siasts can get their fix on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Falls Park and Liberty Bridge — all scenic and sensational. Not to be outdone by her Southern sister, Asheville is home to America’s First Scenic Highway — the Blue Ridge Parkway — which affords 469 miles of meadows, mountaintops and endless views between. Asheville’s downtown is an energizing and eclectic mix of eateries, pubs, fine cuisine, art and music venues. America’s largest home, the Biltmore Estate, is open for tours yearround and simply an amazing slice of Americana. Everyone I met at The Cliffs shared the
view that it’s not just the quantity of activities and amenities; it’s the quality. They reported feeling like they belong to seven country clubs. And there are plenty of leagues and groups to join for everyone. The newly announced Family Legacy Membership makes family golf time more enjoyable by encouraging multiple generations of families to visit and enjoy The Cliffs lifestyle, extending full membership privileges to parents, children and grandchildren. Picturesque Lakeside Living If you thrive near the water’s edge, you’ll be right at home at one of The Cliffs’
lake region communities. Embraced in the rolling magnificence of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lake Keowee’s 18,500 shimmering acres and 23 miles of some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever behold both invite and inspire — and serve as the stunning backdrop for three award-winning communities: • The Cliffs at Keowee Springs — Welcome to the ideal family playground. Choose from the Tom Fazio Signature Golf Course, Beach Club, marina, hiking trails and the 40-acre Camp Springs. All found along the private shoreline of beautiful Lake Keowee. • The Cliffs at Keowee Falls — If your
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passion is for nature, fresh water and untouched forest, The Cliffs at Keowee Falls will make an impression. Explore 2,500 acres of woodland, 20 miles of private shoreline and Falls Creek Waterfall, the largest waterfall on Lake Keowee. The golf isn’t bad here either: This Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course was named one of GOLF Magazine’s “Top 10 New Private Courses.” • The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards — This community is quite rare, as many of the spectacular lake views are reserved not for homesites, but for the community’s Tom Fazio Signature Golf Course, member park, trails and lakeside restaurant. Choose Your Elevation Cradled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, these rolling hills, kaleidoscope of colors and mild temperatures offer a genuine connection to nature and are home to The Cliffs’ three mountain communities. Encircled by thousands of acres of protected forests, each offers similar, yet distinctly unique elevations and
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personalities. Three beautiful mountain retreats are within minutes of cultural and commercial centers: • The Cliffs at Mountain Park — This community is really a 5,000-acre playground. Rolling ridgelines extend in every direction, as friends and family can explore the Supertrail system, celebrate at the Green Pond Pavilion or walk the fairways together on the new Gary Player Signature golf course. • The Cliffs Valley — This jewel spans two states and numerous elevations. Explore miles of walking trails, exercise at the wellness center, play tennis, dine at the clubhouse, play the parkland golf course (Ben Wright’s first American golf course) or visit Greenville, only 25 minutes away. • The Cliffs at Glassy — Fifty-mile views await you every morning, as do 3,500 acres of protected forests, clean air, numerous amenities and endless possibilities. This is true mountaintop living on Glassy Mountain — 1,647 feet above the world. Oh, and the golf course at Glassy was named the “fourth most
scenic golf course in the nation” by Golf Digest, behind only Cypress Point, Pebble Beach and Augusta National. The Best of Both Worlds • The Cliffs at Walnut Cove — You wouldn’t know that Asheville sits only 10 minutes from your front door, a phenomenon that is often referred to by Cliffs members as “the illusion of seclusion” and can be attributed to the fact that the community is bordered by the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Every day is different here, because there are so many opportunities: An 18,000-square-foot Wellness Center; a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course; an award-winning restaurant and tavern found in the heart of the Europeaninspired Club Village; hiking trails; a trout pond; a nature center; and more. This master-planned masterpiece is one of nature’s most magnificent settings. I can’t wait to schedule another trip. For more information, visit www.cliffscommunities.com or call 866-411-5771. !
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
$2.95 www.vsga.org
Golf Course Architecture’s Changing Landscape Official publication of the Virginia State Golf Association as a service to its nearly 80,000 members and VIP cardholders
Take Charge in 2014
Must-Play Layouts
INSIDE:
Learn how to
STRENGTHEN AND TRANSFORM your
all-around game
Tips from the Top: VSGA golfers of the year share their winning secrets Hot Equipment Introductions
Six More Courses to Score in 2014 These layouts beyond the commonwealth belong on your must-play list | have slowed to a trickle, but the courses that were built last year make sense in their respective markets and are readily justifiable. On the other hand, inspired restoration work has been performed on classic courses ranging from Pinehurst No. 2 to the Old Tabby Links. Everything old is new again. Among the current trends are broader fairways, boldly contoured greens, strategic risk-reward options, and firm, fast conditions that conserve water and promote a better standard of play.
