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| The 1st tee at Old White. (Courtesy of Gene via Flickr) |
ON SATURDAY THE GREENBRIER WILL CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of The Old White Golf Course. Designed by Charles Blair Macdonald and named for the Old White Hotel, the course opened in 1914. President Woodrow Wilson was among the first golfers to play Old White that long-ago April. Others who have graced its fairways include golf legends Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.
Commemorative festivities get under way tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Those on hand will include The Greenbrier’s chairman Jim Justice, president Jeff Kmiec and historian Dr. Robert Conte, as well as Monte Ortel, executive director of The Greenbrier Classic.
After the presentation of the colors and the national anthem by the Greenbrier East High School Honor Guard and opening remarks, Jim Justice will hit a ceremonial ball from the first tee of Old White. Justice will swing a circa 1914 driver and hit a replica golf ball from the era.
The Greenbrier is located at 300 West Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
I had the pleasure of playing Old White a couple years ago (from the White tees! Not the tips).
My one claim to fame was making par from the "Valley of Sin", on #3. I don't think I have ever seen a more distinctive feature than the 5 foot deep trench that runs across the center of the green. Of course at the time when I found my ball in the trench, "distinctive" was not the adjective that immediately popped into my mind.
Glad you got to play there, Brian. Beautiful country.