Played the Plantation course and while the fairways were great and the rough was challenging, the greens were in very poor condition. I know that it has been hot and it hasn't rained that much but these greens were in worse shape than some of the local par 3 courses at home. The staff was friendly and the resort looked very nice but the greens condition subdued the experience.

Kingsmill River Course - I was underwhelmed. Tee boxes and fairways were in great condition, but the greens were marked up terribly by spike marks and unrepaired ball marks. The greens were soft and very slow and many of them had re-sodded fringe which killed the ball. All of the par 3s were nearly the exact same distance and I used the same iron on all of them as well as the same club on most of my approach shots on the par 4s. I personally thought the course was too easy. It was wide open. I shot a 76 and 3-putted 3 times because of the slowness of the greens. This was the second best score I've had in 2 years and I had knee surgery on one leg and a broken foot on the other this summer. I literally played this entire course with my driver, 4 hybrid, 6 iron, 2 wedges, and putter. ?!?!? Would have liked to hit some other clubs. No drinking water on the course and no beverage cart, and it was 98 degrees and 98% humidity. I also found it ironic that they call it the RIVER COURSE and the par 3 17th hole was the only hole on the course in which you could actually see the river. I played the plantation course several years ago and really liked the layout of it much better. For a PGA/LPGA venue, I had much higher expectations of the layout. Not much variety, little water in play, and wide open.

Customer Service

The course staff was great.

Similar Products Used:

Kingsmill Plantation, All 3 Homestead courses, 2 Greenbrier courses including the Old White, The Virginian, Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech, Rock Barn Golf Club Championship NC, TPC of Lexington KY, Tanglewood Championship Course NC, and countless courses in the Myrtle Beach SC area.

Uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies abound at Woods. Quite a few blind shots and good challenging bunkers around the greens.

Conditioning

I played the Plantation (twice) and Woods courses this past weekend. Both courses are challenging with a third of the holes among the best I've played. The other two thirds were comparable to what I expect from a course one level above a good municipal course. Woods was clearly the better, as it wound through undeveloped land and rarely did you hear or see other golfers. Plantation is routed through a residential area with construction noises and traffic and other distractions. While the course condition at Woods was above what I expected, the condition of Plantation was poor. I don't know if soft spikes are required, but they should be. Most if not all greens were pocked with unrepaired ball marks and torn up by metal spikes. Some tee boxes were bare and looked as though the tee line hadn't been changed in weeks. The fairways were covered with grass clippings that were at least a day or two old. I expect this at some crappy muni but not at a resort of this quality. The staff in the shop and lounge was friendly and helpful, but on course staff could have been a lot more courteous.

Customer Service

Okay

Kingsmill Resort and Golf Club is actually a collection of three courses as well as a pristine par 3 course. The three courses include the River course and the Plantation course, both of which begin from the main club house and contain views of the James River. The River course is used by the LPGA and is a unique and challenging course. It was recently completly redone in 2004, including the resculpting of greens and bunkers as well an almost complete over- haul of fairway and rough grass. The Plantation course is also very well maintained and challenging in it's own right although not nearly as much as the River. The Plantatino course contains more tricks, such as double dog-leg par five's, while the River is more classically difficult with natually guarded greens and blind tee shots. My favorite course at Kingsmill though is the River course. The newest course, it is nessled deep in the Kingsmill resort away from main roads and developments. Designed by Curtis Strange the Woods Course can be very difficult throwing deep ravines, dense forest and well placed water hazards at you around every turn. You'll hardly notice though as the quiet surrounding provide a perfect place for a round of golf. If you have one round to play at Kingsmill, play the Woods Course.

Great facility, beautiful resort with excellent restaurants. Fantastic, professional staff.

should have better practice facilities.

The crown jewel of Kingsmills 3 courses and a Pete Dye design. Former home of the PGA tours Michelob Classic and now the home of an LPGA event. Great layout, innovative design and four great finishing holes. First class resort.

Customer Service

The Best

not crowded
conditions
chance to play where the tour players do

sometimes hard to get on b/c of the members

Played several times. The River course is the staple, and the one the tour uses for the Michelob Classic. It is worth playing just to tee it up on 17 (a par three that over looks the James River). Lot's of history in the area. A must if you are playing in Williamsburg

Similar Products Used:

None