Michael Curet reports on The Greenbrier Resort and The Old White TPC Course that is steeped in its country’s and golf’s history .

 

 

A VISIT to The Greenbrier Resort and The Old White TPC course is simply more than a golf trip. It’s a history lesson. And, when The Old White TPC became part of the TPC Network earlier this year, it marked yet another giant milestone in the rich tradition and history at the resort which endures and continues to flourish after more than two centuries.

“I arrived with a real appreciation for the place The Greenbrier holds in golf history,” said Burt Baine, Golf Club General Manager at The Greenbrier, which hosted the 1979 Ryder Cup, three Champions Tour events, and the 1994 Solheim Cup.

Last year, Stuart Appleby added another chapter to the history books at The Greenbrier with a final round 59 on his way to winning the inaugural PGA TOUR event on The Old White course. A former local head pro at The Greenbrier, a man named Sam Snead, also carded a 59 on Old White about 50 years earlier.

This year's Greenbrier Classic was nostalgic for a lot of reasons – perhaps because there’s history wherever you turn.

According to research provided by The Greenbrier historian, Dr Robert Conte, 26 US presidents have graced the grounds and hallways – from James Monroe to George W Bush. In addition, a Civil War, two World Wars and a Cold War clearly left its imprint on The Greenbrier and Old White, which always lived to fight another day. The Greenbrier is where golfing greats often came and reaffirmed their greatness – Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, among others.

“The Old White TPC is one of the most prestigious courses ever to join the TPC network,” said Baine, General Manager for its three courses – The Old White TPC, The Greenbrier, and The Meadows. “It is certainly the oldest. Aside from great golf, we want to improve the experience of the customer and the players at The Greenbrier.”

It’s no wonder many PGA TOUR families and fans circle this event on the PGA TOUR calendar, not just for the golf, but for the many activities which make for a great family vacation such as fly fishing, hunting, horseback riding, tennis, squash, basketball, volleyball, archery, swimming, children’s programs, shopping and dining. There’s also a full-time health clinic, employing 11 board-certified physicians.

“It’s a great week to reward families,” said Baine, “with the natural backdrop of the historic Greenbrier as host.” Mickelson and his family could not get to The Greenbrier soon enough – even after his grueling tie for second place at the The Open Championship.

“My kids were already making lists of all the things they wanted to do while we were there, even though I'd be working," said Mickelson. The Old White TPC was shut down in September 2010 in preparation for The Classic. The PGA TOUR Agronomy team and The Greenbrier staff, while adding close to 400 yards length to adjust for the longer hitters of the modern game, made alterations on every hole.

They also strategically made sure that the course remained as much in its original state as intended when golf course architects Charles Blair MacDonald and Seth Raynor completed the masterpiece in 1914. Almost 90 years of snow, rain, and summer heat had taken its toll on Old White; it received a well-deserved facelift.

MacDonald, born to a Scottish father and Canadian mother, had grown up playing golf in the Old Country and actually was tutored by Scottish golfing legend ‘Old’ Tom Morris. MacDonald’s Scottish influence was evident in the original design, as hole 8 shows similarities with ‘Redan’ at North Berwick, No. 13 with ‘the Alps’ at Prestwick and No. 15 after ‘the Eden’ at St Andrews.

During Lester George’s redesign of Old White from 2001-2006, he tried to bring back many of MacDonald’s features from his original work of art. And when Baine arrived on board, he, too, was seeing ‘Scotland’ in West Virginia on the par-70, now 7,210-yard course.

“As much as it can be in West Virginia, there are some real similarities,” said Baine, who indicated that “You don’t see the ‘Dragon’s teeth’ on most US courses. The mounds, bunkering and fescue grass are all reminiscent of Scotland.”

The Greenbrier Director of Golf, Sports and Recreation, Robert Harris, knew a redesign would be a challenge, noting: “The idea of totally renovating and restoring a course that everyone enjoys, and the favorite course of golf legend Sam Snead, took some courage.”

Looking at the way Old White turned out, he knows Snead would have been proud. The Old White TPC is just three years shy of its 100th birthday and was completed when Snead was two years old.

The Greenbrier story, however, is believed to have begun 136 years earlier – two years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Does that put it into perspective?

Situated at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, people reportedly first came to The Greenbrier area in 1778 to ‘take the waters’ from a large sulphur spring that legend claims to have had healing powers, curing everything from rheumatism to indigestion.

In 1810 with only a dining-room and a few log cabins on property, plans went into high gear for expansion. By the 1830s when settlers were able to carve a mountain road for stagecoaches through the forests, the resort area, appropriately known as White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, saw an increasing number of visitors. Especially in the summer months, the 2,000-foot elevation at The Greenbrier was an ideal escape from the heat.

The Old White Hotel stood on the grounds from 1858 to 1922 and was used as a hospital for most of the war, first by the Confederates in 1861 where they were visited by General Robert E Lee.

In 1910, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway purchased the property, and, by 1913, with the help of MacDonald and Raynor, the Old White Course opened with Woodrow Wilson becoming the first US President to play Old White. In 1936, Snead was hired as head golf professional, thus beginning a relationship with the resort that spanned more than 63 years. But in 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor pushed progress back for a few years.

The US State Department leased The Greenbrier shortly after the Pearl Harbor attacks, housing Japanese, German and Allied diplomats. Less than a year later, the US Army bought The Greenbrier for $3 million from Chesapeake and Ohio Railway as history would repeat itself and it would again find use as a hospital in war times with a 2,000-bed hospital where soldiers could recuperate over the next four years.

After the war, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway purchased the resort back at the same price with business returning to normal for at least a decade.

Then in 1958, with the emergence of the Cold War, the US government came calling again – this time signing an agreement with Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to allow construction for a top secret $14 million, 112,000 square-foot underground bunker on the property. The agreement allowed the government to take over The Greenbrier in case of war and the project was completed in 1962.

“It was never used as intended. Thank God!” said Baine. The secret remained safe until a 1992 Washington Post article confirmed that the underground shelter existed. Today, ‘The Bunker’ is open to the public for tours and contains meeting rooms, an exhibit hall and storage rooms.

From a golf standpoint, there was no one close to making the impact on The Greenbrier that Snead did, but when the generational torch was passed, it can be said that he handed it to Watson.

Watson’s association with The Greenbrier began in 1979 when he was supposed to play in the Ryder Cup for US captain Billy Casper. Watson had to leave for the birth of one of his children, but liked The Greenbrier so much that he and his sponsors have been making annual visits to the resort.

Watson said with a smile “I’m not a real fan of lengthening these golf courses, as my game is getting shorter as these courses are getting longer. But it’s a wonderful golf course and the greens are a real challenge.”

Since 2005, Watson has held the title at The Greenbrier of Golf Pro Emeritus, an honor also given to Sam Snead in 1993. Snead worked as head professional at The Greenbrier for 40 years, starting in 1936. Over their respective careers, a combined 21 majors were won by Watson (8), Snead (7) and Faldo (6).

Faldo was a member of that '79 Ryder Cup team and, like Watson, developed a strong friendship with Snead over the years. Ironically, Faldo is one of the newest members of The Greenbrier Sporting Club appropriately home of the newest of the property’s courses – ‘The Snead’. The Greenbrier is owned by Jim Justice, who purchased the resort in 2009 from Jacksonville-based railroad transportation giant CSX (formerly Chesapeake and Ohio Railway), which owned the property since 1910. The Greenbrier became a year-round resort in 1913.

Add Comment