr. Palmer and Kenny G were here during the grand opening of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy and release of the Villas of Palmer Place. They were joined by over 600 Seven Falls Members and guests.

Folks came from as far away as Kansas to help us celebrate our grand opening. The academy is the first major amenity to come on line at Seven Falls and is now a seven day a week facility.

The Villas of Palmer Place were well received and sales for the week totalled roughly $20 million. Despite all the negative reports regarding the economy and real estate market, Seven Falls once again exceeded goals and outside expectations.

Seven Falls is a family-centric club and our June 7th event featured fun for the entire family including golf contests and instruction, guided trail hikes, a plethora of children's activities, a bevy of local culinary delights, and a chance to interact with one of golf's legends.

That night we hosted about 500 at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville for a private concert with Kenny G. I think that I speak for everyone present when I say- WOW! He and his band blew us all away. What a great show.

We will be hosting our next major event on October 19 (the Little River Band has been booked as our musical entertainment). Email me if you would like to be invited.

Save The Date

On June 7 Seven Falls is throwing a party. Mr. Palmer will be joining us on that day for the release of the Villas of Palmer Place and the grand opening of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy.

The Villas are located adjacent to the academy...

Each villa will come equipped with a private golf car (and garage space to house it), a custom fitted set of golf clubs, an Arnold Palmer memorabilia display and access to a private tee box at the academy.

The academy is the only facility of its kind. It will feature facilities that rival the very best teaching campuses available at the best five-star resorts. In addition to the 9 hole Teaching Course and the world class full swing and short game practice areas, the Seven Falls Arnold Palmer Golf Academy will feature the following items:

State of the Art 3D Motion Analysis Studio
· View the swing or putting stroke from any angle at any speed. The most high tech golf analysis system available. Hit balls from the studio out onto the range no matter what the weather is like.

K-Vest
· Portable 3D motion analysis. Can be used on the golf course or anywhere on the Golf Academy campus.

V1 Professional Video Analysis
· A dedicated studio featuring both the V1 Professional and V1 Putting software. Used by many of the top golf academies and schools in the world. Hit balls from the studio out onto the range no matter what the weather is like.
· In addition to the studio, Seven Falls also features a portable version of V1 Professional and V1 Putting software which can be used anywhere on the Golf Academy campus or on the golf course.

TOMI Putting Analysis System
· Portable computer analysis system. For use on the course or the practice putting greens.

Trackman Launch Monitor
· The launch monitor technology used by all major club manufacturers and the PGA Tour
· Measures ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, trajectory, curvature, angle of descent, carry distance, roll distance, and total distance. In short, it follows and measures every dimension of the ball flight and gives multiple views of the flight. The Trackman is the launch monitor used on PGA Tour golf telecasts.
· Can be used from either of the studios or outside.


Stretching Room
· Features the True Stretch Trainer, Free Trainer, True Treadmill, stability balls, flat to incline bench, dumb bells, and other equipment.


Golf Club Repair and Building Room
· Equipment from Mitchell Golf to change loft and lie angle, regrip, and retro fit clubs.

If you want to come out for a preview or to attend our June 7th event, please contact me.

It's All About the Falls

This part of North Carolina is world famous for its waterfalls. In fact, Transylvania County (one mile from Seven Falls) has more waterfalls than any other county in America.


When I first came to Seven Falls I was blown away by this waterfall, but little did I realize that this was just the beginning of the beauty that this property offers. We recently finished a large section of the nearly eight miles of continuous hiking trails that join the most spectacular natural features of our property. I was out the other day and took some pictures of a section of the Seven Falls trail system. Here are a couple of highlights:


This section of falls sits just above Monarch Park, near the eleventh hole of the Championship Course. It is a truly dramatic series of three large falls that empty into the one of the streams that will challenge golfers on nearly every hole.



As we have continued to extend our trail system, we keep discovering new falls of the property. Panther Rock Falls (seen in the background) is a sliding rock type fall that was just discovered. It is yet another example of the magnificence of this property. Our staff and Members are truly blessed to be able to enjoy the splendor of this corner of western North Carolina.

If you are interested in taking a tour of this spectacular property, drop me a line. I love having a reason to get out and experience the falls.

Palmer Inspection Tour

Yesterday Mr. Palmer visited Seven Falls to examine the progress that we have been making (see story). He inspected the golf academy site and teaching holes and conducted a thorough examination of phase one of the championship course.

He stated repeatedly that he was extremely pleased with the progress of both sites. He will be returning to the property at the beginning of June for the grand opening of the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy and the Villas at Palmer Place.

The Arnold Palmer Golf Academy will be a facility unlike any other that I am aware of. We will have a resort style instruction facility (comparable to TPC Sawgrass or Grand Cypress) in a private club. There is simply no other private golf club anywhere that will have possess comparable technology and expertise to fix all of those swing idiocyncracies. Not to mention a full nine instructional holes to put those tips to the test under real playing conditions.

Our Director of Instruction, Pete Huber (formerly of the PGA Golf School, John Jacob Golf School, and Troon North Golf Academy), has an incredible staff of instructors and the very latest in high-tech swing analysis and imaging that will make the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy instruction experience unprecedented worldwide (coming June of 2008). Email me for more information.

I know that I can't wait to have Pete and his staff show me how to mend my erratic hook.

Tax Day

It seems appropriate to begin blogging about the progress of Seven Falls on tax day. Why you ask? This day, for Americans, is a reckoning. We are all forced to look back over the previous year and account for our efforts.

This is a perfect opportunity for those of us involved in the creation of this community to look back as well. Even using the most critical introspection, our first year of development has been an unrivaled success. From every perspective- course construction, infrastructure development, staffing, sales- Seven Falls has been successful. We are well into phase two of real estate sales, with the golf academy campus and nine teaching holes nearing completion. Ground has been broken on our clubhouse and the championship course is now entering phase two and will be completed this fall. Not bad for one year.

Here is our latest video news release (which we post monthly).

I will be publishing detailed updates on the progress of our club- so check back often to 'see' the creation of the first Arnold Palmer Premier golf community in the world.

Visit our website for more.