Golf-South.net | "Snowshoe - Incredible Course With An Incredible Setting"

SNOWSHOE -
INCREDIBLE
COURSE WITH AN
INCREDIBLE
SETTING
by MARC ATCHISON

Almost heaven,
West Virginia;
Blue ridge mountains,
Shenandoah river;
Life is old there, older
than the trees;
Younger than the
mountains, blowing like a
breeze

Country roads, take me
home;
To the place, I be-long;
West Virginia, mountain momma; Take me home, country roads.

Yep, it was many moons ago when John Denver warbled out those lyrics and filled our TV screens with that goofy grin. But we forgive him. Because he put us onto a well-kept secret. West Virginia is a good place to be, especially if you’re looking to whack a golf
ball around a majestic backdrop.

Snowshoe Mountain’s Raven Golf Club is unique to West Virginia, but looks like many courses built in rugged mountainous areas. It’s carved out of the rough and rugged terrain, but somehow it manages to sooth the soul. Gary Player really put on his thinking cap when he cooked up the golf course's design. The course features exaggerated elevation changes that see shots drop as much as 200 feet from tee to landing areas. The long fairways take advantage of the rolling terrain and trees are framed by panoramic Allegheny vistas. You've got to get off the Interstate Trail, but you'll get an eyeful of scenery on the back roads leading into this golf and ski resort.

The Raven Course at Snowshoe Mountain (Potomac Highlands) is the epitome of eastern mountain courses. The layout serves as the flagship of Intrawest Corporation’s resort golf courses.

By stacking huge stone
bulwarks, Player created
spectacular tees high above
fairways and greens, suspended
on the edge of impenetrable
terrain. The course is also a
sanctuary for whitetail deer,
Canada geese, beavers, foxes,
rabbits, and the occasional black
bear.

The course measures 7,045
from the blacks … you may want
to whack your golf balls from the
whites – 5,976 yards. If you
need further convincing that you
should pack your golf clubs and
head to West Virginia … chances are good you won’t hear John Denver singing that gawdawfully catchy ditty, check out the accolades:

Golf Week Magazine 2006: Ranked No. 1 Public Access Course in West Virginia - fifth straight year receiving this No. 1 ranking
Golf Week Magazine 2006: Ranked No. 17 in the Top 40 Resort Courses in America Golf Week Magazine 2006: Ranked No. 84 in the Top 100 Modern Golf Courses in US Washington Golf Monthly 2006: One of the 100 Must Play Golf Courses in the Mid-Atlantic
Travel & Leisure Golf: Rated in the
Top 25 of the "Best 100 Courses to
Play Under $100

Off-season rates allow you to play
golf for as little as $50 and you can
latch onto some enticing package
deals at the Inn at Snowshoe for
$90 or so … that gets you golf, a
room and some get-up-and-go
breakfast in the morning. It’s not
exactly tropical here in the winter,
so you might want to check ahead
on whether the course is open.

For more information, check out
www.intrawest.com.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Marc Atchison is the former Travel and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.