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Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

Golf Course Review - The Homestead (Cascades/Old Courses)

FACTS AND STATS: Cascades Course Architect: William S. Flynn (1923), Robert Trent Jones (1961), Restoration work (2005). Year Opened: 1923. Location: Hot Springs, Virginia. Slope: 137. Rating: 73.0. Par: 70. Yardage: 6,679.

Hole-by-Hole:

1 - Par 4 398 Yds 10 - Par 4 381 Yds

2 - Par 4 432 Yds 11 - Par 3 192 Yds

3 - Par 4 289 Yds 12 - Par 4 476 Yds

4 - Par 3 210 Yds 13 - Par 4 440 Yds

5 - Par 5 575 Yds 14 - Par 4 429 Yds

6 - Par 4 367 Yds 15 - Par 3 229 Yds

7 - Par 4 417 Yds 16 - Par 5 527 Yds

8 - Par 3 153 Yds 17 - Par 5 513 Yds

9 - Par 4 448 Yds 18 - Par 3 203 Yds

Par 35 3,289 Yds Par 35 3,390 Yds

Key Events Held: USGA Senior Women's Amateur (2009), NCAA Division I Men's Championship (2004), USGA Men's Mid-Amateur Championship (2000), U.S. Women's Amateur Championship (1994), U.S. Men's Amateur Championship (1988), USGA Senior Men's Amateur Championship (1980), U.S. Women's Open Championship (1967), Curtis Cup (1966), U.S. Women's Amateur Championship (1928).

Awards Won: #4 by Golf Digest - Best in State, Virginia (2009-10), #13 by GolfWeek - Best Resort Courses (2009), #24 by Golf Digest - America's 100 Greatest Public (2009-10), 4 1/2 stars by Golf Digest - Best Places to Play (2006-09), #17 by Golf Magazine - Top 100 You Can Play (2008), #1 by Golf Magazine - Top 100 You Can Play, Virginia (2008), #39 by Golf Digest - America's 100 Greatest Courses (2003-04).

FACTS AND STATS: Old Course Architect: First 6 holes (unknown, 1892), Donald Ross (1913), Rees Jones (renovation/restoration, 1994). Year Opened: 1892. Location: Hot Springs, Virginia. Slope: 129. Rating: 69.0. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,227.

Hole-by-Hole:

1 - Par 5 519 Yds 10 - Par 4 381 Yds

2 - Par 3 153 Yds 11 - Par 3 199 Yds

3 - Par 5 465 Yds 12 - Par 5 544 Yds

4 - Par 5 473 Yds 13 - Par 5 581 Yds

5 - Par 3 163 Yds 14 - Par 4 355 Yds

6 - Par 4 383 Yds 15 - Par 5 502 Yds

7 - Par 4 329 Yds 16 - Par 3 169 Yds

8 - Par 4 323 Yds 17 - Par 4 354 Yds

9 - Par 3 163 Yds 18 - Par 3 171 Yds

Par 36 2,971 Yds Par 36 3,256 Yds

Awards Won: 4 stars by Golf Digest - Best Places to Play (2006-09), AAA Four Diamond Award Winner (2007-09), Best Resort for Buddy Trips - Travel + Leisure Golf (2006).

Web site: www.thehomestead.com.

HISTORY: Dating back to 1766, The Homestead is one of the premier resorts in the United States, if not the world.

For over 200 years, the secluded retreat has been known to rejuvenate the soul with its warm mineral springs and health spa. Now, 230 years later, The Homestead is still healing the heart and mind.

As the story goes, an Indian brave fell weary of a long trek while delivering a message from his people in the mountains to a destination on the ocean shore. Before reaching his destination, he decided to rest in the warm waters of the Warm Springs Valley. After a restful night's sleep, the brave's batteries were recharged and he made his way to his final destination to alert everyone of his wonderful discovery.

Prior to becoming president, George Washington, then a colonel in the Virginia regiment, visited the springs. It was however, an officer in nearby Fort Dinwiddie, Thomas Bullitt, along with Andrew and Thomas Lewis who obtained a deed to 300 acres, close to where the springs were located. Bullitt had the foresight to buy out the brothers and build the first lodge on the current Homestead grounds.

Over the years, The Homestead had many owners, however, when Dr. Thomas Goode, a local physician in the region, purchased the property in 1832, the resort reached a whole new level. Claiming the resort and its waters had healing powers, Goode expanded the hotel, and built bathhouses and cabins to attract visitors from the eastern seaboard. Although it took days to reach the mountain retreat, people flocked to The Homestead.

