Nine Holes and a Cinema Supper: A Different Gaston County Golf Trip

A restored 1920s cinema makes an appealing anchor for a golf itinerary. In Gastonia, North Carolina, Webb Custom Kitchen puts dinner inside that repurposed building, with an American menu including steaks and seafood. It is one of the stops in Golfing Magazine’s October 2026 firsthand account of Gaston County—a trip whose restaurants suggest a different organising principle from chasing the most exclusive tee time.^[1]

The magazine’s route progresses from informal nine-hole golf to an older municipal course and finally a private mountain club. But the first two rounds and the meals make a coherent trip of their own. Rather than treating the towns as places to pass through between courses, this version gives dinner equal standing: one evening in the former cinema, another devoted to counter-service barbecue.^[1]

The longer round

For the full-length golf day, Catawba Creek offers an intriguing finish. The former Gastonia Municipal has consecutive par threes at the 16th and 17th, with the latter playing 169 yards from the back tees to a hilltop green. Across the par-70 course, the four short holes range from 169 to 210 yards. That concentration gives the round a clear identity: the demanding approach shots are not confined to the longest holes.^[1]

Golfing Magazine dates Catawba Creek’s opening to 1935, but describes its original Donald Ross design attribution as legend rather than established history. The reported 6,172-yard layout has three sets of tees, a driving range and a practice putting green. Modest elevation changes and some blind shots add interest without requiring a mountain setting; the architectural name need not carry the whole argument for playing here.^[1]

Make room for barbecue

The Smoke Pit on Gastonia’s Cox Road supplies the counterpoint to Webb Custom Kitchen. According to the magazine, its hickory-smoked selection includes Texas-style brisket, burnt ends, pulled pork and ribs, accompanied by house-made regional barbecue sauces and classic sides. Counter service makes this a different kind of evening from the cinema restaurant. Together, the two meals give the itinerary variety beyond a change of scorecard.^[1]

The shorter round

Cherryville Country Club brings the scale back down. Golfing Magazine describes a nine-hole facility where golfers arrive, pay and play without a tee-time booking. Small greens provide a recurring target, while the downhill seventh has water guarding the front of its kidney-shaped putting surface and a deep bunker beyond and left. An 18-hole round uses different tees on the second circuit; the reported men’s combination totals 5,511 yards. Nine holes need not mean negligible decisions.^[1]

For something after the shorter round, the magazine recommends The Fuzzy Cow on Cherryville’s East Main Street, a family-owned stop for frozen yogurt, milkshakes and bubble tea. That completes the appeal of this smaller itinerary: golf followed by a reason to stay in town. Build around the two courses and two distinct dinners, rather than making a private-club invitation the condition on which the trip succeeds.^[1]