All my golf buddies have VSGA cards, which allow us nice discounts on dozens of courses across Virginia. Recently, VSGA opened up The Old Course at The Homestead to card holders and we took advantage.
The regular rate for 18 holes is $135, but with our cards, we teed it up for $36 – with a cart.
The Homestead has two courses – The Old Course and The Cascades. The Cascades is their championship layout, site of many tournaments including past state opens. It’s a tough layout. The Old Course – beside the highway – was built in 1892 and ranks as the nation’s oldest first tee still in continuous use. It’s a kinder, gentler course, but still demanding. Over time, the course has evolved with updates courtesy of William S. Flynn and Rees Jones.
Because of the mountainside layout, the course has a lot of par 3 and par 5 holes and not so may par 4s. I don’t think there is a level lie on any inch of the course. Everything is on a hill and guess where the balls go? The greens are quick and all are sloped. You’d have to play the course a bunch of times to figure out the breaks, but it doesn’t take long to figure out that you need to be chipping and putting uphill, not downhill.
Overall, the course was in good shape, considering it has been an extremely dry summer in the western part of our state. My only criticism was the condition of the tee-boxes. Most were very small, meaning you had to dig up the ground without a chance for the grass to regroup. They also had very little distance between the tee boxes. The senior tees were often just a few feet closer than the white tees and I need more than a few feet to hit with the young fellows.
But it was a lovely day and we all enjoyed the spectacular scenery on one of the oldest and most prestigious courses of all. If they offer the same deal next year, we’ll be back.