I'm the first one off on a brand new course

[FAHooGolfs]

Well, ok, probably not technically the first person off, but we have a new course here in Williamsburg that opens to the public on Sunday at 8 am and I snagged the 8 am tee time. So, does that mean that whatever I shoot will be the course record for at least a few minutes?

The course is called Colonial Heritage and it was designed by Arthur Hills. It's basically a retirement community so I'm not sure what kind of expectations to have of the course, but I'm nevertheless excited that we're getting a new course here in the area.

I'm hoping I won't be too disappointed being that it's a brand new course and this will be the first day its open. Here's a link to the course, I'll try to post some pictures when I get home if I take anything good.

http://www.westerngolfproperties.com...alHeritage.asp

[schlyer]

Maybe not. When Flint Hills National opened a few years back outside Wichita, KS - they invited in JC Snead and a couple other pros to play a round before it was open to the public (members). And Snead has shot 67 or so and it was considered the course record at the time.

There's also the possibility that your playing partner could beat you. ;)

[FAHooGolfs]

Maybe not. When Flint Hills National opened a few years back outside Wichita, KS - they invited in JC Snead and a couple other pros to play a round before it was open to the public (members). And Snead has shot 67 or so and it was considered the course record at the time.

I'm more than sure people have already played the course before it opens to the public. In fact, I know the guy who was doing the USGA rating for the course about a week ago so he was out there playing. That's why I said I'm not "technically" the first person playing, but I will be the first public tee time ever.

There's also the possibility that your playing partner could beat you. ;)

My dad's playing with me. There's no way.

[MdGolfer1982]

Good Luck!

Let us know how it goes. You will have the course record in my book..haha

[iacas]

My dad's playing with me. There's no way.

I say make them take your picture and put your scorecard up in the clubhouse, even if it's only for eight minutes. Show up and say "what's the course record - oh wait, I get to set it today." Then tell us about the results when it's all said and done.

[schlyer]

I'd love to watch that 'ceremony'. ;)

[Rafcin]

I bet there will be few (maybe even more than few!) people standing around when you're on the tee... just don't shank it
Oh yeah - forget that crap about respect, etc. don't you DARE let your father tee off first !!!

[Wood]

Maybe having the course record will soften the blow of the possibility of the worst day in UVA sports history. There is a possibility of Duke getting it done..... GO HOOS!

[FAHooGolfs]

Here's my followup from my round at Colonial Heritage yesterday.

Overall, I really liked the course and will definitely put it into my rotation of courses to play in Williamsburg. In fact, for people familiar with Williamsburg courses, I think it could easily jump into the top 5 - up there with the Horseshoe Gold, Kingsmill River, Stonehouse, Kiskiack, and Royal New Kent. Of those 5, I'd probably put it ahead of Stonehouse and Kiskiack.

Now on to the course.
Hole 1 (416 yard par 4) - long starting hole with a huge bunker on the left corner and big tree on the right side forcing any tee shot in the right side of the fairway to hit a cut shot into the green. The ideal shot is to carry the bunker on the left which leaves you with about 170 in. My score - 4.

Hole 2 (406 yard par 4) - narrow looking tee shot from the tee with a set of bunkers on the right side about 170 yards out from the green. A well placed tee shot to the left side of the fairway leaves an uphill 2nd shot to a green that angles to the left and away from the player. No bunkers on the green, but it is guarded by several deep grass swales. My score - 4.

Hole 3 (289 yard par 4) - driveable par 4, but with my cautious nature (and the way I was hitting the ball) I teed off with my hybrid and left myself with a short 80 yard wedge shot. The green has a lot of slopes in it, but I left myself with a short 5 footer for birdie which I promptly missed thanks to the 2 foot break I underread. My score - 4.

Hole 4 (375 yard par 4) - nice looking tee shot but you can't see the green from the tee. I had about 120 left but felt like I needed to hit the club hard to this 3 tiered narrow green. My wonderfully bladed PW left me with an awkward pitch from the brush behind the green and my putt missed on the right edge. My score - 5.

