by Fred Robledo
The Kingsmill Resort, a premier golf vacation destination in Virginia, is a place where your sense of history replenished while playing on three of the finest golf courses in the state.
When you realize that some of the Civil War battles were fought near the area, it’s difficult to think a 150-yard shot over a ravine to a tucked pin ranks very high on the meaningful shots fired on the hallowed grounds.
When you realize that the three 18-hole championship golf courses on the property are just downstream along the James River from Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America a little more than 400 years ago, it gives you a sense of the history that surrounds you.
When you realize that most of the property was once part of the historic Kingsmill Plantation, you not only realize where the Plantation Course got its name, you also get to see some of the remnants from some of the historic buildings on the plantation while playing that course.
But that was then, and this is now and visitors to the Kingsmill Resort are not only treated to a lesson in American history, they get to play on any or all three of the finest 18-hole golf courses in the state, work on their short game on a unique 9-hole par-3 course, dine at any of the five quality restaurants on the property, play on one of the 15 tennis courts, engage in any number of water sports down by the marina, get a relaxing massage at the spa, visit the roller coasters and other rides of Busch Gardens, take a short trip to historic Jamestown or Williamsburg, or just spend the day relaxing in one of the 425 elegantly designed one, two or three-bedroom condos.
I was worn out just trying to juggle those choices in my mind.
During my recent visit to Kingsmill, I stayed in a one-bedroom condo that had a full kitchen, a living room, a fireplace, two flat screen TVs and a wonderful view of the majestic James River from the balcony.
I soon realized there was no need for a car while on the premises. Everything was less than a 5-minute walk away except for the Woods Course, which was reachable by using the resort’s courtesy shuttle service.
The first course I wanted to play was the Arnold Palmer-designed Plantation Course, which had been ranked as the No. 9 golf course in the country by Golf Digest Women. Palmer courses have always been among my favorites because they generally have generous landing areas and most of the fairways dogleg to the right. This course fit that mold and I was happy with that because although water came into play on eight holes, it didn’t pose a danger if one paid attention to the distances to the landing areas.
The course is not long – only 6,432 yards from the tips – but it is quite challenging because the course winds through some heavily wooded areas, forces you to make decisions about laying up or carrying some wide ravines and has many greens that appear large, but really have small targets because so many of them are heavily undulated. You have to land the ball on the correct plateau or you will be left with a difficult putt.
One unusual thing was the routing. Once you leave the first tee, you don’t see the clubhouse again until you come off the 18th green.
It doesn’t take long to understand you have to pay attention to the wind which swirls among the pines. What you feel while standing over your ball is not necessarily how the wind is blowing on the green.
The course is littered with landmarks from Richard Kingsmill’s 1836 plantation and those landmarks alone are enough to take your mind off your game because of their places in history.
My favorite hole on the course was the shortest. On the day I played it, the ninth measured 109 yards to the middle of the green. It was all carry over a ravine with a bunker in front of the green. With the pin in the back, I estimated the distance to be 115 yards. With the wind at my back, I subtracted five yards. I hit what felt like a perfect 9-iron (my 110-yard club) but was soon horrified when the ball went high and appeared to hit a wall of wind. It fell into the ravine, not even reaching the bunker. The wind near the green was blowing in the opposite direction from it was on the tee.
Although I never did figure out those tricky winds, but I thoroughly enjoyed the course because of all of the challenging shots it presented and the satisfying moments I had when I actually did hit a good shot.
The River Course, named by Golfweek as one of the top 10 courses in Virginia, was next on my list. For more than a quarter century the River played host to tour stops for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.
It recently had a multi-million dollar facelift which was overseen by its original designer Pete Dye. I always look forward to playing his courses because I know, while some people think he pushes the envelope on trickiness, I feel like he likes to challenge players mentally and well as physically.
The River lived up to all of my Dye expectations. With four sets of tees, it can play as long as 6,831 yards from the tips to as short as 4,814 from the forward tees. No matter which tees are selected, it’s a challenge for all skill levels. The fairways featured contours and bunkers in strategic places which created risk-reward decisions. The greens were large, well protected, undulated and quick.
