Tour Guide 2026: Biltmore Championship Asheville

As a new PGA Tour event, the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, N.C., aims to be a huge inaugural success. Part of the FedExCup Fall, the championship sees PGA Tour golf return to this city for the first time in more than 80 years and will be hosted at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. 

But for superintendent Steve Shand, he hopes the tournament brings a little extra to the city he now calls home. 

“Unfortunately, so many businesses (and) restaurants closed — haven’t reopened — and some still haven’t been able to climb out of it. And a lot of businesses literally just got washed down the river, which is heartbreaking,” Shand says, referring to the lasting effects and damage caused by Hurricane Helene when it hit the city in late 2024. “We want to just kind of keep saying, ‘Hey, Asheville is an awesome area rebuilding stronger, and the community is here.’”

Shand says that his team and their homes and families were thankfully OK, but for a city that relies heavily on tourism, the effects of the hurricane can still be felt despite continuous relief efforts. That’s where he hopes the championship comes in, and he says his goal is to keep Asheville on the map. 

“I know that this will be a positive event that, again, just highlights a special part of the country,” he says. 

Meet the course 

The course itself is also special; it’s a Jack Nicklaus design that celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025. Shand says they’re a private course that plays to about 7,200 yards and is all cool-season turf with its bentgrass/Poa greens, bentgrass tees and fairways and bluegrass roughs. 

The Cliffs at Walnut Cove is also one of seven properties owned by The Cliffs, but it’s the only one in North Carolina. To further try and stand out and make sure course maintenance is done right, Shand says he always tries to indulge in a very hands-on management approach.  

“I like to see things with my own eyes. I enjoy riding the course in the morning, being part of the setup and just doing what I can to motivate the team,” he says. “My main goal is to support my team and help them succeed.”

The Biltmore Championship isn’t until later this year — Sept. 17-20 to be exact — meaning Shand is still focusing heavily on maintaining top-tier conditions for the club’s members and staying visible to them. In the coming months, though, the team will work toward a new goal of tournament preparations. 

“We’re trying to identify and address any drainage challenges now, especially in the landing zones, as well as finishing a complete irrigation renovation in March which will allow us to more precisely irrigate our different turfgrasses to improve plant health and playing conditions, as well as be better stewards of the environment by using less water,” Shand says. “Once the growing season starts, it’s going to be full on.”

Balancing conditions for members and for PGA preparation will be a challenge, especially for a new tournament, but Shand and the team have a plan once it gets closer to August and September. 

“Once we are a month out, it’s really about dialing in the timings with growth regulators, plant protectants and fertility,” he says. “That sets the foundation so we can really tighten things up the week before.”

And Septembers in Asheville can be tough with the transition zone climate. Warm weather, humidity and thunderstorms can cause turf problems and be unpredictable, meaning Shand plans on having a more conservative summer in terms of maintenance to really keep the grass healthy. He says higher mowing heights on fairways and greens and being more generous with fertility are possibilities he’s looking into. 

A group effort

Even if this is a new experience for the course, Shand says he’s confident the team will be able to tackle it head on. He attributes a lot of the expected success to the tight-knit community of superintendents, volunteers and maintenance pros throughout the Carolinas. 

“With a new event of this scale, everything is new, from championship directors to vendors. Everyone will be working together with the same goal: delivering an amazing event,” he says. “It’s an opportunity to connect and collaborate with new people throughout the industry.”

Shand specifically wanted to praise his assistants, Brenden Leis and Thatcher Schlup, plus Jay Fojtik, the club’s landscape manager, for their hard work on the course. 

“It’s an honor to have the tour recognize Walnut Cove as a place they want to be,” Shand says. “My wife and I feel incredibly fortunate to live here. One of the event’s main goals is to highlight how special Asheville and western North Carolina are, and to do that at a place I get to call my office is pretty great.”