Of the Jones Sr. courses that I have played the Golden Horseshoe remains, in my estimation, one of the finest courses he ever designed.  It was built in the 1960’s in a hilly wooded area that surrounds a a natural canal basin-the finished course is a product of it’s surroundings.  It bears similarity to Spyglass Hill which was built in the same time frame, a course that the pros consider one of the most difficult courses they play all year.  Much like Spyglass this course was carved out of a densely wooded area-tall trees ensconce every hole and give the course that distinctive cathedral-like feeling.  Much like Spyglass the holes meander up and down seriously hilly terrain presenting the player with the challenge of evaluating elevation change on almost every shot.  Throw in a little wind and the tunnel effect caused by the tall trees and you have a difficult mental challenge in club selection on every shot.

Esthetically this is one beautiful golf course.  There are more maintenance people per player than you will see anywhere.  Every flower and blade of grass is manicured to perfection-it is presented to please the eye and it will not disappoint.  This is a mother of a piece of terrain to walk so you will actually be glad to be riding in a cart most of the way.

Number 2 Par Five 476 yards     (reesjonesinc.com)

As is characteristic of most of the Jones Sr. courses you see long tees to allow multiple tee lengths, oddly shaped-segmented greens that never give you much target to shoot at, and well placed fairway bunkers that force you to play dexterously for the best line into each green.  The greens are very undulating and segmented which puts a premium on getting your ball to the correct tier and further pressures you to get the correct driving position for an advantage angle at the flag position of the day.  The only characteristic missing from most of the Jones Sr. courses I have played are the large sprawling amoeba-like bunkers with which he loves to intimidate players-but the green side bunkers are deep and well positioned to swallow a shot without conviction so you will end up with sand between your toes before the day is over.

In spite of the fact that the overall yardage does not seem intimidating it is a driving course-long drives on the right line are requisite to scoring well here.  The trees and bunkers clearly define the driving lines-you must hit them if you are to have a bats chance of hitting these segmented greens.  Concentration and correct club selection on the tee box is very important.  Mindlessly blasting your driver on every hole will lead to lots of troubles and doubles on your scorecard.  Which brings to mind one of the cardinal rules of The Shoe-if you hit it in the trees take the most direct and shortest route out.  Anything bold or macho will be punished by Trent’s ghost-there is very little air in these trees.

Number Three Par 3 174 yards (golfzoo.com)

As is the case with most great courses you have to be intelligently aggressive to score well here.  When you have the right angle to a flag or the putt from the correct side of the hole you have to go for it.  On a course like this you have to put some cash in the account when you have a chance because there will be debits coming due on some of the harder holes during the day.  The middle holes require you to score well because the beginning and the end will not offer you much opportunity other than survival.  The par three holes are easily the most difficult scoring holes on the course.  All four are nested around the basin in the middle of the property with serious elevation change and always a smattering of wind.  To murk your decision making further three of these holes have at least three tee positions they can use so the club selection can change two clubs from one day to the next.  These are four of the most challenging and breathtaking par threes you will ever play on one course.  The last five holes are the hardest run of the day-one of the toughest finishes if you are clinging to a good score.  Only the last four at Avenel or the last five at TPC Sawgrass come close.  It is especially difficult to face this challenge late in the round when you are tired.

Number Sixteen Par 3 159 yards (reesjonesinc.com)

I have played this course a dozen times and I still find every round I play here full of intrigue and delight.  It is the type of course I think you could play every day and never get sick of it-the facets of the architecture-the beauty of the surroundings make it a real treat time after time.  There is no course I have played in the states-except Pebble, Pinehurst 2, Merion, and Oakmont-that has left a more indelible mark on my golf psyche.  Touche Mr. Jones!

Williamsburg, Virginia

Designer: Robert Trent Jones, Sr (1963)

Tees            Par          Yardage            Rating              Slope

Blue            71            6522                 72.4                 135

White           71            6248                 70.7                 129

(Click to see complete Gold Course hole-by-hole descriptions)

In an effort to create a two-course facility that would be able to handle large convention groups, the Golden Horseshoe hired Rees Jones, son of Robert Trent Jones Sr.,  in 1991 to build a complement to the heralded Gold Course at The Shoe.  What he created in no way resembles Trent’s classic masterpiece.  This is a contemporary styled wooded course winding through tall beech, oak, and pines and more gentle rolling terrain than it’s sister where they moved lots of earth to get the shaping they were looking for.  The most distinguishing characteristic is enveloping mounding-every hole over 200 yards long seems to have a wall of mounds on both sides that contain the area of play and keep balls from chasing into the woods.  I am convinced the owners said to Rees we don’t want 30 handicappers out here for six hour rounds looking for their Pinnacles in the woods.  The mounding around the greens is wild as well but here at least it leads to some creative pitch saves when you miss the greens.

The sequencing of the holes is interesting-you start with four par fours without great distinction.  You don’t see a three par until 7.  At that point the character of the course changes dramatically and you have to start paying attention.  The middle six are actually the meat of the course for me.    There are three par threes from seven to eleven and not another par five until fifteen when you will see two in the last four holes.  The last three are very technical holes-shortish par four, long par three, and an interesting par five to finish.  The main criticism I have is that the holes tend to be pretty straight, only two real doglegs in the bunch, and many of the holes start to appear alike though the green set mounding and sculpting make them play differently.

This is by no means an easy course-the rating and slope from the Blue Tees is actually higher than the Gold but I think the difference is that less blowup holes are lurking here than across the campus.  The zoysia grass fairways also make it play even longer and the side mounding also leads to lots of side hill approach shots into the greens.  Don’t always reach for the driver there are holes where position trumps length and the well place three wood or hybrid will be the better choice of driving club.  The green shapes themselves are very varied and interesting and you have to ignore the straightness of the fairways and think carefully about approach angle relative to pin position to get good scoring opportunities.

Number Nine Par 3 176 yards (reesjonesinc.com)

The par threes are easily the most interesting holes out here-all feature elevation change and unusual green complexes with varied pin positions, difficult sculpting and undulations, and nice variety in length.  The water in play on the course is only on #11 and the drive on #18 so the chance for the triple bogey threat is only if you double pump a tee ball into the trees and that is hard to do over the side walls.

Finishing Hole Par 5 512 yards (reesjonesinc.com)

Keep your head about you-concentrate on the driving lines and you will enjoy this day.  This is a fun course-sporty and interesting-and a great complement to the challenges of his father’s track.

Williamsburg, Virginia

Designer: Rees Jones (1991)

Tees              Par          Yardage            Rating              Slope

Blue              72            6722                 73.6                 138

White            72            6244                 70.7                 129

(Click to see complete Green Course hole-by-hole descriptions)