The Greenbrier Old White: Macdonald's Mountain Templates
In 1914 Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor laid a set of British template holes into the Allegheny valley at White Sulphur Springs, and the Old White has been the soul of The Greenbrier ever since. A par 70 of 7,287 yards with a Redan, an Alps and an Eden among its eighteen, it hosted the PGA Tour for a decade and remains the most historic resort course in the American mountains. You play it as a guest of the grand old hotel, with a forecaddie at your side.
Photo: Dan P via Google.
The verdict
The Old White is a working museum of golf architecture. Macdonald spent his life arguing that the best holes in the world should be studied and rebuilt elsewhere, and at The Greenbrier he and Raynor did exactly that, dropping a Redan, an Alps, an Eden and a Cape into the floor of the Allegheny Mountains where the mineral spa had drawn presidents and high society for more than a century. The result is a course that feels older and wiser than its yardage, all bold green contours, deep angular bunkers and short par 4s that ask a question on every tee.
Our verdict is that the Old White is the most rewarding way to understand classic American design without leaving the resort comforts of a five star hotel. A Lester George restoration in 2006 sharpened the template greens, and after catastrophic flooding tore through the valley in June 2016 the course was rebuilt and reopened, so the conditioning is modern even where the strategy is a century old. It is not a brute, it is a thinker, and it pairs naturally with the resort's other layouts and the wider mountain golf of the eastern United States. Bring your imagination and a soft touch on the greens.
Old White at a glance
- Opened
- 1914
- Designer
- C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor
- Type
- Mountain resort, template
- Par
- 70
- Yardage
- 7,287 yards from the tips
- Green fee
- Around 200 to 450 USD including forecaddie, indicative 2026
Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026 from The Greenbrier and recognized course databases. The green fee is an indicative 2026 range that includes the mandatory forecaddie; registered resort guests receive a discount of roughly 10 to 15 percent, and play is reserved for guests and members. Rates move with the season, so always confirm directly before booking. The resort also runs the Greenbrier Course and the Meadows.
The holes worth the trip
The hole that teaches you Macdonald is the 8th, a Redan: a long par 3 patterned on the 15th at North Berwick, where the green sits at an angle and tilts away to the left, so the smart shot lands short and right and lets the slope feed it toward the flag. Fight the design and you are bunkered; trust it and you make three. It is the clearest lesson on the property in why the templates have lasted a hundred years.
The 13th is an Alps, the blind approach borrowed from the 17th at Prestwick, where the second shot is fired over a grassed ridge to a green you cannot see, with a deep cross bunker waiting for anything short. It is exhilarating and slightly absurd in the best way, a reminder that early golf trusted the player to commit to a line and swing. Two holes later the 15th is an Eden, the short par 3 modeled on the 11th at St Andrews, with the Strath and Hill bunkers reimagined to guard a fast, fall away green.
The closing stretch runs back along Howard's Creek toward the white columns of the hotel, and the 18th asks for one last accurate approach over the water to finish in front of the gallery hill that once held PGA Tour crowds. Throughout, the greens are the defense: bold, tiered and firm, they reward the player who has read the contour from the fairway and punish the one who simply aims at the pin.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Resort course for registered guests of The Greenbrier and members; the standard route is to book a stay at the hotel and reserve golf with it. Not a public walk-up course |
| Indicative green fee | Around 200 to 450 USD in 2026 including the mandatory forecaddie; registered guests save roughly 10 to 15 percent. Caddie gratuity is additional |
| Season | Roughly April to November in the mountain climate; peak conditioning and color come in late spring and early autumn |
| On the ground | Forecaddie required on every round; carts available, and the valley-floor routing walks comfortably for those who prefer it |
| Dress | Collared shirts and golf trousers or tailored shorts; the resort keeps a smart traditional code on and off the course |
| Getting there | White Sulphur Springs, southeastern West Virginia; Greenbrier Valley Airport is minutes away, with Roanoke about 90 minutes and a dedicated Amtrak stop at the resort |
Rates and access are set by the resort and shift by season, so confirm current figures and availability directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
The only answer that fits the golf is The Greenbrier itself, the vast white resort that has stood at White Sulphur Springs since 1778 and gives the course both its name and its access. Golf packages run through the season, and the hotel's sulphur springs, the spa, the casino and a roster of restaurants fill the evenings in a style that has hosted presidents for two centuries.
For a longer mountain swing, the resort sits within reach of the wider golf of Virginia and the Carolinas, and makes a grand anchor for a trip that blends history, spa comfort and template architecture. Book early for the late spring and early autumn weeks, when the Allegheny color is at its best and the tee sheet fills fast.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around White Sulphur Springs, led by The Greenbrier.
Play the Old White on a US golf trip
Tell us when you want to play and who is traveling, and one concierge books the Old White, sets the resort stay around it and pairs it with the best of the eastern mountains, costed to the head with no obligation. Or start with our plan my trip page.
Old White questions
Who designed the Old White at The Greenbrier?
Charles Blair Macdonald, the father of American golf course architecture, designed the Old White in 1914, with his associate Seth Raynor handling the construction and returning in the 1920s to refine it. The course is named for the Old White Hotel that once stood at the resort, and its holes are templates modeled on famous originals in Britain: the Redan, the Alps, the Eden and others.
How much does it cost to play the Old White in 2026?
Indicative 2026 green fees run from about 200 to 450 US dollars including the mandatory forecaddie, with registered resort guests receiving a discount of roughly 10 to 15 percent. Play is reserved for guests of The Greenbrier and members. Rates move with the season and the date, so always confirm directly before booking.
Can the public play the Old White?
Access is for registered guests of The Greenbrier resort and members rather than fully public walk-up play. Booking a stay at the hotel is the standard way to secure a tee time, and a forecaddie is required on every round. The resort also runs the Meadows and the Greenbrier Course alongside the Old White.
What are the famous holes on the Old White?
The 8th is a Redan, the long par 3 modeled on the 15th at North Berwick that runs and feeds left toward a kicking slope. The 13th is an Alps, a blind approach over a ridge in the manner of the 17th at Prestwick, and the 15th is an Eden, the short par 3 patterned on the 11th at St Andrews. The 18th finishes back over Howard's Creek toward the resort.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening year, par, yardage and host history verified June 2026 from The Greenbrier and recognized course databases; indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.