PGA TOUR · FedExCup Fall
Professional golf returns to the Blue Ridge Mountains for the first time since 1942. Here is what to book, where to park, and how to spend the hours you are not on the course.
TL;DR
If you just want the ultimate Asheville experience, stay at the Grove Park Inn. Head to Biltmore Park early and catch the tournament shuttle to the course. Eat, drink, and play at Biltmore Park when you are not on the course, then head back to the Grove Park Inn.
This is not the shortest commute. It is our pick for the best overall Asheville golf trip. Stay at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park instead if speed and simplicity matter more than the resort experience.
Why it matters
The Biltmore Championship Asheville is a new PGA TOUR stop on the FedExCup Fall schedule, played September 17 through 20, 2026 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden. Biltmore Estate and Explore Asheville are co-title sponsors under a four-year agreement, which means this is not a one-time visit. Asheville is on the fall calendar through at least 2029.
The last time the TOUR came here, it was the Asheville Land of the Sky Open, an official event from 1939 to 1942. Ben Hogan won the last three of them. That gap is the story locals will tell you about all week.
Expect a field of more than 100 players competing for a $5 million purse, with live coverage on Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, SiriusXM, and the World Feed.
Where to stay
First choice, closest to the course
43 Town Square Blvd, Asheville. This is the easy win. The hotel sits on the same square as the tournament's general parking lot and shuttle pickup, so your walk to the course begins in the lobby. Garage parking, Tesla superchargers on site, and a genuinely walkable square around you: a wide range of restaurants, shops, a movie theater, and the YMCA all within a few minutes on foot.
It is about five minutes from Asheville Regional Airport and roughly 20 minutes from downtown. If you want one booking that solves parking, food, and proximity at once, book this and stop researching.
If you want the Asheville experience, not the shortest commute
This is our pick for anyone who wants a one-of-a-kind Asheville stay rather than the fastest route to the first tee. The Grove Park Inn has been the landmark hotel here for over a century, in a beautiful residential neighborhood north of downtown, and F. Scott Fitzgerald is only the most famous name on a long guest list.
The golf course is excellent, the food is excellent, and the service is what separates it from everything else in the market. If you stay here, take one evening on the Sunset Terrace and time it for actual sunset. That view over the Blue Ridge is the reason people come back.
If you came for the sights too
Staying on Biltmore Estate puts you inside the 8,000 acres, with the house, gardens, Antler Hill Village, and the winery at your door. The Village Hotel is the more moderate option on the same grounds. Worth it if the estate was already on your list, since you get early and late access to a property most visitors only see mid-day.
Second choice
A short drive south in Fletcher and Arden, all in a safe, well-kept area with restaurants nearby:
There are restaurants within walking distance, but this is not laid out for walking the way Biltmore Park is. Plan on having a car.
Why Airport Road works
Staying south means you never touch the congestion coming out of the city, and you approach Biltmore Park from the opposite direction to most of the crowd. There are several access points into the area, which matters on a morning when a few thousand people are converging on one lot.
What is around you down there
The Airport Road side puts you minutes from Sierra Nevada's Mills River brewery, which is reason enough on its own. If you would rather skip Sierra Nevada or you are a cider drinker, Bold Rock Mills River Cidery at 72 School House Rd has a big lawn and a permanent food truck, and Burning Blush Brewery at 4891 Boylston Hwy in Mills River pours excellent local beer with rotating food trucks.
Want to actually play while you are here? Broadmoor Links at 101 French Broad Ln in Fletcher is public, rebuilt after Helene, and has a Toptracer range and an 18-hole putting green.
If you are driving in
42 McMurray Rd, Flat Rock. About 30 minutes south, and our pick if you would rather not be around crowds. Independently owned, consistently rated near the top in the region, and priced well below what the rating suggests. There is a reason for both.
If you are coming up from South Carolina or Georgia and you want a gas station, a Zaxby's, and a McDonald's nearby rather than a bustling city center, this is a no-brainer.
Book as soon as you know your dates. Tournament week adds a major event to an already busy Western North Carolina travel period. The best-located rooms around Biltmore Park and the airport are the ones most likely to disappear first.
If you are looking at the Biltmore Estate packages: only The Inn's Vanderbilt Fairway package includes daily roundtrip transportation between the estate and The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. The Biltmore Championship Classic package includes tickets and valet at the hotel, not a ride to the course, so you will still need a parking pass or another way in.
The venue
The Cliffs at Walnut Cove is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design running roughly 7,167 yards through a valley bordered by Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Elevation change does most of the defending here. Bring shoes you can walk hills in.
Arden, just south of Asheville. Minutes from Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) and about 20 minutes from downtown. If you are flying in, this is one of the easier TOUR venues in the country to reach from the terminal.
Walnut Cove is a private club. Tournament week is the exception, and the only way in as a visitor is a ticket. Members hold their own access privileges during the week.
