Travel File : Williamsburg - Williamsburg, Virginia

In the Golf Digest survey of our nation's cities last July, Richmond, Va., ranked last in terms of availability of public golf; 309th out of 309. But something is stirring in the Old Dominion. To the east of the state capital, all the way down the 70-mile peninsula to Newport News and beyond, golf is busting out all over. This corridor is fast becoming a kind of upscale version of Myrtle Beach.

The centerpiece, both physically and metaphorically, is Williamsburg, which this year celebrates its 300th anniversary. Formerly a settlement called Middle Plantation, it was rechristened and made the seat of government for the British colony in 1699.

Not only is Williamsburg the site of America's largest living-history museum--you can learn more in a couple of days here than you can from years in a classroom--it is also completely surrounded by terrific places to play golf. And because there's so much to do for the unenlightened family members who don't yet play, Williamsburg offers guilt-free golf. And guilt-free golf, as everyone knows, is usually good golf.

The creme de la creme

Golden Horseshoe G.C., Williamsburg.

.... Gold Cse. $55-$89;

.... Green Cse. $39-$85 (757-220-7696).

The classic Gold Course here is Ground Zero of Williamsburg golf. What began as a nine-hole layout in 1947 was refashioned into 18 holes by Robert Trent Jones in 1963 at the behest of the money man behind Colonial Williamsburg, John D. Rockefeller Jr. It's set on a gorgeous, voluptuously rolling piece of forested land, with a five-acre lake in the center--part of the lake must be traversed four times, including on three of the course's four par 3s. Jack Nicklaus set a course record of 67 here in 1967. No one's beaten it yet.

The course underwent a 13-month, $4.5 million renovation two years ago at the hands of Trent Jones' son Rees. Rees also designed the eight-year-old Green Course here, which describes itself as a links layout in a wooded setting (it's more playable than the Gold, with big, bowl-shape fairways). The 15th hole on the Gold, incidentally, is 634 yards. The 15th on the Green is 635 yards.

A coincidence, surely.

There's talk of holding a Walker Cup on the Gold. In an area where so many big U.S./U.K. battles have been waged, the symbolism is too good to resist.

Kingsmill Resort & Club, Williamsburg.

... 11/42 Plantation Cse. $55-$80 (757-253-3906);

.... River Cse. $65-$125 (757-253-3906);

.... Woods Cse. $55-$100 (757-253-5960).

Anheuser-Busch bought this 3,000-acre parcel of land from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 30 years ago. Today it's a thriving, 63-hole resort. The River Course, a 1974 Pete Dye design that's been the home of the PGA Tour's Michelob Championship since 1981, has been joined by the Plantation (designed by Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay) and the sublime, condo-free Woods Course, designed by Kingsmill resident Curtis Strange and Tom Clark. The River Course is the toughest at Kingsmill and a definite must-play; the easiest and perhaps most fun is the cute Bray Links pitch and putt, right on the James River--probably the best pitch and putt in the country. Don't miss the night golf event here every Saturday.

And now for something completely different

.... Royal New Kent G.C., Providence Forge. $60-$105 (804-966-7023).

.... 11/42 Legends of Stonehouse, Toano. $60-$105 (757-566-1138).

These two big, bold, bombastic Mike Strantz designs have attracted a lot of attention--and some criticism. "They were designed to be photographed, not played," one area pro told me. "You'll only want to play them once," said another. But these courses are extraordinary, awe-inspiring and highly memorable. Every hole is a surprise, and sometimes even a shock.

Stonehouse won Golf Digest's Best New Upscale Course award in 1996; Royal New Kent took the title the following year. Everything about them is big--big greens, big budget, big scores. You don't often make bogeys here--you either make a par or a triple.

While New Kent is out in the gorgeous wilderness, there's plenty of residential construction going on at Stonehouse. This unavoidably prompts metaphors about geese and golden eggs.

Local favorites

... The Colonial G. Cse., Williamsburg. $70-$80 (757-566-1600).

Traditional lay-of-the-land course through the trees.

