"WHEN A SHORT
DRIVE IS A
GOOD
THING"
It can get so painfully cold.
Sometimes snowy. Usually
depressing.
The days are shorter…the spare
time thinking about how wonderful
it would be to be on a golf course
grows longer.
You turn on the TV and there's
evidence that people somewhere in
the world are still swinging the sticks.
If money and time are factors, you
don't have to hop in a plane and jet
off to a tropical destination to get
your golf fix.
Golfing may be a
shorter drive than
you think.
After doing a bit of weather
watching, you can hop in a car
and head to Virginia Beach -- the
initial destination in this case is
Cape Charles on the eastern
shore.
Check out Bay Creek Resort and
Club -- with two highly touted golf
courses: The Arnold Palmer Signature Course and the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course. We're only too happy to find out it's open and we're on our way -- on the Nicklaus course. With wonderful views of the Chesapeake Bay and Old Plantation Creek and acres of natural dunes, you can feel right at home, just try and avoid the large waste bunkers and more than 100 bunkers that characterize the course. And there's lots of water.
Before Bay Creek even opened, Golf Magazine was inspired to write: “Playing the front nine at Bay Creek may just become one of the most stunning visual experiences anywhere along the East Coast. But if you can take your eyes off the scenery, you are in for a thrill of target golf, with 110 acres of lakes alone, not to mention rolling fairways, bulk-headed greens and seaside dunes blowing with sea oats and beach grasses.”
In 2004, Golf Digest named the Palmer course the 9th best course in America opened within the past five years. The course also made Golf Digest’s Best Places to Play guidebook, rating 4 ½ stars.
The Palmer course plays at 7,204 yards from the tips. With five sets of tee blocks, if you’re an average duffer you might get into a more comfortable groove from the white blocks, measuring 6,308 yards.
The Nicklaus course measures
7,417
yards from the tips, but once
again
with five sets of tee blocks,
it’s
important to find something
manageable.
You can golf at Bay Creek for as
little as $65, including cart, in the
off-season.
Live the Life is the
state's slogan. And you can,
apparently, really live it up -- on
and off the golf course.
Next up is TPC of Virginia Beach. As
part of the TPC family ... and
designed by Pete Dye, with Curtis
Strange as a player consultant...you
know it's going to be great.
On a
recent trip, I'm greeted near the
TPC tee box by a man with a huge
smile. "Last February ... one of our
worst days of the year, cold and
sleet ... we had eight guys show up.
I said to them: 'Golfing today?
You're crazy!' They said: 'No, we're
not crazy ... we're Canadian.' And
they went out and golfed and had a
great time."
Everything about this experience is
great. The course, with scorecards
that go into more detail than any
course I have ever played. And
especially the people who work
here.... a great bunch, to be sure!
The course has five tee blocks
ranging from 7,432 from the blacks
(slope of 142) to 6,056 (slope of
125) from the whites. The layout
was carved out of rolling farmland
and dense woods. Heck, it’s a TPC
course. That speaks volumes in
itself. You can play for $88 with
cart
in an off-season
weekday.
It's then off to Hell's Point Golf Club designed by Rees Jones. With its lofty pines and tall hardwoods, Hell's Point is your meat and potatoes course. Not overly fancy, but very efficient. And you’re in the Great Outdoors. On the 11th hole, a family of deer walks past. With four sets of tee blocks, you’re playing to 6,776 yards from the tips. This course is all about precision. On most holes, the driver is best left sitting in your bag. When the course opened in 1982, it was named one of Golf Digest’s best new courses. The American Society of Golf Architects rated it one of its 130 best-designed courses. The price is right. The off-season weekday rate is $47 with cart.
Next up is Heron Ridge Golf Club. Designed by Fred Couples and Gene Bates, the course has plenty of challenges, with big elevation changes, lakes and wetlands. Again, there are some striking elements about the course. The front nine winds links style through rolling hills with strategically placed bunkers and water. The back nine shifts to mature stands of oaks, beeches, elms and more water. Thirteen of the 18 holes have water hazards and natural wetlands. If all else fails, you can pack your hip waders. With five sets of tee blocks, the adventurous can try the Boom Boom tees, at 7,017 yards (131 slope). The white tees may be more attractive at 6,044 yards (118 slope). You can golf for as little as $46 with cart.
And, with time running out, it's off to Signature at West Neck, another Arnie beauty. The course is sprawled among 13 lakes. Holes 10 and 11 are especially breathtaking. Granite wall bulkheads fronting the 11th and 18th holes are spectacular. For as little as $67, you can get a round and a cart with GPS. You can play from five sets of tee blocks, with the Palmer measuring 7,010. The whites come in at 6,072.
Hard to believe, but Virginia Beach is the 34th-largest city in the U.S.
There's whale watching, fishing or just kicking back on the beach. It's a vibrant community with great restaurants and nightlife. And ... there's great golf. Fore!
For more information on golf in the Virginia Beach area visit www.vbgolf.com
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