The Woods Course
opened in 1995 and was not immediately popular, as some golfers said it had too many short par 4's.
In time, many players discovered how good it is. Located east some two miles from the main clubhouse
and reception building, the Woods Course with its own small clubhouse is in the least developed part of
the plantation. No housing mars this outstanding, visually impressive layout and none are planned.
The par 3 8th at the Woods Course
The course measures from 5,140 yards to 6,784 yards and plays to a par of 72. After two short par 4's of
little distinction, the course catches fire with the very long 3rd, a 463-yard slight dogleg right around a
small lake. Like all of the par 5's on the Woods Course, No. 5 is a gem at 542 yards. The bend of the left
dogleg shaped hole is out about 260 yards from the back tee. The elbow is guarded by a fairway bunker
behind which is thick woods with a steep drop-off. A tall pine tree sits at the left-hand edge of the fairway to
catch ambitious second shots or careless thirds. The green is spectacular. It sits above a steep ravine and
is guarded by two bunkers. For all but the most bold and long off the tee, it is a sure 3-shot hole.
The 6th is the first of a set of par 3's which are the strength of this parkland style design. The fairway of
this 196 yarder falls off steeply to the left and the bunkering says, "Hit it on, or else!" A steep ravine is
the outstanding feature of No. 8, a 146 yard nerve wracker and a stunner of a hole with an elevated tee box,
the ravine (which is more like a canyon) and an elevated sloping green that is quite narrow front to back.
After a strong opening hole of some 400 yards with another elevated green over a ravine on the right, the
back 9 winds out through completely forested land that seems as unspoiled as the day it was created.
Holes 11-18 include one of the finest par 4's you'll ever play. It is 423 yards of awesome challenge and
beauty that requires a precise long drive to a plateaued landing area that looks like a dime from the tee box
but is actually more generous than you think.
The par 4, 462-yard 18th
at the Woods Course
If there is a signature hole on the Woods, it is No. 12, measuring 195 yards to a double green shared with
No. 15. A bunker on the green (a la Riviera's 6th hole) splits the two halves of this huge green, which is
dramatically lower on the par 3 side. The pond with cattails and other aquatic plants guards the green complex,
which is perhaps the most scenic on the entire resort property. Like No. 5, the 16th has a right-to-left shape
with a 100-foot tree on the left side in front of the green. The tee shot on this stunner is from an elevated tee
box down to a crest from where the hole continues to slope downward to the green guarded in front by an
imposing bunker. The 516-yarder can be reached even from the back provided you hit two career shots and you
avoid that tree. The entire hole is enshrouded in thick woods, and on the left side of the landing area is
terrain more suited for hide and seek, featuring tall and impossibly thick reedy grass. The course finishes
with a monster par 4 that is fairly open. The green sits behind a pond that also guards the 9th green.
The Woods Course has plenty of challenge but does not require the same degree of precision as the
River Course. People seem to love the idea that there is no housing around it, and the layout has
become a real favorite because the holes are so interesting and distinctive. This is one course where
you are liable to remember many of the holes even after one
round. 
Kingsmill Resort Golf
