Greenbrier Old White

The verdict

Old White is the oldest and the most important course at The Greenbrier, a Charles Blair Macdonald original from 1914 built with his protege Seth Raynor. It is a template course in the truest sense, its holes modeled on the great strategic concepts of British links golf, the Redan, the Alps, the Eden and the Biarritz among them, and reproduced with care in the rolling foothills of the Alleghenies. At a par of 70 and a little over 7,200 yards it is a course of ideas rather than length, where angles, contours and the tilt of a green decide far more than the driver.

For a decade Old White hosted a PGA Tour event, and when the catastrophic flood of June 2016 tore through the valley the resort turned to Keith Foster, a noted authority on Macdonald and Raynor, to rebuild it faithfully. Foster kept the routing and the template concepts while rebuilding every green complex, refreshing the bunkering and reopening sightlines lost for decades. The course reopened in 2017 playing older and purer than it had in a generation, and for the travelling golfer it is one of the finest classical experiences in the eastern United States.

The holes worth the trip

Old White is a walk through golf's most famous template holes, faithfully rendered by Macdonald and Raynor and restored by Keith Foster. The eighth is a Redan, the long diagonal par 3 that asks you to feed the ball in from the right and let the slope do the work. The thirteenth is an Alps, blind over a ridge to a green guarded by a deep cross bunker, while the fifteenth pays homage to the Eden at St Andrews, a short one shot test ringed by sand and falling water.

Between the set pieces the course rewards thought over force. Fairways tilt to favor one side, greens are pushed up and pitched so that the wrong angle leaves an approach that simply will not hold, and Howard Creek winds through the property to catch the careless. Foster's tree clearing reopened views to the mountains and the grand white hotel, and gave the strategy back its width, so the player who studies the ground is rewarded again and again.

The finish is a rarity in championship golf, for Old White closes on a long par 3 played back toward The Greenbrier itself, a Biarritz styled one shotter with a swale through the green that makes club selection a genuine puzzle. To end a round looking up at the great hotel, with the Macdonald template behind you, is one of the most satisfying closes in American resort golf.

Where to stay nearby

The simplest base is The Greenbrier itself, the grand National Historic Landmark hotel that has anchored White Sulphur Springs since the nineteenth century, with its own restaurants, spa, casino and a second and third course beside Old White. Staying on property puts the first tee, the practice ground and the history all within a short stroll.

Beyond the resort the Greenbrier Valley offers quieter inns and rental homes among the mountains, while Lewisburg adds a charming small town of restaurants and galleries a short drive away. For a longer trip the course pairs naturally with the classical golf of Virginia and the Carolinas to the south.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts nearby.