From Ruin to Revival: Saving Asheville’s Beloved Muni

Asheville’s Municipal Golf Course—known simply as “Muni”—is undergoing a major restoration after suffering catastrophic damage from tropical storms in late 2024.

This nearly century-old course, originally designed by legendary architect Donald Ross in 1927, had been in the final stages of a multi-year improvement project when Tropical Storm Helene struck on September 27, 2024.

Helene’s flooding devastated the front nine holes, undoing much of the progress and leaving the course unplayable beyond the back nine. Today, a concerted effort is underway—backed by city leaders, federal funds, and passionate volunteers—to restore “Muni” to its original glory and ensure it thrives for another hundred years.

Donald Ross Design with a Rich Heritage

The Asheville Municipal Golf Course holds a special place in North Carolina history. It was the first public golf course in the state, opening for play in 1927, and it later became the first municipal course to be racially integrated in the Southeast. Famed Scottish-American architect Donald Ross, whose portfolio includes Pinehurst No. 2 and hundreds of other courses, designed Muni to take advantage of Asheville’s varied terrain. The front nine lies flat in a riverside floodplain, while the back nine winds through rolling, tree-lined hills—offering two distinct golfing experiences in one layout. Remarkably, Muni remained largely unaltered since Ross’s era, preserving much of its original character.

This course isn’t just significant for its design; it’s woven into Asheville’s social fabric. In the Jim Crow era, Muni was the course where African Americans were welcome to play, and in 1960 it hosted the inaugural Skyview Open—a tournament founded to showcase Black golfers at a time they had few other opportunities. Legends like Lee Elder, Jim Dent, and even boxing great Joe Louis teed it up at Skyview over the years. According to Sheila Fender, a past historian and employee of the Biltmore Forest Country Club, a local African American golfer (and employee of Biltmore Forest Country Club) Brooks Dendy even gave Joe Louis several golf lessons at the Muni. The Skyview Tournament has been held every summer since 1960 and remains one of the nation’s largest African-American–operated golf events. “The Asheville Muni course has a proud history as a place where African Americans could play golf,” says Brad Becken, a board member of the Donald Ross Society. “Asheville should be very proud of that.” 

Pete McDaniel — an Asheville native, best- selling author and journalist, and inductee into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame and the African-American Golfers Hall of Fame — said: "In the South, segregation ruled, especially during Jim Crow. There were very few tournaments that had mixed fields, and the Skyview was one of them. Now, it wasn't the only one, because there were tournaments in Knoxville and Atlanta, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, but folks had to fight to be able to open those golf courses to the blacks. Then, once that happened, the pros, they wanted to play wherever there was a little bit of money to be made. So black players and white players, they all came together and there was a lot of camaraderie to it. I mean, the competition was fierce, but the guys respected each other — if you could play. There was an old saying between the pros: "the ball doesn't know who's hitting it — whether it's a black person or white person. The ball only knows it is being hit."" 

Pete went on to tell us a bit about what the course was like when the Skyview Tournament was just getting started: "The greens were really small [back then] — they've been enlarged over the years. In mid July, for the Skyview, a lot of times the fairways were burned out. You couldn't find a whole lot of grass, so they played preferred lies a lot. And especially on some of the holes on the back nine that were tree-lined — if there was a dogleg left, like on number 14, you would have to hit the ball up in the rough — what little rough there was on the right-hand side — and it might find its way toward the bottom of the fairway on the left and not roll all the way into the trees. But, often, it did, because there was very little grass on those fairways. So, it took a lot of skill to be able to play bump and run shots. They talk about Tiger Woods' stinger — well, I saw guys hitting that shot in 1965 — the same shot."

A Restoration Years in the Making

Ironically, much of the groundwork to revive Asheville Muni was already underway before the storm damage. In recent years the City of Asheville and local partners had embarked on a $3–3.5 million renovation aimed at rehabilitating the aging course’s infrastructure and features. Funding for this effort came from a combination of sources — the City, Buncombe County’s tourism authority (Explore Asheville), private donors, and grants. In fact, a 2022 grant of $1.64 million from the Tourism Product Development Fund helped kickstart the upgrades. The Friends of Asheville Muni (FOAM), a local nonprofit, and the Donald Ross Society Foundation also contributed tens of thousands of dollars in grants to support planning and restoration work, reflecting the community’s passion for the course (Becken notes the Ross Society gave at least $60,000 in grants for the master plan and initial renovations).

A new management company, Commonwealth Golf Partners II, was brought in by the city in late 2022 to operate the course and oversee improvements. Under Commonwealth’s first year, Muni saw an impressive list of upgrades:

• Modernized Infrastructure: Installation of new stormwater drainage lines under several holes and a full irrigation overhaul to resolve longstanding flooding and turf issues.

• Course Restoration: Reshaping and rebuilding of Ross’s original bunkers and tee boxes according to a detailed Master Plan drawn up by architect Kris Spence, a specialist in Ross restorations. Dozens of trees that had encroached on fairways were removed to recapture Ross’s intended sightlines. Greens were resodded and improved with new maintenance practices and even high-tech soil sensors to keep them healthy.

• Facility Improvements: The clubhouse interior got a refresh, a new fleet of GPS-enabled golf carts was introduced, and even the parking lot was slated for repaving. A new rate structure was implemented to keep golf affordable for city residents.

“These projects were a long time coming and very much needed,” Pat Warren, Muni’s general manager and head golf professional, said during the renovations. “Regulars…cannot believe the transformation. There’s a lot of excitement over what’s happening now and what’s to come”. By the end of summer 2024, the course was in the best shape anyone had seen in years — “the course had never looked so good,” as Friends of Muni later recounted. According to Pete McDaniel, "The transition of the golf course into what it was before [Hurricane] Helene, was simply amazing".