NEW COURSES
to financial setbacks, the naturalistic golf course, a la the new design ethic, is literally rough around the edges. “We had a stunning valley and relatively flat riverside property to work with, which enabled us to create a hard and fast design that allows for all kinds of shots, particularly around the greens,” Player says. “It is also a walking course, which fits in nicely with my passion for fitness.” Unlike most mountain courses, the elevation change at Mountain Park is roughly 30 feet. The Cliffs at Mountain Park is a private club, though members can sponsor unescorted guests. (866-411-5773; cliffscommunities.com)
THE CLIFFS AT MOUNTAIN PARK Travelers Rest, S.C. You wouldn’t expect to find a British heathland-style course in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but designer Gary Player went against type at this striking newcomer, which stands in marked contrast to the other venues in The Cliffs Communities. Sandy wastelands, native scrub and thick woods characterize this rugged layout, which skirts the banks of the North Saluda River on 14 holes and measures 7,213 yards from the championship tees. Eschewing the wellgroomed, parkland-style look associated with The Cliffs, Player crafted a strategic gem with a diverse array of grasses to provide a range of textures. Delayed for five years due
Except for the fine long views of distant mountain ridges, the stunning piece of land at The Cliffs could pass for one of the famous Surrey courses outside London.
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The golf course at The Grove is a perfect fit for a rural retreat that simulates life on a peaceful, well-kept gentleman’s farm.
THE GROVE College Grove, Tenn. “Live Where You Play.” That’s the motto of this family-oriented residential community set in middle Tennessee’s rolling hills 20 miles south of Nashville. Situated on more than 1,100 acres of pristine Williamson County landscape and patterned after a country estate, The Grove’s claim to fame is its Greg Norman Signature Golf Course, which debuted to acclaim in 2013. Adhering closely to his low-profile, minimalist style of design, Norman built a sturdy yet playable course with five sets of tees stretching to over 7,400 yards from the back tee markers. The gently rolling, strategically bunkered layout, framed throughout by a forest of mixed hardwoods, is beautifully woven through the hills, with meandering brooks and native grasses outlining the fairways. Among the featured
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holes is No. 9, a long par 4 with a huge bunker in the center of the driving zone, and No. 11, at 636 yards from the tips one of the longest holes in the state. “Middle Tennessee is magnificent country,” Norman says. “My attitude when I came here was the ‘least-disturbance’ approach. My goal was to build a golf course that would fit into the natural topography of what Tennessee has to offer and, obviously, the vegetation is beautiful here.” Outside play is restricted to guests of members. (615-368-3044; groveliving.com)
TRUMP GOLF LINKS AT FERRY POINT Bronx, N.Y. From dump to Trump. That’s a fair description of the most expensive municipal golf course ever conceived, a project that dates back over 60 years and revolves around a former landfill, a cast of strong-willed mayors, a billionaire tycoon and the greatest golfer in history. Built atop a remediated brownfield turned urban oasis on the Bronx side of the Whitestone Bridge, Ferry Point is scheduled for a soft opening next summer after decades of false starts and financial turmoil. The city originally budgeted $20 million to build the course, but when costs ballooned to $100 million by 2010, the initial developer fled and Donald Trump won the right to operate the facility for 20 years. After plating the site with a foot of sand, Jack Nicklaus and John Sanford, a landfill expert and golf designer, fashioned a treeless, links-style layout surfaced in native grasses and fescues. Stretching to 7,365 yards, Ferry Point was built to championship standards and
At Ferry Point, depending on wind direction, players can use the Empire State Building and other Manhattan skyscrapers as aiming points.
