The James River finally comes into sight on the 17th at the River Course.

 

    This is the second of two parts on the Kingsmill Resort, site of this weekend's LPGA tournament stop.  Today's discussion of the golf courses at Kingsmill follows yesterday's observations on the real estate and amenities (see above).  If you have any questions or would like to be introduced to a qualified agent at Kingsmill, please contact us (see button above).
   
    Kingsmill's three 18-hole courses are of varying character and terrains, and they run the gamut from easy to mildly challenging.  Anheuser-Busch, owner of the Williamsburg, VA, resort, is conscious of the need to keep members happy, and therefore it restricts one of the three courses to member play every day on a rotating basis.  If you plan a weekend visit, you might want to check the schedule so you don't miss out on the River Course.
    Kingsmill's River Course is 30 years old and is the best known of the three - the other two are the Plantation and the Woods.  Pete Dye reworked his own River Course design four years ago at a cost of about $5 million, all paid for by the resort with no assessment to members.  The men's tees play to a mild 6,325 yards with a rating of 70.9 and slope of 133. (Note:  I probably picked up an old yardage book which indicated a rating of 71.9 and slope of 138, quite a difference from what I saw.)  Dye softened up the course to come more in line with its resort function as well as the switch from a PGA to an LPGA venue.  In its previous design, the course had hosted a PGA tour event for 22 years.  The ladies at the LPGA event this year are playing from 6,300 yards. 
    All in all, the River course is not tough but it is thoroughly enjoyable.  It was in beautiful shape when I played it and presented food for thought on a number of tee boxes.  A small bunker on the right side of the #1 fairway ran from 218 yards to 233 yards from the tee, forcing a drive down the left side.   Dye tucks plenty of bunkers close to the greens, dearly penalizing any offline strikes.  However, the greens are more than amply sized, 46 yards deep on a few of them, including the finisher which features nasty narrow traps along the entire left side and an even nastier one, because it is small and deep, at front right.  From the men's tees, #18 is not long (362 yards) but the drive, over water and two traps 180 and 212 out on the left, must be perfect to have a straight-in approach to a narrow entryway to the green.
    If there is a signature hole on the River course, it is #17, the only hole that plays along the James River.  The green is enormous, a full 50 yards deep and guarded on the right side by a small bunker front right and a longer one beyond it that runs the rest of the length of the green.  The only bailout area is short and left, but hit too long on that side and you will find yourself in gnarly grass with a downhill lie from a steep bank.  On the card, the 17th is the easiest hole on the course, but choose the wrong club and bogey is likely.
    I didn't get a chance to play the other two courses.  The Plantation is an Arnold Palmer design that plays to 6,430 yards from the tips, with a rating of 71.6 and slope of 127.  It is considered the least challenging or interesting of the three courses.  The Woods course, a Tom Clark/Curtis Strange design, is the only layout at Kingsmill without homes in sight.  It features a parkland style with some deep ravines and a quirk or two; for example, one double green features a sand bunker at its core.  As for degree of difficulty, The Woods' ratings and slopes at the tips and men's tees fit between the Plantation and River Courses.
    There is one more course at Kingsmill, a nine-holer that Golf Digest once called, "The most opulent pitch and putt in the country..."    The Bray Links is a short course wedged between the resort's conference center and the James River.  It has the best views of the river of any of the courses and is typically in excellent condition, with bent grass greens and Bermuda rough that is tended  regularly by the same keepers of the other courses.  It is a great place for residents and guests alike to hone their short games.
    Membership fees are quite reasonable and varied for the amount of activities available.  At the top of the list is the Platinum membership, which provides unlimited golf and access to all other facilities without charge (except for the spa).  The initiation "deposit" is $30,000 if you choose to receive a 75% refund when you resign your membership, or a non-refundable $12,500.  Members are entitled to reserve starting times up to seven days in advance, a necessity at the most popular times of the year.  Dues are $4,530 annually for a full-family membership.  Five other membership plans provide a range of lesser options for lower prices.
    At Kingsmill's River Course, you can play where the pros play without feeling beat up.  It is a fine golf course.

Unlike, say, Tom Fazio, Pete Dye makes no attempt to "bury" the cart paths in his design at the Rvier Course.  Instead, he used the paths as an additional geometric element.  As long as your tee shot does not land on them, they seem fine. 

The attractive homes along Kingsmill's River Course do not encroach on the fairways.

