The Highlands Golf Club at Fisher Mountain

When you’re having an off day on the course, it can sometimes be hard to not blame the course itself for at least part of your woes. And looking at the slope rating on the scorecard for the Highlands Golf Club, you certainly shouldn’t expect a personal best. But there’s a difference between a hard course that’s still fun to play and just a plain hard course.

Those who have not played this course before will find added difficulty in the various blind shots, multiple hazards, thick rough, and green contours that take inspiration from the steep West Virginian mountains that surround the course.

The layout itself is similar to other traditional mountain courses (my favorite flavor of golf courses) with elevated tees, fairways that slope down, up, and sideways, and beautiful scenic vistas. Most holes have their own unique character, from the over-hill-and-dale par-5 6th and the right-angle-fairway par-4 9th to the iconic island-green par-4 10th. There is certainly inspiration in the design and they’ve added some rudimentary signage to keep you accidentally jumping from #9 to #12 like I did on my first visit last year.

Course conditions were a mixed bag when I played. Fairways and rough were lush and well maintained and there were no signs of summer burnout on the greens. Unfortunately, to prevent burnout, it appears they’ve heavily watered the greens and grown them long; they are soft and slow. Most glaringly, however, are the disrepair of the bunkers, which I voluntarily played as GUR until I saw signs that indicated as such. There’s no sand in them to speak of, just rocky dirt.

The soft, slow greens are actually welcome do to the rather extreme slope of the putting surfaces. Miss a putt by an inch and you’ll be lucky to have less than 8 feet left coming back. As mentioned before, there are many blind shots and with no cell service in the area, you’ll often be left guessing yardage, so bring a rangefinder.

The staff is friendly if minimalist (no starter or beverage cart) as are the off-course amenities (though they have separate putting and chipping greens). Pace of play is what you’d expect from a difficult mountain course and the distance between the cart path and greens doesn’t help. That said, the course is far from crowded so if you play as a single, you’re not likely to get completely stuck behind a train of foursomes.

The Highlands Golf Club is more suited for locals who play there frequently and know the course well than for someone just stopping by for one round. With the current poor course conditions and long drive from VA, even the VERY cheap GolfNow hot deals probably won’t be enough to entice me to keep coming back to learn the course enough to enjoy it. But if you find yourself in Franklin, WV for a decent amount of time, play a few rounds and decide for yourself!

This course is such a gem & a great value that I hope it doesn't get any more crowded than it is! Other than some sand on the greens it is in perfect shape. I have no idea how they keep all the leaves off the course but they do. We play it every year even though we drive an hour & a half to do it.

Went on a Saturday midday. The pace of play was very slow and the course was very sloped, including the greens. On the fourth hole, we noticed there were 5 carts on the 9th tee box.
Shirt's were worn not tucked in and some tee-shirts were worn. Not exactly a classy look for a golf course. It seems like a local's course. I'm glad I checked it out, but have the expectations of a nice, average public course located in a very out-of-the-way location.

Clubhouse is under construction. Beautiful course and excellent staff. A must play

Course was in pristine condition. Greens were great. Backdrop on Course was beautiful. An unbelievable price on the weekend.

It was a amazing course. Very clean and well taken care of. Was a fun course with the Elevation of the different holes. I can’t wait to return. I’m 1 1/2 hours away and was Worth the drive and the money!!!

Would recommend playing here
Course is great shape and well maintained
Staff are all very helpful in all aspects

Overall this course in excellent shape, entire layout is very well maintained. Clubhouse was under some renovations, but still nice area to have lunch
Would highly recommend playing here, will not be disappointed

Great layout. Not too long and in very good condition. If you don't know about this place you should. Check it out.