Water? Of course. It’s a Dye course. On most holes, the water is just there for the visual effect, but on the third, a par-five, long hitters might want to think twice before challenging a small and elevated green which is protected by a small lake on the left side.
The signature hole is the par-three 17th which is located along the banks of the James River. The green is deep and is banked steeply. Club selection is vital, as is ball striking on this hole.
As usual, I came off the course wishing I had another crack at it. Sometimes I made good decisions, other times I thought I made good decisions but didn’t pull off the shot and paid the price.
On Day Three, it was time to take the short shuttle ride to the Woods Course, which is located in a secluded area of the resort. While the Plantation and River courses share the same clubhouse and driving range, the Woods has its own.
The Woods Course was in the path of tornadoes which swept through some southern states in late April and it had to be closed for a few days to repair the damage. On the ride to the clubhouse, course workers were still piling up cords of logs from uprooted trees. The tornadoes had struck so swiftly, those at the course were trapped there until workers used buzz saws to removed trees from the single road leading to the course.
The course is named the Woods because it runs through a heavily wooded area of the resort, but with so many trees destroyed, a lot of the holes became more difficult because there was little protection from the wind.
Despite all of the destruction, the course was in immaculate condition. Co-designed by two-time U.S. Open golf champion, the course makes you hit every club in your bag and makes you wish you had a few others. The course, ranked by Golfweek as one of Virginia’s top 10 courses, was my favorite of the three courses.
The course can be stretched to 6,659 yards or played from the forward tees at 5,148 yards. But it really doesn’t matter because the wind will wreak havoc with the distances.
One of the unique features of the course is the double green shared by the par-three 12th hole and the par-four 15th. There is a bunker in the middle of that green to make them appear to be two separate greens, but if you hit too long on either hole, you can be left with an extremely long putt that has to go around a bunker.
The 15th hole played a little easier because a tree that protected the right side of the dogleg was gone. But that was negated by the woods just to the right of the missing tree. Players who missed the fairway right will wish they had played the ball left of that missing tree, the way they most certainly would have played it if the tree was still there.
The overall course design of the Woods was outstanding. Each hole presented a distinct challenge that required planning on every shot. The wind made it much more difficult, but even without wind the course would have been difficult, but fair.
I couldn’t leave the Kingsmill Resort before taking a crack at the Bray Course, the 9-hole par-three course that tantalized me every time I looked at it while having breakfast or lunch at Eagles, located in the main golf clubhouse.
The Bray course has holes ranging from 50 to 125 yards. The wind blowing in from the James River makes it a little tougher. It’s a fun course to play for a family and a great way to warm up before playing on one of the three 18-hole courses.
It only takes about 40 minutes to play it. I went out with a 9-iron, wedge and putter and did quite well until I reached the final hole, a 125-yard shot to an island green. The green runs away at an angle and you can actually reach the green with a 100-yard shot if you pull it to the left. When I played it, the wind was quite brisk off the James River and what I thought was a perfect 9-iron shot faded right and into the lake. I tried two more times with the same result before running out of the sleeve of balls I had for the Bray Course.
The entire experience at the Kingsmill Resort was more than I expected. This is a place for family, for golf buddy getaways, for romance or for business trips. This is one place I have already placed on my “Must Visit Again” list.
KINGSMILL RESORT
1010 Kingsmill Road • Williamsburg, VA
www.Kingsmill.com • 1-800-832-5655
Steeped in a tradition of gracious southern hospitality, Kingsmill Resort heralds a rich history dating back to Colonial America. The land along the banks of the James River was considered a permanent base by the English settlers on May 12, 1607. They decided to settle there the next day. Situated in the heart of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, the land was part of a bustling Virginia plantation from 1619 through the 1800s. Today, the resort retains those historic traits.
Kingsmill Resort is a Xanterra Parks & Resorts® property. The resort is an AAA Four-Diamond property and a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide – a global association of the world’s finest independent luxury hotels.