    This weekend, the Ladies Professional Golf Association makes its tour stop at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, VA.  If you watch any of the coverage on television, you might catch a glimpse of some of the attractive homes adjacent to the course.  I visited the resort in 2007, played the River Course, the best of the three on site, and held discussions with real estate agents and residents about the lifestyle at Kingsmill.  My observations about the community follow; tomorrow I will review the River Course, site of this weekend's LPGA event.

    The young at heart certainly could stay that way at the Kingsmill Resort.  Adjacent to Busch Gardens and an Anheuser-Busch brewery - they run tours with free beer afterwards - and encompassing three golf courses that range from leisurely to professional-tour worthy, the Kingsmill Resort pretty much offers its residents a permanent vacation.
    The entire Kingsmill property spans 4,500 acres, of which 3,000 are given over to residences and the rest to commercial interests, including the brewery, which is well hidden from the neighborhoods.  All but 100 acres of the residential area is for the non-resort neighborhoods; the 100-acre area comprises 400 condo units, a conference center, golf and tennis clubhouses, and a marina.  The condo units, priced anywhere from the $200s to $700s depending on views, are generally owned by investors and rented to Kingsmill's resort guests.  Those guests have access to most of the community's amenities, and Kingsmill takes a 55 percent management fee for housekeeping and maintenance.
    Despite the resort traffic, the community does what it can to neutralize any feelings of transience.  Community regulations, for example, require that leases of single-family homes be for a minimum of one year.  On average, no more than 5 percent of homes in the residential neighborhoods are leased at any one time.  And Kingsmill's site plan ensures that neighborhoods remain "enclaves," with each ending in a cul de sac and well away from any main roads.  A traffic circle at the community's heart is effective at dispersing traffic in four directions.
    The assortment of real estate options is so diverse in Kingsmill that up to 45 percent of those who purchase a home on the property are already Kingsmill residents.  They move between single-family homes, patio homes and town houses depending on their circumstances.  Shortly before my visit, according to an on-site agent, one couple moved from their 4,000 square foot home to a 1,700 square foot patio home in the same neighborhood.  In other cases, residents go upscale as their needs, and incomes, change.  
    Of Kingsmill's 1,500 single-family homes, 10 percent are of the small, "patio" variety, and another 900 are town home units.  The "sweet spot" in the community are the three- and four-bedroom single-family houses that include a bonus room and are sized from 2,500 to 3,500 square feet.  Most of these are in the $350,000

to $850,000 range, with the lower part of the spectrum those homes that require some updating.  When I visited in April, the most expensive, a huge brick three-story Federal style house, with six bedrooms, seven full baths and four fireplaces, was listed at $4 million.  A more modest 4,500 square foot home built in 2000 and on an "interior" lot was on the market for $863,000.  The same house on one of the resort's golf courses would carry a $950,000 price tag, according to local agents. (Note:  Like everywhere else, prices have moderated since my visit.)

    At the time of my visit, the community was planning to open a 50-acre tract to accommodate 45 new single-family homes.  An additional eight one-acre lots were available on the river for up to $1.5 million and were recently joined in the view by a group of luxury town homes priced between $1.3 million and $2 million per unit.
    Kingsmill shines in the number and quality of the amenities it offers its residents, as well as its resort guests.  The list is long, and includes not only 63 holes of excellent golf, but also 15 tennis courts; a modern fitness facility with indoor and outdoor swimming pools; racquetball courts; aerobic studio; and a full-service spa and salon.  Five dining facilities are also available, including one for special "elegant" dining.
    Of Kingsmill's 4,200 residents, about two-thirds either work at a local business or as consultants from their homes.  The rest are retired.  Those restless few who can't find enough to occupy them on site can be at a big shopping mall in Newport News in 15 minutes, Virginia Beach in 90 minutes and the Blue Ridge Mountains in two hours.  Grocery stores are within five minutes and a hospital within 15.  Oh, yes, and a brewery is within two minutes.
    Make no mistake about it, "resort" is in Kingsmill's name and nature.  But Anheuser-Busch has done a good job of segregating the residents from the tourists, and where they must overlap, mostly on the golf courses, the twain meet harmoniously.  Kingsmill's most obvious appeal is in the range of activities it offers its residents, but don't underestimate the variety of the real estate.  In short, you can act like a neighbor or a guest as you see fit.
    COMING TOMORROW:  SOME THOUGHTS ON GOLF AT KINGSMILL.