Ownership continued to change and so did the facilities at The Homestead. Cottages, additions to the hotel, tennis courts, a six-hole golf course and miles of riding trails and walkways were designed. The Old Course at The Homestead dates back to 1892, and its first tee still represents the oldest tee in continuous use in this country.

Donald Ross is credited with creating this gem, and expanded the course to 18 holes. The par-72 layout is quite short by today's standards, but still packs quite a punch with its drastic elevation changes and slick greens.

With golf becoming popular, the Virginia Hot Springs Co., who now owned the resort, decided to purchase additional land just a few miles away and by 1923 the Cascades Course, designed by William Flynn, opened for play.

Robert Trent Jones designed the final course at The Homestead, the Lower Cascades, which was constructed 40 years later.

Many national tournaments have been staged at The Homestead, but it is also known as the home of one of the greatest golfers of all time, Samuel Jackson Snead.

Born May 27, 1912 in nearby Ashwood, Virginia, Snead's father worked at The Homestead and as he grew, the youngest of six children, Snead would sneak on the Old Course to play. It wasn't until high school, however, that he was able to play on the Cascades. After high school, Snead became the assistant pro at The Homestead and was the first golf professional at the Cascades Course. Snead honed his game at The Homestead, earning the moniker Slammin' Sammy. His career and sweet swing were legendary....82 PGA Tour wins, 165 professional wins, seven major championships and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. But did you know, that when Snead was giving lessons at The Homestead, it cost a mere $3?

The legend of Sam Snead was certainly born at the Cascades, where he still owns the course record of 61. Snead started his round by driving the first green and finishing his round with nine consecutive threes.

The Homestead was always home to Snead, a place where he lived and died. Snead passed away at the age of 89 in 2002, just four days shy of his birthday, at his home in Hot Springs. Upon his passing, Jack Nicklaus said it best, "He brought so much to the game with his great swing and the most fluid motion ever to grace a golf course."

The United States Golf Association has enjoyed coming to The Homestead for many years. Just five years after opening its doors, the Cascades course hosted the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. Glenna Collett captured her third Women's Amateur there, and the first of three consecutive titles by defeating Virginia Van Wie, 13 & 12. In her five matches, Collett was never forced past the 15th hole, as she dominated her opponents.

In 1966, the USGA brought the Curtis Cup to the Cascades Course, as the United States posted its largest margin of victory over the team from Great Britain & Ireland, 13-5.

The following year, the U.S. Women's Open made its way to The Homestead. Amateur Catherine Lacoste defeated Susie Maxwell and Beth Stone by two shots. Although Lacoste became the youngest winner of this championship at the time and the only amateur ever to win the U.S. Women's Open, the real winner was the golf course. Her total score for the four rounds was 10-over-par!

Accomplished amateur William Campbell won his second straight Senior Amateur Championship at The Homestead in 1980, defeating Keith Compton, 3 & 2. Campbell was the medalist for the stroke-play portion at seven-over-par.

The prestigious U.S. Amateur Championship was staged on the Cascades Course in 1988. Medalist Eric Meeks defeated Danny Yates, 7 & 6 in the championship match. The field included a who's who of golfers, such as David Toms, Jim Furyk, Bob May, Chris DiMarco, Robert Gamez, Billy Mayfair and Jay Sigel. Meeks' road to the title was not an easy one, as he defeated Sigel in 21 holes and Toms and Gamez 1-up.

ClubResorts, a division of ClubCorp, acquired The Homestead in 1993 and began a major restoration project. Part of this process was the renovation of the Old Course by "The Open Doctor," Rees Jones. The million-dollar enhancement brought this Grande dame into the 21st century.

1994 brought the Women's Amateur Championship back to The Homestead, as current LPGA Tour player Wendy Ward defeated Jill McGill, 2-up. A talented field of current Tour stars competed that year, including Emilee Klein, Angela Stanford, Catriona Matthew, Janice Moodie, Kelli Kuehne, Leta Lindley and Riko Higashio.

When the 2000 Mid-Amateur came to Hot Springs, Virginia, Greg Puga came away the winner, defeating Wayne Raath, 3 & 1. Four players earned medalist honors at 3-under. Puga, a caddie at the famed Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, became the youngest winner of this championship. Trailing 2-down after nine holes, Puga caught fire with back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 to square the match and then won three of the next five holes to win the match. Puga was equivalent to 2-under par for the back nine.

