GUESTS
STONEWALL-ED
BY RESORT'S
BEAUTY
by MARC ATCHISON
Not quite ready to die,
but want to go to
heaven?
Well, a fairway to
heaven may be a car
drive away in
West
Virginia. It seems
Mother Nature has
proven to be a nifty
golf architect in her
own right.
Stonewall, an
Arnold
Palmer Signature
course in just off I-79
near Roanoke, ranks among the best values in the golf world ... and that says a lot. Two hours south of Pittsburgh, Penn., four hours west of Washington and 1½ hour’s from Charleston, W.V., the golf course is linked to the beautiful Stonewall Resort.
Just check out the accolades: Golf Digest says it's one of America's Best New Courses ... and Golf Magazine makes it a Top 10 New Course.
Ken Jesina, GM for the resort at the time, said, “We appreciate the review and ranking by Golf Week. This is confirmation of what many of us already believe – that we have a terrific golf course here in the heart of West Virginia.”
Located in Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park, the Palmer course is a thrilling challenge with many pleasant diversions. Breathtaking scenery and the possibility of deer frolicking make every step of the way a Polaroid moment.
With a slope rating of 143, Stonewall plays 7,149 yards
from the Palmer tees, but if
you're not that ambitious,
there are 4 other tee options
and believe me tee selection
is
critical when playing this
course, pound for pound or
shot for shot this is as
demanding as courses get.
Although the course is in a
mountainous setting from
hole
to hole the elevation
changes
are relatively mild
until you
come to the par 3,
16th hole
where you will find
yourself
looking down 80 feet
or so to
a green that is
protected by
water on the
right and around
the back.
Middle of the green
is your
safest bet here.
Come to
think
of it all the
par 3’s are
memorable at
Stonewall.
The opening 2 holes are fairly
tame and are teasers for
what
is to come. So you had
better
score early. There are
beauties like No. 7, a
580-
yard
monster from the
tips. The hole doglegs a bit
to
the left. With vicious
bunkering
toward the hole, a
controlled
conservative
second shot is in
order, but
the big hitters never
seem to
want to be denied
their shot
at golf glory.
Impeccable
greens and
manicured
fairways merge with
powder
white bunkers,
towering tree
lines and the
surrounding
lake to strike a
great balance
between difficulty
and
playability. Tall grasses
line
some of the fairways,
making
it an adventure chasing
shots
that go astray.
When you're done your walk
through nature's beauty, you
can kick up your feet in
Lightburn's restaurant,
perched
atop the resort's
highest point
to give you a bird's eye view of
Stonewall Jackson Lake.
There's an excellent 198-room four-star lodge that's loaded with all the amenities - this can become more of a destination than a stopover. The resort, in 1920s Adirondack Lodge style, is complemented by lakeside cottages.
There’s plenty to do if you need a bit of a break from golf … or if you want to keep a healthy relationship with your significant other. There are 13 miles of hiking and mountain bike trails and there’s great fishing.
You might be able to nab an off-season golf rate of $50, but you’ll want to check into the package deals with the resort.
For more info, go to
www.stonewallresort.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.
