Review: Golden Horseshoe Golf Courses

Historical Golf in Colonial Williamsburg
The Golden Horseshoe Golf Courses are steeped in history.  While not dating back to Colonial days, the work of Robert Trent Jones and Reese Jones offers some great insight into golf architecture history.  The Gold course, with one of the first island greens in the country, and the Green course soon to be celebrating its 25th anniversary, both offer fantastic yet differing layouts.  The Gold course gets all the press, and rightly so, but the Green course is certainly a more playable track for the average golfer. 
The real joy about the Golden Horseshoe Golf Courses is their not-for-profit motto.  They exist for the preservation of our national history for generations to come.  They make Colonial Williamsburg a destination for both education and relaxation.  The 45 holes that make up the Golden Horseshoe are Historical Golf Courses.

For more information: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/wellness-and-recreation/golf/
 
Review: Golden Horseshoe Gold Course

 The Golden Horseshoe Gold Course is nationally ranked in most magazines.  This Robert Trent Jones gem goes back around 50 years and was actually somewhat of a minimalist design of the day, not much dirt was moved to create the course.  It runs perpendicular to a small river valley which creates all the drama over the 18 holes with at least 6 holes navigating the water and elevation changes.  This tight, doglegged course is full of surprises and challenged along the way.  The natural beauty and variety of holes makes this a must play.

It has its own clubhouse and driving range just down the road from the Gold course.  While there are a couple holes that actually touch each other between the 2 courses, they are actually a short drive apart.  As you grab your clubs and head to the opening hole, you notice a very different course; lots of mounding, more space and you can see the green.  There is a greater sense of confidence on this course.  While scoring can still be tough, you will probably feel more comfortable playing this course for the 1st time.  While there might not be any dramatic holes on the front 9, the solid collection and variety make it a real joy to play.

When you make the turn  your not far from the clubhouse, but not exactly next to it either.  You encounter the hardest hole on the course.  The 10th plays long, doglegs again and is just a brute to score on the elevated, angled, well bunkered green.  The back 9 holes feel very similar to the front nine.  The 12th is another par 3 over the water with the most extreme green on the course.  There is a huge hump in the middle of the green that bounces balls every which direction and makes navigating to the hole potentially difficult.  The next couple holes again weave through the trees with great variety of length until you reach the last 3 holes of pure bliss or frustration.  The 16th is the signature island green hole.  It is a solid mid iron shot from most boxes and is fairly expansive.  The 17th is just beautiful as you leave behind the island green and hit up the long corridor to the raised green.  The 18th hole is probably a love/hate sort of hole.  Great to look at, but so tough to play.  It requires a good long drive to have a 2nd shot at the green which is guarded long by a pond and short right by some bunkers. 

It is a unique layout and very beautiful.  The trees, water and valley comprise a very natural setting that will test your skill and your luck.  They do overseed in the fall and spring so make sure to check their schedule with your travel plans.   I was there just a couple weeks too early to enjoy all the colors, but the course was still in tip top shape.  The Golden Horseshoe is a historical course that shouldn’t be missed.

Quick Hits
+Unique layout
+Beautiful setting
+Great variety of 4s and 5s
+Island green
+Challenging greens
+Nice conditions

–Too many doglegs

Review: Golden Horseshoe Green Course

The Golden Horseshoe Green Course was added to compliment that Gold course so that the resort had another 18 holes, they contacted Reese Jones, (Robert’s son) to create something much different even though the terrain is very similar.  This is a course that I would enjoy playing on a repeated basis.  It is most playable than the Gold course.  On just about every tee-box you could see the green or at least feel you knew where the hole was going.  While it is tree lined, it is much more open and forgiving.  It actually has kind of a coastal, low country sort of feel to it.

It has its own clubhouse and driving range just down the road from the Gold course.  While there are a couple holes that actually touch each other between the 2 courses, they are actually a short drive apart.  As you grab your clubs and head to the opening hole, you notice a very different course; lots of mounding, more space and you can see the green.  There is a greater sense of confidence on this course.  While scoring can still be tough, you will probably feel more comfortable playing this course for the 1st time.  While there might not be any dramatic holes on the front 9, the solid collection and variety make it a real joy to play.

The back nine offers more of the same.  The last 4 holes of the course are really wonderful designed from both playabilty standpoint and aesthetics.  The 14th is a beast of hole, almost feels like a par 5.  The 15th is a par 5 that is a slight dogleg, but not as tricky as the Gold course doglegs.  The 18th hole brings drama to the close of a great round.  The tee shot on this par 5 goes over a ravine that isn’t too hard to carry from any tee-box, but can get in your head.  The hole then climbs toward the clubhouse and tempts you to really try and bomb it up there, which can often lead to an errant shot. 

The Green course is more relaxing and easier to play, but Reese created a perfect compliment to his father’s course next door.  It too has great conditions and has additional length so that long hitters will still be challenged.  It will be celebrating its 25th anniversary soon and makes your stay at Colonial Williamsburg even more enjoyable.

Quick Hits
+Easy to follow sight lines
+Beautiful setting
+Great conditions
+Still challenging
+Forgiving layout
+Length and variety

Review: Golden Horseshoe Spotswood Course

The Spotswood course is old, short and fantastic.  This executive course is a real gem of the property.  While it isn’t going to be the main attraction, it shouldn’t be missed.  I’d venture to suggest that more golf courses/resorts should have an executive course like this to grow the game.  There is so much fun to be had playing a short course.  This one specifically had enough variety of length that a junior can enjoy the round just as much as his dad would.  Anyone of any skill level will have the opportunity to both test their game, yet enjoy 9 holes.

The Spotswood doesn’t get the same amount of attention as the Gold or the Green course from golfers or from the staff, but yet the layout is great.  6 X par 3s, 2 X par 4s and 1 x par 5.  They greatly very in length and difficulty.  The biggest bonus is that they are scenic too.  So often executive course are blah, but the Spotswood is tucked into a grove with some water hazards, but also opens up on a hillside for a real variety of holes.  It actually was the first course at Colonial Williamsburg and was redone in 1963.   It really is a must play if you are staying in town.