Tickets
Grounds tickets are on sale now through the official tournament site. A grounds ticket covers access to the tournament grounds plus every venue that is open to the public.
Still to be announced: military and veteran ticket details. The tournament has said it will honor active-duty service members, veterans, and their families, with specifics released closer to the event. If that applies to you, wait for the announcement before buying at full price.
Ticket questions go to the PGA TOUR ticket support line at 1-800-404-7887.
Getting there
You buy a parking pass separately from your ticket. General parking is at Biltmore Park Town Square, 4 Town Square Blvd, Asheville NC 28803, with complimentary shuttle service to and from the course running throughout the championship.
Uber and Lyft will be permitted, with drop-off and pick-up details announced closer to tournament week. Asheville's rideshare supply thins out on busy fall weekends, so build in a wait after the final putt.
Asheville Regional (AVL) is roughly 10 to 15 minutes from the course and from Biltmore Park. Charlotte Douglas is about two hours by car if AVL fares are steep, which they often are in fall.
A local note on Biltmore Park: the parking lot doubles as a walkable town square with restaurants, a movie theater, and shops. If your group splits up, it is a genuinely pleasant place to wait for the shuttle rather than a gravel field.
On the grounds
The event follows the standard PGA TOUR bag policy and prohibited items list. In practice that means a small clear bag or a compliant soft-sided bag, no full-size backpacks, and no cameras during competition rounds for general spectators.
Eat and drink
Biltmore Park Town Square has 131 Main for a steak-and-seafood dinner, Posana Biltmore Park for a more refined and entirely gluten-free menu, and Thirsty Monk South for a beer and something casual. All within a few minutes' walk of where the shuttle drops you.
Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack is the local institution and worth the line. The Flying Squirrel Pub and Post 25 Kitchen & Lounge both do a relaxed post-round dinner without a reservation battle.
If you enjoy a pastry while catching a shuttle, you are already in the right place. Ava's Donuts at 26 Carl Alwin Pl is right there in Biltmore Park, minutes from the shuttle pickup. Grab some Ava's. You will not be disappointed.
Sierra Nevada's Mills River brewery, 100 Sierra Nevada Way in Fletcher, is 10 minutes from the course and worth a full afternoon: taproom, restaurant, brewery tours, and grounds you can walk. Closer to the gate, Sweeten Creek Brewing is the easy taproom stop. Highland Brewing, the city's original, is about 20 minutes north.
The other days
The Parkway runs within a few miles of the course. Head toward Mount Pisgah for overlooks that are at their best in the first hour after sunrise, before the fall traffic builds.
The tournament's co-title sponsor, and America's largest home, about 20 minutes north. Give it half a day if you go, because the house, gardens, and Antler Hill Village are farther apart than they look on the map.
Roughly 45 minutes southwest on US 276, and the waterfall you can see from the road without a hike. Sixty feet, straight off a granite ledge, with a short stairway down to the base. Pair it with DuPont State Recreational Forest nearby if you want Triple Falls and High Falls on the same trip.
Dinner, live music, and a walkable few blocks of independent restaurants. This is the part of the trip people remember, so leave one night unscheduled for it.
The week itself
September is the beginning of the long Asheville fall. Days hold summer warmth, highs usually in the upper 70s, while nights drop into the 50s and clear out. The first color shows on the highest ridgelines, though the valleys stay green for several more weeks.
Practically, that means a walkable, comfortable week for spectating with a real chance of a passing afternoon shower. It also means everyone else wants to be here. Traffic on Hendersonville Road and along the Parkway is heavier than the map times suggest.
Questions
Competition rounds run Thursday, September 17 through Sunday, September 20, 2026. Tournament week activities, including practice rounds, begin earlier in the week.
The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, a private Jack Nicklaus Signature course in Arden, North Carolina, minutes from Asheville Regional Airport and about 20 minutes south of downtown Asheville.
No. Parking passes are sold separately. General parking is at Biltmore Park Town Square, 4 Town Square Blvd, and a complimentary shuttle to the course is included with the daily pass.
Yes. Two children ages 15 and under are admitted free per ticketed adult, with no pre-registration required. Show up at any gate. Children six and older need their own ticket to enter hospitality venues.
Up to six tickets per day, per account. Tickets are mobile only, and single-day tickets are available for each of the four competition rounds subject to availability.
1942. The Asheville Land of the Sky Open was an official TOUR event from 1939 to 1942, and Ben Hogan won the final three editions before it ended.
Golf Channel carries the broadcast, with additional coverage on PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, SiriusXM, and the World Feed produced by PGA TOUR Studios.
Golf is four days. Asheville is the reason you extend the stay. Our guides cover the waterfalls, the Parkway overlooks, and the neighborhoods worth an evening.
Explore Asheville Insiders GuideTicketing, parking, and transportation details come from the official tournament materials and are subject to change. Confirm current details with the tournament before you travel.