Kingsmill Plantation Course & Colonial Heritage
The James River is often a distant memory for those coming to visit the town of Williamsburg. The river plays a huge part in how the weather works along the peninsulas in the Tidewater region. If you are not playing a course right along the water, it may be hard to find believe it or not. Williamsburg is surrounded by dense woods and there is little elevation change, but where there is, it is very noticeable. Today we got the best of both worlds in the Plantation Course at Kingsmill and Colonial Heritage.
Surprisingly enough, if someone asked me what my personal favorite course in Williamsburg is, I would have a tough time not saying the Plantation Course. Not just because I grew up playing it but more so for its simple architecture and timeless character. It is a friendly course to all golfers since there are only two holes that dogleg from right to left and one straight-away. The majority of the course favors a fade off the tee but not too much since the fairways are tight in some spots. The James River becomes the focal point around the furthest point from the clubhouse. The course does not come back around after nine and that is, as we know, one of my favorite features of any course. Blocked by bordering banks, the James feeds into marshes and tributaries that surround the neighboring golf course. The green complexes play as the defense of the layout taking on different sizes, shapes and angles. Overall it was well-manicured and a blast to see engulfed by the dense fog that was eerily floating in from the James.
About 15 minutes away, or 25 minutes if you take the long way to check out the fog along the Colonial Parkway towards Jamestown like I did, Colonial Heritage lies across from the Williamsburg Pottery on the north side of town. This Arthur Hills design is laid across some of the more hilly terrain in the region. Daunting ravines, meandering creeks, densely populated woods and rolling fairways build a strong character. The course requires all facets of your game to be alive for the round. It boasts a stellar condition with beautiful bent greens lined by Kentucky bluegrass rough and plush Bermuda fairways. A trick to playing the course is always figure out the best spot to be chipping from to the pin location. Even though the area around the green looks bad, an uphill chip usually comes from well below the surface of the green. Contrary to that, a downhill chip comes from well above the hole which makes it even tougher to stop. You’ll understand once you walk on the first green.
The town has plenty of different characters in the plot and they all bring something different to the table. With not only diverse architects and history, Williamsburg has an assorted geographical “box of chocolates” so to speak. From thick woods and rolling hills to small creeks and large rivers, it can play into the favorites of many different golfers.
In this series of blog articles Patrick plays and write’s about courses in what seem as unlikely combinations but is actually similar to the way in which golf travelers will experience the courses in Williamsburg. One day playing a links style course like Royal New Kent followed by a park lands style course such as Kiskiack. Patrick is a Virginia Golf Vacations golf trip coordinator and former Division one golfer that spent one season on the Canadian Tour. Send Patrick and email with your questions about Williamsburg Golf courses or to get information on booking a Williamsburg golf trip. patrick@virginiagolfvacations.com