The Unusual But Charming Year-Round North Carolina Golf Course Where A Llama Can Be Your Caddy

Golf can be a cruel and humbling game, which is why caddies are important lifelines for golfers of all skill levels that need a little assistance getting around the course. Having a caddy by your side for a round of golf gives you a friend, partner, and confidant that helps guide you through your day and make the best decisions to keep your golf ball safe (hopefully). They also help take a load of your back by carrying your set of sticks through some treacherous terrain at times.

In the always alluring mountains of North Carolina, there's a special Par 3 golf course that has brought an entirely new thought to caddies for golfers. The caddies at Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Brevard, North Carolina, can provide all of the hospitality and companionship of a caddie without asking for any cash tip or even saying a word. How? At this golf course, your caddy can be a llama.

The idea of animals on golf courses isn't all that new or even unusual in the United States, as one popular Pacific Northwest golf resort is well-known for its goat caddies. On the East Coast, however, golfers were once introduced to llama caddies at Talamore Golf Resort in Southern Pines, North Carolina. While this was initially a publicity stunt for the resort's grand opening in the 1990s, the award-winning Rees Jones-designed Talamore Golf Club is still affectionately known as "The Llama," and the idea was good enough for one local visionary to suggest it to another course.

Mark English, a local golfer to the Brevard, North Carolina, area also the owns a nearby Llama farm, pitched the idea to Sherwood Forest Golf club pro Brian Lautenschlager. At first, Lautenschlager allowed for five llamas on the property. Soon after word got out about the unique offering to pair golf with always popular mountain llamas, local news outlets became fascinated with covering the concept, turning it into a golf and tourist attraction. The course now has a stable of around 30 llamas available daily that can meet you on the first tee, take your bag, and join you for a good walk.

The Sherwood Forest area is a natural habitat for the llamas, who are very comfortable roaming the grounds and playing caddy according to locals. The 18-hole Par 3 course here is open year-round conducive to weather, and there are native plants scattered across the property, plus birds and wildlife to explore beyond your caddy for the day. By no means do the course conditions at Sherwood Forest match some of the more luxurious golf experiences in the U.S., but that's not the vibe they're going for here. The club has an unlimited play rate of $25 during the week, a casual dress code, and an open door policy for anyone who wants to play a unique round with an unlikely assistant.

As for the llamas, their demands are quite low for being by your side. While your average golf course caddie is looking for upwards of $20-50+ for carrying your clubs, these baggers don't take any cash tips. Just some fresh water and clean grass, and a show of thanks to them for once in a lifetime golf experience in the mountains of North Carolina.