The NCAA Division I Men's Championship was held in 2004 at the Cascades Course and current PGA Tour player Ryan Moore won the individual title. Moore fired a 4-under-par 66 in the final round. Moore's final round consisted of three bogeys, but seven birdies, including a hole out from the bunker on No. 4 for birdie, and a chip in from the rough on the final hole for a birdie. He finished at 13-under for the championship, six ahead of Bill Haas and Chris Nallen. Moore shot par or better in all four rounds, including a third-round 64.

In 2006, KSL Resorts acquired management of The Homestead and has once again brought The Homestead into the forefront of the American resort landscape.

As recently as 2009, the USGA brought the Senior Women's Amateur to the Cascades Course. Sherry Herman won three straight holes on the back nine, starting with a birdie from five-feet on the 10th en route to defeating Carolyn Creekmore, 4 & 3 in the championship match. Herman glowed in her assessment of this classic venue. "It's a phenomenal golf course. I am really thrilled and honored and will never forget this moment." Even though the course played under 6,000 yards, not one player finished under par for the two rounds. In fact, only medalist Joan Higgins was able to break par, shooting 68 in round two. The scoring average for the week was 81.344!

Throughout it's history, The Homestead has hosted presidents, heads of state, celebrities and even the Japanese during World War II. From Thomas Jefferson, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and Lyndon Johnson to future presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

Many resorts come and go, but the heritage and splendor of The Homestead will live on forever.

REVIEW: CASCADES COURSE: At 398 yards from the tips, the opening hole on the Cascades Course at first blush seems to be a pushover. Don't be misled by the yardage, the first plays uphill from tee to green and requires an accurate tee ball, avoiding the bunkers and trees right. If successful, you should be left with a short- to mid-iron to a very accessible green. The two-tiered putting surface is flanked by two bunkers left and one right, so don't be careless and you'll make par.

The longest par four on the front side, the second is another hole at the Cascades that plays quite a bit longer than the yardage. At 432 yards, it is rated as the third hardest hole on the course. The tree-lined fairway tilts hard from left to right with a pair of traps laying in wait down the right side. A mid- to long-iron will be required to get home, if you were lucky enough to stay in the fairway. A massive traps guards the green, short and right, so avoid at all costs.

Your best shot at birdie might come at the third. Just 289 yards long, it plays uphill towards the green, but requires quite a bit of thought. The fairway runs out around the 230 mark, as it leans towards the right and is lined by trees. Long iron or fairway metal will set up a delicate little pitch over a grassy quarry to the green that's perched on a hill. Nicknamed "Shelf" the putting surface slopes from back to front and is quite slick, so below the hole at all costs. By the way, avoid the deep bunker, right, it will mess up your score.

One of the many signature holes at The Homestead, the fourth is the first par three on the course. From the tips, it's a robust 210 yards playing downhill from a chute of trees. A large trap on the left side will snare any shot slightly pulled and missing long is not an option, as it falls off sharply behind the putting surface.

The lengthiest hole on the Cascades Course is the par-five fifth. It's also the most difficult on the scorecard. Favor the left side of the fairway with your driver, avoiding the hillside of rough and canting fairway. This will leave a blind second shot up and over a sloping landing area. Your approach to the green will be of the short variety, however downhill slope will give you an uneven lie. The right to left putting surface is guarded by three traps, one left and two in the rear, but if you play your cards right and you negotiate the fairway slope, you can make birdie.

Not be taken for granted, the sixth is another short, but tricky par four. Just 367 yards, you must find the fairway, as trees down the right and left, not to mention thick rough will make your life miserable. Your approach is played uphill towards the green, so take an extra club (trust me), or you'll dump your approach in the greenside bunker. Beautifully framed by the trees in the back, don't miss long or left or beauty will be in the eyes of the beholder, not the golfer.

You know what they say about opinions, but in my estimation, the seventh is the most difficult hole on the front side. From an elevated tee, you'll need to crack a big drive down the left side, as the fairway tilts hard to the right, where a pair of traps wait patiently. Although the yardage remaining should be minimal, your approach is straight uphill to a blind putting surface. Take two extra sticks or your shot will roll right back down the fairway. Mine did, not to mention everyone else in our foursome. The green is fairly benign with sand left and right, so if you've reached the promised land, take advantage.