Shenvalee Golf Resort (New Market, VA on 04/28/18)

A friend and I kicked around a couple courses to play on Saturday and eventually settled on Shenvalee Golf Resort. Shenvalee is about an hour and fifteen minute drive for both of us. I was here in 2013 and my friend played here about ten years ago. I thought an updated review would be great, as my writing style has changed over the years! Plus, I wanted to play the Miller nine which I missed out on the one time I was here. Periodically, I toy with the idea of trying to play every public course in Virginia and if I ever get serious about that I now can say that I’ve played the Miller nine.

Anyway, I hit the road around 7:15am and got to the course a bit before our 9:00am tee time. It was busy checking in, although there weren’t a ton of cars in the parking lot. The course seems to do it’s fair share of golf packages though and have some rooms onsite. There were a few groups headed from their rooms to the first tees in golf carts, which is always nice! There are some other decent Shenandoah Valley courses listed as part of Shenvalee’s golf packages, so it might be worth checking out.

We started out on the Miller nine and I’m not sure exactly why, but it was pretty quiet when we got going. The other nines were packed! A foursome followed us off the tee but my friend and I never waited on a shot for our front nine. We played in 1 hour 30 minutes before bumping into a log jam on the Creek nine, our back nine. All in all it was 3 hours 45 minutes which I thought was pretty fast on a beautiful, weekend morning! There are 27 holes at Shenvalee and the nine we didn’t play on Saturday is called the Olde nine, which is the one I’ll review first.

The Olde nine is the original nine and dates back to 1927! As you’d probably guess, this nine is compact and occupies the flattest land on the property. It plays under 3,000 yards and has many design features consistent with an architect’s inability to move large volumes of earth and snake a design around the land. Tees are close to the greens and with all the holes being so close to each other you’ll want to keep a lookout for stray shots! It is one of those nines I wouldn’t mind walking after work during the week, but the fun drops a bit on a busy weekend.

I’d classify the layout on the Olde nine as parkland style with the main defenses being some rolling fairways and small greens. This nine is very close to town, so I suppose you could knock one out of bounds. Because it is such a short par 36 there should be plenty of opportunities for pars and birdies. There are three short par 4’s, one short par 3, and both the par 5’s play under 450 yards. The 3rd is one of the par 5’s and has a creek cutting across the fairway at 230 yards. You may need to lay up or try to blast a drive over it! The 9th, a 360 yard par 4, is the hardest hole on the nine because the fairway slopes hard from left to right while the hole doglegs left. An aggressive tee shot will challenge the out of bounds on the left.

The Creek nine was next to be added in the 1960’s. The Creek nine is on the mountain side of the resort and has a few holes up on a plateau with the buildings before descending down into a natural area, next to Smith Creek. There are four holes closer to the creek before you climb back to the clubhouse. The Creek nine has more distance to it compared to the other nines, as it is 3,200 yards. It plays a little longer than that too as it is par 35! There is a 581 yard par 5, a 211 yard par 3 and two par 4’s over 410 yards.

If you read my blog you’ll know that courses with views are my absolute favorite! The views on the Creek nine are outstanding and I think why I like it so much. No doubt, it is my favorite nine at Shenvalee! Once you get to the downhill 3rd, the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains captivate the scenery. The long par 3 4th is my favorite hole at Shenvalee because of the view from the elevated tee! The 7th, a 148 yard par 3, is another good short par. It drops at least a club to a green surrounded by trouble. Overall, there is a nice mix of yardages and strategy with some blind shots and tree lined fairways on the Creek nine.

The Miller nine was the last nine to be built and it definitely has the most modern feel to it. The Miller nine is on the same side of the clubhouse as the Creek nine, but it heads into some homes before making its return to the resort. I’d say about five of the holes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 9th) fit in well with the other older nines as these holes have some charm to them. The 4th through 7th are routed in-between some homes and look like what you’d find on a course built during the golf boom.

The Miller nine is around 3,200 yards and is highlighted by the 2nd through the 4th holes. The 2nd is a 395 yard par 4 with a fairway that is as eccentric as any that I’ve seen in a while. At first glance, the fairway slopes left to right so I tried to land my drive on the left half. That worked out well, but when I got up to my ball I saw the fairway started sloping back the other way! There is a huge valley in the fairway and unless you pound a drive, you won’t be able to see the flag on your approach. You know you are golfing in the Shenandoah Valley when you find a fairway like that! The 3rd is a pretty, long par 3 over water with an area short of the green to miss if needed. I forgot a picture of the 4th but I’ll mention it anyway! The 4th is a short par 4 with options off the tee. It doglegs hard left and you can take a more direct line at the green with a driver or layup to the right. It has a narrow opening that you fire through with your drive so I’d hit whatever club you have the most confidence with.

Both times that I’ve played Shenvalee the conditions have been solid. The fairways and tees were full and the greens were in their final stages of recovery from aeration. Once that heals they will roll great. For more of a country type course, Shenvalee should allow you to scratch the golf itch without having to worry about the maintenance costing you strokes. The proshop hooked me up with the resident rate for $27, and you cannot beat that! In the golf world Shenvalee’s design won’t blow you away but I think it is an excellent spot to catch up with a friend. The course won’t beat you down and has a friendly, relaxed atmosphere!

Olde #1 (319 yard par 4):