... 11/42 Ford's Colony, Williamsburg. $45-$105 (757-258-4130). There used to be four Dan Maples-designed nines at this plush residential community. But nine new holes interspersed with the old Gold nine now form a new layout that opened in June, the Blackheath Course (there'll be 54 holes by next spring). Don't miss the green at 18--it's surrounded by water--nor the five-diamond dining room.

Kiskiack G.C., Williamsburg. $43-$65 (757-566-2200).

A two-year-old course that winds through the peaceful forests of an old Native American reservation. No clubhouse yet--it's coming soon.

... 11/42 Williamsburg National G.C., Williamsburg. $49-$69 (757-258-9642).

Good, solid, hard-core course with some protected wetland areas to be negotiated.

Farther afield

The Tides, Irvington. .... Golden Eagle; ... 11/42 Tartan Cse. $40-$75 (804-438-5501).

Fifty miles from Williamsburg up in Northern Neck, on the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay, this is a true get-away-from-it-all hidden gem. For decades, there were two competing resorts here, a 3-wood apart--the Tides Inn/Golden Eagle Course and the Tides Lodge/Tartan Course. But they merged last year into what is now "the largest family-owned resort in the Mid-Atlantic."

TPC of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach. $74-$105 (757-563-9440).

A very different Pete Dye TPC course from the progenitor of the species, the TPC at Sawgrass. This three-month-old minimalist design is very open and windy; a prairie-type layout on an old farm. This is the first high-end public course in an area that will be coming on strong in the next decade with other new arrivals such as the Fred Couples/Gene Bates-designed Heron Ridge (757-426-3800), a revamped Bide-A-Wee (757-393-8600) and Cahoon Plantation in Chesapeake (757-436-2775).

Away from the golf course

In 1926, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin persuaded John D. Rockefeller Jr. to underwrite a restoration of Virginia's colonial capital back to how it was in 1775. Colonial Williamsburg is a remarkable achievement--a place of unbridled quaintness where you can soak up history and stroll the broad avenues and open spaces, as our fore-fathers did. It's practically obligatory to have your picture taken in the stocks outside the courthouse, and to pay a visit to the Capitol Building where Patrick Henry delivered rousing speeches against his colonial overlords.

Not far away is the hugely popular Busch Gardens, an odd mixture of recreated medieval hamlets side by side with state-of-the-art roller coasters.

A few miles to the south of Williamsburg lies Jamestown, and to the east, Yorktown. The former is the site of the first British settlement--143 adventurers landed here on May 14, 1607, and set up camp. It was a bad choice. In one year, 90 percent of the settlers died from starvation and disease. One man killed and ate his wife, an act so lacking in chivalry that the Brits had no choice but to execute him.

As for Yorktown, it was here on Oct. 19, 1781, that General Charles Cornwallis' army marched into a field, laid down their arms and surrendered. America was finally free.

Where to stay

Of the many hundreds of beds in town, the plushest are at the Regency-style 1937 Williamsburg Inn. It feels like you're staying with the Rockefellers. There's a long list of distinguished guests (from the sublime to "honorary Virginian" Margaret Thatcher).

While Williamsburg celebrates all things old, Kingsmill's attitude seems to be that history is a thing of the past. It has 400 commodious villa suites in the style of architecture that might be described as Late 20th Century Conference Center.

RELATED ARTICLE : Key:

. Basic golf.

.. Good, not great.

... Very good. Tell a friend it's worth getting off the Interstate to play.

.... Outstanding. Plan your next vacation around it.

..... Golf at its absolute best. Pay any price to play at least once in your life.

Stars are based upon Golf Digest's exclusive Places to Play guide and reflect ratings of 18,000 subscribers. Some courses are yet to be rated. For information on more than 5,300 courses in North America, obtain your copy of the third edition of Places to Play for $21 plus postage. Call 800-793-2665 or check with your local bookstore.

For more information

Virginia Tourism Corporation: 804-786-4484;
800-VISIT-VA; www.virginia.org.
Colonial Williamsburg:
800-HISTORY;
www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.
Williamsburg Golf:
800-FOR-GOLF; www.williamsburggolf.com.
Williamsburg Hotel/Motel
Association: 800-446-9244;
www.williamsburghotel.com.
Additional research by Sue Sawyer

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COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group