It was a 14 month wait but we finally made it back on the road.  There is nothing better than hitting the road and hanging out with a motley crew of old golfers (with one exception, my son Jason) for a few days. In the past we have taken on the fine courses of Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst and Alabama, so this year we gave Virginia a try.  Marilyn and I had played four of the five courses we were scheduled to play so I somewhat knew what to expect.  Spring Creek, Kingsmill River, Golden Horseshoe Gold and Royal New Kent had all graced the Top 100 Public courses at one time or another so were part of the 194 total that we had played during our quest.  The fifth course, The Club at Viniterra, was a recommendation by an area resident and one of the owners of Royal New Kent that we had met on our previous trip to his Mike Strantz gem.  It was a good recommendation as Golfweek just listed Viniterra as the 13th best public course in Virginia.

Any course you choose to play after getting up at 5:00 AM and then driving 9 hours is going to be difficult.  Spring Creek is an outstanding golf course and has been in great condition both times that I have played it.  It is beautiful but challenging and the greens are large, undulating and very fast.  Besides being fatigued from the drive, we chose a day that was very hot and with winds over 20 mph.  The greens just kept getting faster as the day progressed and we were thoroughly wiped out just one day into our trip. I felt bad that the rest of our crew did not get to experience this fine golf course on a better day.

After a good night’s sleep, we were all ready to go the next day at The Viniterra Club.  At Viniterra we were greeted by friendly staff and a friendly golf course.  By friendly I do not necessarily mean easy.  Some courses are designed to jump up and grab you by the throat on any mistake, but at Viniterra, you have a chance to recover from a bad swing which makes it more enjoyable that penal.  A pleasant lay-out and a wonderful way to recover from getting beat up the day before.

Williamsburg is best known for its historical sites that draw tourist from all over the country, but its golf offerings are worthy of your consideration as much as the more well-known destinations.  Our next stop near Williamsburg was the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. classic that has long been considered a top 100 public course. Golden Horseshoe Gold sits adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg and is a rolling, tree-lined lay-out that challenged us from start to finish.  It is home to four of the most scenic par threes of any course that you might play.

The Kingsmill River course, designed by Pete Dye, was a pleasure to play and we welcomed a lay-out that was not quite as difficult as Spring Creek and Golden Horseshoe Gold.  The River course now hosts an LPGA event each year after previously hosting the PGA tour for several years.  The closing holes along the James River are particularly memorable. The River course will once again be on our list of courses to play when we return to this area in the future.

We wrapped up our trip with one of my favorites.  Anyone that has read any of my posts or my book, From Tee to Shining Tee, knows that I love all the courses created by Mike Strantz and Royal New Kent is no exception.  I will not go into detail about this track as I have already dedicated an entire previous post to this terrific golf course.  When I polled the other seven golfers in our group as to their favorite course, five picked Royal New Kent as their number one choice and the other two guys had it as their number 2.  Strantz did not just build golf courses, he created 18 distinct artistic holes.  You will love Royal New Kent and I would encourage anyone in the area of Williamsburg to work it into their schedule.