Capon Springs and Farms: The Golf Course and The Prep Course (Capon Springs, WV on 04/28/18)

My eventual goal is to get to 1,000 18-hole courses, but I’ve started to appreciate the fun that shorter courses can offer when it comes to playability! And, that has me on the lookout for 9-hole courses these days! There are some 9-hole courses around Central Virginia that I’ll hopefully be mixing in with remaining 18-hole courses, so stay tuned!

Capon Springs is a 9-hole course just over the Virginia and West Virginia state line. It is about 30 minutes west of the I-81 and I-66 interchange, if that point of reference helps! I read on Capon Springs’ website to call about availability to play, and so I did. The course told me to check in at the main building to pay the $35 green fee and then I could go play. I gathered from the course’s website that they allow some public play, but the scorecard says that the course is “for the exclusive use of the guests” of the resort. I’m not exactly sure their stance on public golfers, but they were nice enough to let me out!

Like so many other courses in West Virginia, getting to Capon Springs could be more fun than the round itself! The small resort is in the middle of nowhere, and I’m not joking. I exited the interstate and headed into the mountains on a two-lane road. Okay, nothing unusual about that but the last turn my GPS had me taking was onto a gravel road that twists its way over a mountain, curves around the other side and drops down into a tiny valley where the resort is located. Traveling three miles on the bumpy, rock laden road going maybe 15 miles per hour is what I’ll remember the most. It felt like I was going hunting, not golfing!

I found the main building on the first try and paid my $35. I turned the car on again and took two right turns to get to the course, which is located on a hill behind the main building. The green fee included a cart with two rounds on the main 9-hole course and then a play on the “Prep Course”. A bit more on the Prep Course at the end though. Not a bad deal at all and I’m glad I played the “back nine”. I didn’t play very well my first time around and was able to work on a couple things on my second try.

The course is a par 34 with three par 3’s and one par 5. It plays 2,913 yards so it has a little distance to it! My first time around I swung away with the driver but on my second time I laid back on some holes. That seemed to work better, ha! Because of the elevation change, I had wedges in on three of the par 4’s. The one par 5 is 511 yards and was reachable for me, as it was downwind. The par 3’s are probably the best group of holes on the course as they range from 114 to 238 yards! The 4th is the 114 yard par 3 and it features a little postage stamp green that falls off on three sides.

Because the course is laid out on the usual, severe West Virginia terrain all the undulation in the fairways will make it tough to catch the ball solid. Trees line each hole so if you are offline you could pay a steep price trying for the hero shot. There are quite a few banks short of the greens so you’ll have to commit to low or high short game shots. Basically, the course is a mountain course. You’ll get some good views, especially from the 1st green, which is a high point, and then looking back down the 7th fairway. It was a cloudy day, so you’ll have to take my word that the course is prettier than it looks!

The conditions were typical for what you’d find early in the season. The greens were freshly aerated so I had to hit the putts firm and hope they held their line. Once the greens heal up they should be just fine as they looked healthy! The fairways were a bit long, but full. I’m sure everything would look much better at the end of May.

I mentioned that there was a Prep Course here and that was something that I haven’t experienced before! I don’t have enough content to devote a whole post to the Prep Course, so I’ll include some comments here and photos at the end of the post. The Prep Course is right next to the main course and it features nine, short par 3’s. After playing eighteen regulation holes I parked my cart and grabbed my lob wedge, putter and a two golf balls. The holes range from 30 yards to 85 yards and turned out to be a great spot to practice my pitch shots. I’ve been struggling from that yardage and was able to hit some bad shots without being penalized and try a few different swing patterns. Each hole is pretty much the same with a tee box and a small, round green that proved to be elusive to hit! It was a fun little place that would be good for families to check out.

After all the work to get to the resort, I enjoyed a few hours of having a golf course to myself. That is something that doesn’t happen all that often! There was something so still and peaceful out on the courses at Capon Springs. I saw one other group and someone who I’d guess is the greenskeeper. If you like 9-hole courses and an adventure then you might give Capon Springs a call about playing when driving along I-81. Otherwise, Capon Springs probably won’t make much sense to play unless you are staying at the resort, because it is so remote.

#1 (347 yard par 4):