Saturday turned out to be a great golf day for me! My main round was at The Cascades at Omni Homestead Resort, which is a top-shelf course and a seemingly perfect venue to celebrate the 150th course that I’ve played in Virginia! If you look at the golf publications you’ll see that The Cascades is highly ranked. The course has also hosted many championships throughout the years.
If I am completely honest, The Cascades is actually Virginia course number 142 for me, but I was worried that by the time I got to 150 the golf season up this way would be over! So, I’m officially (and I suppose unofficially at the same time) celebrating The Cascades as my 150th Virginia course. I’ve played most of the other top public courses in the commonwealth, so that made a round here my first choice for the occasion!
Anyway, enough about all that and onto the course! I had a 9:50am tee time and got there early to roll some putts and walk around the clubhouse. If you are interested in hitting a few golf balls prior to the round, I’m pretty sure the range is up by the Old Course – closer to the resort.
The Cascades is actually a five to ten minute drive south of the Omni Resort. If you are staying at the resort I saw multiple shuttles swing into the course parking lot, so someone will point you towards one of those! If you are like me and just up for the day, then it is probably worth noting that the Old Course is steps from the resort while The Cascades requires a short car ride. I got confused with my directions (no surprise for those who know me) and ultimately ended up driving past the Old Course. I took that “opportunity” to stop for a picture of the resort, which was looking sharp as the fog was starting to burn off! I ended up with some snazzy pictures, so make sure to keep scrolling once you are done reading.
After hitting a few putts and reading a commemorative display near the 1st tee, our group was sent out about 10 minutes early. And, what I found during my round on The Cascades is that the course offers something for every golfer. Personally, I’m a sucker for courses with scenery, and that is what excited me the most while playing here! However, if you like history, Southern hospitality or great course conditions those characteristics can be found here too.
I did some homework leading up to my round and discovered that The Cascades is rich in golf history. That commemorative marker I mentioned details Sam Snead’s association with the course. Snead had significant ties to the area and held multiple positions at the course. From what I gathered after my round, his son still lives nearby in Snead’s old home.
Additionally, what you’ll find is a course that is full of architectural history. William Flynn, a highly-regarded designer, shaped the course in the early 1920’s. I chatted with the director of golf after the round and he shared that his crew had obtained drawings that Flynn had done almost 100 years ago. He went on to offer that they have worked to restore original course features that may have changed throughout the years. For example, trees have grown over the years and influenced play in a way that Flynn didn’t intend. Those “unintended” trees need continual maintenance in order to keep Flynn’s original feel. I don’t follow the architecture piece of the game as closely as some others, but there are articles online that can dive into this topic more.
The Cascades lies in a small valley and has a mountain feel to it, just without the severe elevation change that you might expect. For comparison, think of Bryce Resort or the Greenbrier courses. The Cascades is laid out in a similar way. Still, there is a fair amount of elevation change as the valley here is not completely flat. Therefore, you’ll find sloping fairways, some blind shots and uneven stances.
I played the blue tees which are 72.8/135/6873. The challenge at The Cascades is an old-school one since not much land could be moved in the 1920’s. This is a course where it really helps to know the best landing areas, especially on the tight holes. Once your ball lands it can take a healthy bounce – sometimes good and sometimes bad! If you are a great golfer then you’ll be shaping your shots into the slopes for the best results. If you aren’t (like me!) then you’ll probably want to aim towards the high side to let the ball feed down the hill. The other tricky part for me was trying to read the greens. I kept expecting putts to break towards the valley, but that didn’t always happen!
That rating, slope and yardage might not look too bad until you realize that the course is a par-70. The course has five par-3’s and three par-5’s, making it a somewhat unique layout. The group of par-3’s on The Cascades were memorable, starting with the 4th hole. The 4th is downhill and plays a whopping 221 yards. The tees are at a high point and the hole drops down to a clever green. The green slopes from back to front, basically into the hillside and was one of those tough-to-read greens.
The back nine has three of the par-3’s, including the pretty 11th. The 11th is 199 yards and offers a nice view of the valley, including the 12th hole in the background. The 11th kicked off my favorite section of the course, which was the 11th through the 18th! The back nine works its way into flatter terrain, so things open up and you can get away with less precision.
The 13th, called “Swift Run”, was my favorite hole on the course because it borders a creek. With all the rain we’ve had recently, the creek was flowing quickly and the sound of the moving water ended up being the reason I enjoyed playing the 13th so much. It is 446 yards of par-4 and I was proud to walk away with a par there!
The course closes with a 5-5-3 finish and both of those par-5’s are reachable. These par-5’s are holes with some options because water is in play and you can play it safe or go for broke! The 18th is a long par-3 that plays into a hillside near the clubhouse. I know some don’t care to end on a par-3, but I’ve always enjoyed it.
The conditions were what you’d expect for a top 100 course, and that hasn’t been easy to do around these parts this year. So, my compliments to the maintenance crew! The greens were smooth and what I’d consider quick. They were receptive too, thanks to the endless rainfall that the Mid-Atlantic has had this year. The fairways offered nice lies and while the rough wasn’t all that long, I had to hack down and chop it forward. The tees were pristine.
I had a very enjoyable morning at The Cascades! When you combine great weather, the pleasant employees and a course with this much history you cannot go wrong. Be prepared that it is a difficult course, but if you are a Mid-Atlantic golfer then The Cascades is one you’ll want to play! As I suspected, this turned out to be the perfect course for my official/unofficial 150th course in Virginia.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):