One of my golf goals is to play at least one round of golf in all 50 states and the only state east of the Mississippi that I was missing is West Virginia so I decided to take a day trip here (10/06/12) to take advantage of the off season rates. The course is ranked as one of the top courses in the state by Golf Digest and is part of a resort but you do not have to stay there to play the course. Because it was late in the season it cost me $59 which is a great rate considering the spectacular setting where the course is located. The forecast called for the clouds to burn off as the day went along, but that never happened so I ended up playing in a light rain/mist, the cold, and some wind all day. It was a day where I really would have enjoyed a cup of coffee and a fireplace instead of being out in the elements, but that is what off season golf is all about. I ended up enjoying the day because of the scenic ride to and from the course and the falls colors on the surrounding mountains. Because of the scenery and some of the elevation changes this course is worth a play even at the peak season rates if someone is ever within a couple hours. I ended up playing the black tees at 75.5/142/7045 which was a little too much course, but I did not want to play the blues at ~6400 yards as I thought that might be a little short at the course elevation which I think is 3,000 to 4,000 feet, but it ended up playing my normal distance because of the cool and dense air. The course had some great holes, but if it did not have the scenery I think that its layout would be a little weak as there were some goofy holes. Right away on the 1^st hole (a par 5) I had to lay up to 150 yards for my 3^rd shot or carry a ravine and have 100 yards into the green. Plus, making it more tricky is that the ravine was blind. On the 3^rd hole (a par 3 that dropped a good distance) there was a hazard short of the green that can come into play, but it could not be seen from my tee. These features carried on throughout the round with a blind approach on #7 from anywhere but the right side of the fairway and #9 is a short par 4 down the hill, but it had a hazard that cut across the fairway. Hole #11 had another blind approach with a hazard short of the green and #13 is one of the weakest par 5s that I have ever played. It required a layup to a narrow fairway (maybe 15 or 20 yards wide) with water left, but then there were tall pine trees that blocked a 3^rd shot even if someone hit a perfect layup. Hole #15 had another blind approach and #17 had another ravine running through it. I lost a lot of balls with all these features and shot a high score even while hitting some good shots. This is the bad, but standing on the 4^th, 9^th, and 12^th tees starring at the mountains filled with color was a golfing experience. Each of these holes (and some others) features an elevated tee with great views, and while tough to play because of the elevation change, were good holes. Plus, the 18^th hole is a strong closing hole requiring an accurate tee shot and featuring a green cut out from the rock in the hill. The course was in good shape considering that they are closing here within a couple weeks I think. The greens were quick and rolled well and a couple downhill putts got away from me as I just did not think that they looked speedy. I did not think that the greens were all that large, so to hit a bunch of greens here with all the uphill and downhill would require a good ball striking day. Thankfully there were not massive slopes in the greens so I put together a good putting day. The 3^rd green was burned out pretty bad, but the starter apologized before I got going which I thought was professional. Some fairways were sanded and I suppose that is because of some season ending maintenance. I would not want to play every round at his Gary Player course, but there are 4 to 6 holes that would be signature holes anywhere else and that is a big reason why I liked it. One parting suggestion would be that the course set up some combo tees as I think 6400 to 7000 yards is a big distance gap. This was state 43 out of 50, getting closer to golfing in them all!

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