I was walking up the wooded fairway of the 383-yard 14th hole of the
River Course
at Kingsmill Resort in
Williamsburg,
VA,
in July (2000) when my host pointed out that golfers weren't the first to use cart paths on this property. In Colonial times, farmers would transport their harvest in wagons to a mill over a path called the "Quarterpath Road" from the James River north over a line now marked by holes 13 - 17. The chimney of the old mill is visible off the terrific 13th, a picturesque 179 one-shotter from a tee box beside a creek and pond surrounded by thick woods to a heavily bunkered elevated green flanked right by a steep ravine.
A Civil War cannon - one of many
historic artifacts on the grounds of the
River Course - watches over its 16th green
Golfers who enjoy parkland courses that thread along and through magnificent scenery of old trees, rolling hills, creeks and ponds and a wide river, will find a bit of heaven on Pete Dye's River Course, site of the PGA Tour's Michelob Championship. Golfers who also love American history will have their imaginations fired as they walk over ground trod by Colonial settlers and soldiers of the American Revolution and Civil War.
Not many golf courses can boast having designated historical and archeological sites, but the resort's
River and
Plantation
courses, as well as other areas of the resort property, have a slew of them.
On the rise left of the River Course's signature 17th, a 177-yard, tree-lined par 3 that looks high out over the James River, is the restored brick foundation of a tavern which was formerly called an "ordinary." Until it was burned to the ground in 1776, it was the Colonial version of the modern clubhouse, a place where local settlers gathered to discuss the affairs of the day over drafts of beer and shots of whiskey.
Immediately above and left of the elevated tee box on No. 17 is an earthen fortification used during the American Revolution and the Civil War. With a little imagination, players teeing it up on this imposing hole can hear the musket shots as Union and Confederate troops scramble for cover. Today's "soldiers" are likely to be scurrying among the trees and in the tall riverside grasses looking for white "musket balls."
Archeologists excavating the river bluffs east of the No. 18 tee box found stone tools, pottery and other pre-historic artifacts of Indian dwellers. These and many other historical items are on display at the resort.
The close connection between past and present is a unique feature of Kingsmill, a Mobil 4-Star 2,900-acre resort that offers 54 holes of the best parkland golf you will experience at any U.S. resort. In addition to the River course, a true championship test, and the Arnold Palmer-designed Plantation Course, the resort boasts the Woods Course, a Tom Clark-Curtis Strange collaboration which some say is the most popular layout on site. Tired of playing the "big" courses, the resort also has an excellent par 3 layout right on the river in front of the reception center and golf clubhouse.
Kingsmill Resort's amenities don't end with golf by any means. There is a superb tennis center, fishing, sailing, and a state-of-the-art health spa and fitness center with racquetball courts, a weight room, and services that include massage. A conference center can handle good-sized business meetings. There is also swimming at indoor and outdoor pools and at a riverside beach where the marina is located.
Miles of hiking and biking trails meander through the tall forests and around the ponds and creeks of this property rich in unspoiled, protected natural beauty. In addition, the resort, whose accommodations include luxury riverside suites with kitchenettes and rooms and villas near the tennis center, provides transportation to Williamsburg's outstanding attractions including Busch Gardens (on site), a winery west of the city, and Colonial Williamsburg. 
Kingsmill Resort Golf
