At The Virginian, folks like to stick with the plan—even when
it means leaving a bundle of real-estate cash blowing in the Appalachian wind.
They certainly talked the good talk back in 1993, when this upscale golf
community with a Tom Fazio-designed golf course first opened. Land parcels that
might have made ideal perches for million-dollar homes were taken off the
real-estate plats on the back nine.
But that was then. What about now? Things have indeed changed
over nearly a decade at The Virginian—and all for the better. There’s now a
33,000-square-foot clubhouse with all the usual amenities as well as an unusual
one—an indoor driving range. Much of the building’s millwork comes from oak and
walnut trees that once stood on the site. There’s a swim and racquet club with
lighted clay tennis courts and a junior-Olympic pool.
And best of all, they’ve not caved on the idea of keeping
that back nine open, airy and natural. The berm surrounding the 13th green
remains graced only with native grasses and wildflowers—no bricks, mortar or
drywall to be found here. Except for the necessary evils of cart paths, there’s
nothing man-made separating holes 14, 16, 17 and 18, which meander roughly
parallel to one another in a meadow beneath the clubhouse. The divisions between
holes are all God-given: fescue, hillocks and the occasional tree.
The Virginian was conceived in the early 1990s as a haven for
Bristol’s golf aficionados and an option for
the retirement and second-home buyer who would otherwise shop in the mountains
of western North
Carolina. They found a site just a chip shot from
Interstate 81, hired Fazio to craft the golf course.
In eight years, The Virginian has been site to both the
Virginia and Tennessee state amateurs
(Bristol’s main
street is the state line), as well as the 2003 U.S. Senior Amateur
Championship.
Located at a 2,000-foot elevation in the foothills of the
Blue Ridge, the Virginian enjoys a varied
topography, though certainly not to the extreme. The course plays shorter than
its 7,135 yards because 10 holes play downhill to some degree. Many fairways are
concave and tend to ricochet balls toward the center. There are few water
hazards—only four to speak of, and one of them is a stream running from an
ancient well on the eighth hole.
Among the Virginian’s many highlights are the downhill par-3
8th, which plays to a green bordered by a pond and a naturally occurring
artesian well. The short par-4 7th and 12th holes both play less than 350 yards,
while the 420-yard 16th skirts a sink hole and requires a demanding approach to
a narrow green.
To maintain their golf games, Virginian members surely have
one of the finest of practice facilities. There’s expansive hitting turf at both
ends, as well as two large practice greens and a three-hole practice course—once
again, acreage that could have gone toward homesites but instead adds to the big
picture.