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CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: THE CLIFFS/STEVEN M CBRIDE PHOTOGRAPHY; THE GROVE; TRUMP GOLF LINKS AT FERRY POINT
New course construction starts
by BRIAN MCCALLEN
already has been sized up by the U.S. Golf Association as a potential championship site. The Big Apple’s big-ticket muni (green fees have yet to be established) will feature a publicly-owned clubhouse, a lighted driving range, and bragging rights as New York City’s first new course since 1964. (trumpferrypoint.com)
Guests must be sponsored by a member. (336-723-5533; oldtownclub.org)
RESTORATIONS OLD TOWN CLUB
BOTTOM LEFT: OLD TOWN CLUB; CENTER: PINEHURST RESORT; OLD TABBY LINKS
Winston-Salem, N.C. As the centerpiece of a 1,000-acre estate once owned by the daughter of R.J. Reynolds, founder of the eponymous tobacco company, Old Town Club’s classic course was laid out by Perry Maxwell in 1939. It was sculpted shortly after he had completed renovations at Augusta National. One of the most venerable clubs in the South, Old Town, home course of the Wake Forest University golf team, is known for its ingenious routing, rolling topography and boldly contoured greens. Because Old Town’s features had atrophied over the years, the design duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, fresh off their revival of Pinehurst No. 2, was brought in to oversee a $1 million restoration of the storied layout. After bunkers were reshaped to recapture an old-style look, fairways were expanded to give players more options off the tee. Green sizes were adjusted dramatically. At the double green at the eighth and 17th holes, square footage was increased from 8,200 feet to 16,300 feet. Finally, Old Town was stretched from 6,800 to 7,037 yards to accommodate the modern game. “Coore and Crenshaw have successfully recaptured the ‘big bone’ presence of our 1939 layout, and today all of our features possess a much larger footprint,” says golf chairman Dunlop White III. Says Coore, a 1968 Wake Forest graduate, “It’s such a wonderful piece of land. The goal was to make the course better for the members, and we believe that we did that.”
Old Town Club may be better now than when it was new.
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Heroic shots, a Palmer specialty, will tantalize players from start to finish, while revised green complexes offer a variety of recovery options designed to test short game prowess.
As part of the renovations to Pinehurst No. 2, designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw rebuilt all 111 bunkers and reintroduced their “eroded-edge” look.
PINEHURST RESORT (NO. 2 COURSE) Village of Pinehurst, N.C. Pinehurst executives rolled the dice when they decided to restore the resort’s fabled No. 2 Course, the iconic Sandhills design by Donald Ross that has tested pros and duffers alike for more than a century. Working from sepia-toned photographs, aerial surveys and irrigation plans, the design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, each a classicist who reveres Ross’s masterpiece, set to work revising a course that had strayed from its original appearance. After stripping away more than 35 acres of grass to expose the region’s quartzite sand, the designers reintroduced native wiregrass in the rough and restored hole shapes that had drifted slightly from their original corridors. No. 2’s famed inverted saucer greens were basically left intact, though the putting surfaces were sodded with a new bentgrass blend. “The reputation of Pinehurst was established in its natural state,” says Coore, who played No. 2 during his college years and prizes it above all others. As was true in Ross’s day, balls that depart the wide fairways now roll to sandy hardpan, scraggly wiregrass or clumps of pine straw, where the lie is usually a crapshoot—which is what Ross had in mind from the beginning. Pinehurst’s fully restored No. 2 Course will be showcased in 2014 when it hosts the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open in consecutive weeks. (855-235-8507; pinehurst.com)
SPRING ISLAND (OLD TABBY LINKS) Spring Island, S.C. Recently reopened following the completion of a restoration project headed by Arnold Palmer Design Co., Spring Island’s original golf design firm, this 7,135-yard gem once again ranks among the finest layouts in the Lowcountry. Opened to national acclaim in 1992, Old Tabby Links, which tiptoes through a saltwater marsh and a maritime forest, was a forerunner of the environmentally sensitive golf course and anticipated the 21st century green movement. The main goal of the restoration was to accentuate the layout’s rugged character, rekindle its exquisite beauty and sharpen the strategic interest of each hole. All aspects of the course were revised, including putting surfaces, fairways, bunkers and other areas through the green. “Width off the tee now incorporates alternative angles of attack as a way to navigate towards the variety of new pin locations,” says Brandon Johnson, one of Palmer’s senior golf course architects. As a result, the majestic live oaks and pines that frame this pristine habitat threaded with golf holes may come into play if the ball ends up on the wrong side of the fairway. Classic risk-reward scenarios are now a key part of the game on the revamped links. Convenient to Beaufort, S.C., and Hilton Head Island, Spring Island offers a twonight Discovery Package priced at $399 that includes accommodations and access to club amenities—including Old Tabby Links. (843-987-2013; springisland.com) Author Brian McCallen is a writer from Stonington, Conn. This is his first contribution to Virginia Golfer.
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