Chinquapin

High in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Cashiers sits at roughly 3,500 feet of elevation — one of the highest towns in the eastern United States. The air is cool even in midsummer, the light is sharp, and the surrounding Nantahala National Forest gives the area a sense of genuine remove. Cashiers has long been a retreat for lowland Southerners escaping the heat, and private golf clubs have been part of that culture for generations.

Chinquapin is a private residential community, and its course reflects the retreat character of the place — mountain golf that rewards patience and local knowledge over raw power. Elevation changes, tree-lined corridors, and the kind of turf conditions that highland summers produce make for a round that feels meaningfully different from anything you'd play in the Carolina Piedmont or along the coast.

The name itself nods to the chinquapin, a chestnut relative native to these Appalachian slopes, which tells you something about how the community positions itself: rooted in the specific landscape rather than generic resort polish.