Storm Destruction: Milton & Helene Wash It All Away

All that momentum met a cruel twist of fate on September 27, 2024, when Tropical Storm Milton and Hurricane Helene drenched Western North Carolina. The front nine, which lies in the floodplain along the Swannanoa River, was completely inundated. In a matter of hours, eight of Muni’s greens were ruined, eight fairways scoured by currents, and every tee box on the course was damaged. Bunkers were filled in or washed away (only 3 of 18 bunkers survived), and large sections of cart path were destroyed. One small building — a restroom by the 5th hole — was ripped off its foundation and swept downstream. Hundreds of trees fell or were left leaning precariously. “The entire front nine was completely destroyed by the storm,” Becken recalls. “I was there two days before Helene hit… and then it was all undone just a few days later,” he says, describing the scene as a “complete mess.”

City officials initially hoped to reopen the back nine for play within weeks, and the maintenance crew worked tirelessly to clear debris and stabilize that portion of the course. By October 28, 2024 — one month after Helene — Muni partially reopened as a 9-hole course, allowing golfers to play the surviving back nine (twice around for an 18-hole round). Even as piles of driftwood and silt lined the fairways, locals were eager to return. “Everybody [was] excited with the improvement… and then of course it was all undone,” Becken says of the whiplash from restoration to ruin.

With the front side indefinitely closed, the City got creative in providing alternate recreation on the property. In August 2025, the normally grassy fairways of holes 1–9 were temporarily converted into a disc golf course, designed in collaboration with a professional disc golf champion, Chris Dickerson. This interim use of the land is giving residents a new way to enjoy the open space while plans for rebuilding the golf course move forward. But make no mistake — everyone involved intends for disc golf to be a short-lived guest. As the City’s notice to the public made clear, this is “only until restoration of the front 9 holes of the golf course can begin… a temporary way of transforming that destruction into an interim recreational space.”

Rebuilding “Muni” – Restoration Plans and Funding

The City of Asheville has committed to restoring the municipal course largely to its pre-storm state and Ross design, while also making it more resilient against future floods. In July 2025, the City Council approved a contract with Biohabitats of North Carolina to lead the design of the front nine restoration, signaling that the project is moving ahead. Biohabitats — known for ecological engineering — is partnering with golf course architects Forse Golf Design and Cutlip Golf Design on the plans. Notably, Ron Forse is a nationally recognized expert in restoring Donald Ross courses, which means the rebuilt Asheville Muni should look and play like Ross intended. The design will incorporate modern flood mitigation and ecological strategies too, so the next big storm won’t so easily wash Muni away.

According to the city, the bulk of funding is expected to come from the FEMA Public Assistance program, which helps communities rebuild infrastructure after disasters. As of mid-2025, federal and state disaster aid for the golf course has been requested but was still being finalized. “We are working towards a restoration of the Muni; however, we still have yet to fully identify funding for the project,” admits Chris Corl, Asheville’s director of community and regional entertainment facilities. Corl said it’s assumed FEMA will cover a major share for restoring the front nine, but that was “not yet confirmed” as of late 2024. In the meantime, the City has engaged a consulting firm to document the damage and navigate the federal funding process. There’s optimism that money will come through — FEMA aid was approved for many of Asheville’s battered parks and facilities post-Helene — but the exact timeline and budget remain fluid.

Initial estimates peg the cost of full restoration between $5 and $7 million. That would cover everything from rebuilding greens and tees to replacing the entire irrigation system, which was destroyed by the flood. (By contrast, much of the brand-new stormwater piping installed in summer 2024 survived the deluge intact, a small silver lining.) If FEMA funds come through as expected, typically 75% of eligible costs would be federally reimbursed, with the remainder likely split between state and local sources. The City has a strong incentive to expedite the project—each month the front nine remains closed costs an estimated $30,000 in lost revenue, on top of the community’s lost enjoyment.

Looking Ahead: A Phoenix Rising by the Centennial

As of now, there is no firm reopening date for the full 18-hole course. City officials have emphasized that restoring a historic course is a complex project that will take time — design work will run through 2025, with construction likely in 2026. “We don’t have a timeline yet for the project and, unfortunately, we don’t have a timeline for the timeline,” Corl quipped when asked for a schedule. The prudent approach is to do this right: ensure the new course honors Ross’s design, meets historic preservation standards, and can better withstand extreme weather. The Friends of Asheville Muni and the Donald Ross Society are watching closely and offering help where they can. “As far as I’m concerned, we will continue [support] if we get a request… I would certainly recommend giving them additional grants,” says Becken, underscoring the Ross Society’s ongoing commitment.

Golfers in Asheville are certainly anxious to get their full course back. But in the meantime, Muni is still alive and swinging — the back nine remains open, and rounds are being played every day on the half-course. The enduring popularity of Muni, even in a truncated form, speaks to its importance. It’s not just a place to play golf; it’s a democratic gathering spot, a living museum of golf history, and an anchor for the surrounding community.

If all goes well, Asheville Municipal Golf Course will re-emerge better than ever, just in time for its 100th anniversary in 2027. There’s a palpable determination among those involved that this beloved course will not be another casualty of Mother Nature. Instead, the plan is for Asheville’s Muni to stand as a shining example of restoration — a historic Donald Ross gem brought back to life for future generations: As Donald Ross himself once said, “The development of municipal golf courses is the greatest step ever taken to make [golf] the game of the people”. In Asheville, that ethos lives on: Muni truly is golf for the people, and soon those people will once again enjoy all 18 holes of this treasured course in the Blue Ridge foothills.