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Golf Destination Golf Destination

Williamsburg, Virginia ~ Freedom to Play
Nick Ciattei

If anyone asks me what my favorite small
town in America is, I will answer without River Course at Kingsmill Stonehouse
hesitation Williamsburg, VA. I’ve had a
love affair with this city ever since I first The most identifiable layout to golfers
visited it on a school field trip (Yes, they is the Pete Dye designed River Course
had motorized transportation even back at Kingsmill Resort. The current host for
then) and became captivated by its history the LPGA Kingsmill Championship also
It wasn’t long after that the golfer in me hosted a popular PGA Tour event for years
became equally absorbed by the amount of Outstanding finishing holes along the
quality golf that has thrust Williamsburg James River make this a standard selection
into ranking as one of the top 25 golf destinations in the world. You have the liberty for visiting golfers Arnold Palmer created
to select among 15 four-star or higher courses all within 30 minutes The Plantation Course that challenges Royal New Kent
players of all skill levels
Let’s take time for today’s history lesson and some well known and some
obscure facts about Williamsburg. You don’t have to be an historian to know It takes a golfer with self-determination
that Williamsburg was the original capital of Virginia. One of the first of its kind, to test both Mike Strantz projects, The
Williamsburg was a “planned city ” Duke of Gloucester Street was intentionally Tradition Courses at Stonehouse and
cleared to be the central street through the town, and then buildings and streets Royal New Kent Stonehouse is a true
were built according to a blueprint. The oldest university building in the United mountain course with steep forested hills,
States is the Wren Building at William & Mary, the nation’s second oldest wide plateaus, and abrupt ravines while
college. Eighty-eight of Williamsburg’s unique structures were preserved in the Royal New Kent has been called “the truest
development of Colonial Williamsburg More than 450 modern buildings were representation of Irish links in America ”
demolished in the first nine years of its restoration to maintain its authenticity. Each of these received “Best New Courses Brickshire
Colonial Williamsburg now has approximately 2,500 citizens, roughly double the in America” awards upon their arrivals. The
town’s population during the Revolutionary era. The first hospital for mentally Tradition at Brickshire, a Curtis Strange
ill patients in North America, The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and signature course, presents wide, inviting fairways with several holes paying tribute
Disordered Minds was built in Williamsburg. It admitted its first patient in 1773. in his design to some of his favorite holes
The hospital is now an Art Museum. Could this be connected to the fact that
Williamsburg is considered a ghost hunter’s paradise with the Peyton Randolph Designed by well-known golf course architect Arthur
house, built in 1715, said to be one of the most haunted homes in America? Hills that opened in late fall 2006, Colonial Heritage
Williamsburg together with Jamestown and Yorktown form the “Historic Triangle.” Golf Club is laid out on a beautiful piece of property
The triangle’s heart is Colonial Williamsburg, and the region attracts more than and is truly one of Williamsburg’s best conditioned
four million tourists each year courses with large greens and several deep ravines
Williamsburg National’s two courses have popular
Choices abound for golfers coming to layouts A favorite for golfers of all skill levels designed
Williamsburg. If I was a first-time visitor, by Nicklaus Design, the signature Jamestown course
a “must-play” would be the Robert Trent has just completed a green renovation that replaced
Jones masterpiece Golden Horseshoe Yorktown surfaces with Champion Bermuda Designed by renowned
Gold Course An incredible renovation by architect Tom Clark, the new Yorktown course mixes
his son Rees Jones was recently completed classic course design with a few modern twists. The Yorktown course was recently
returning the luster and magnificence to this named to Golf Digest’s list of top 50 courses “most playable for Women ”
classic with the best set of par 3s you will
find anywhere. The Green Course at Golden Golden Horseshoe Ford’s Colony Country Club’s three distinct championship 18-hole layouts make
Gold Course
Horseshoe opened in 1991 and is an ideal it quite a task just choosing to play one or all of them on your trip. They are all
companion to the Gold that enjoyable Ford’s Colony features 54 holes of golf designed by Dan Maples,

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