Hole 5 (158 yard par 3) - beautiful looking slightly uphill par 3 but you can't see the majority of the putting surface from the tee. I hit a nice draw to about 6 feet and made the putt. Good thing I wasn't 5 feet further right because there's a little swale and my ball would have rolled into that and off the green. Local knowledge will help a lot next time around. My score - 2.

Hole 6 (526 yard par 5) - another beautiful looking tee shot save for the power lines about 100 yards right of the fairway. Again, you can't see the green off the tee as the hole is straight uphill. My drive finished just off the fairway to the left in some gnarly rough. A hacked out 7-iron left me with 165 yards uphill to a blind green albeit with a beautiful backdrop thanks to the singular tree to the left framed against the clear blue sky. Missed the green to the right in a collection area, mediocre chip, missed putt. Why do I always seem to follow up a birdie with a bogey? My score - 6.

Hole 7 (426 yard par 4) - probably one of the most intimidating tee shots on the course. The tee shot is across a huge marsh area and is angled downhill from left to right (i.e. further right you go, you have to hit it further, but you'll be closer to the green). A horrendous slice tee shot put me in the junk but I took advantage of the lateral hazard drop and put my 3rd shot on the green which required another carry over marshland. 2 putts and another bogey. My score - 5.

Hole 8 (152 yard par 3) - this is perhaps the only circus looking green on the course - heaven help someone if they ever put the flag on the back part of the green as it would probably add another 20 yards to the hole and possibly 4 more clubs to the tee shot (it's THAT uphill). Missed the green to the right but a decent pitch and a downhill 3 footer later left me with a par. My score - 3.

Hole 9 (540 yard par 5) - a semi blind tee shot (in that you can't see the ball stop) opens up to a nice par 5 with water running down the entire left side of the hole from about 200 yards out. My drive down the left found the gnarly rough and again I was only able to hack a 7 iron out of there. Some nice run on the shot and a good use of the slope on the right side of the fairway left me with about 105 yards. An ugly blocked sand wedge left me with an awkward chip that stopped about 2 feet from the hole. My score - 5.

Hole 10 (410 yard par 4) - downhill dogleg left par 4 with a huge bunker on the left corner. It's possible to go left of the bunker and shorten the hole but then you're playing russian roulette with the lie. I think given the right conditions its possible to carry the bunker but I played out right of it and had 184 yards in. A blocked 4-iron left me with a relatively easy chip on to the green and a tap in par. My score - 4.

Hole 11 (346 yard par 4) - the tee box is at an odd angle and you can't really see the fairway. It's like the tee box is on the left and the fairway starts from way out in right field and is angled left towards the green. If you were to aim at the flag from the tee, you'd be 30 yards into the left rough. A decent drive and a short iron in left me with a downhill putt for birdie which ran by 5 feet. Fortunately I made that one. My score - 4.

Hole 12 (140 yard par 3) - straight uphill par 3 reminded me a lot of #7 at Bulle Rock (for anyone that's played there). Nothing too spectacular about this hole. My score - 3.

Hole 13 (350 yard par 4) - an uphill dogleg left par 4 takes you back into the woods where the fairway narrows the further up the hill you go. The corner is guarded by a marshy area and the right is guarded by a bunker. A good drive with a slight draw fit right between the two and left me with about 130 yards in. The 2nd shot is downhill to a partially blind green (blocked out by the plateau of the fairway). The wind picked up and I tried to knockdown a 9-iron that ballooned up into the air and came down in the rough short of the green. Too much spin from the knockdown probably. I was left with an awkward chip shot to a back right pin across the spine in the green that wanted to push my ball left. I left it about 6 feet short and missed the putt. My score - 5.

Hole 14 (491 yar par 5) - easily the 2nd most daunting tee shot on the course, you find yourself staring at a split fairway with marshy muck in the middle. Go left and play safe or go right and be a gambler. I decided to go left but hit a horrific slice that bounced off the side of the right fairway and into the muck. A two club drop from the lateral and a smoked hybrid later and I'm on the green in regulation. 2 putts from there. My score - 5.

Hole 15 (363 yard par 4) - there's a big aiming stick in the middle of the fairway but again I can't see the green so I don't know if I should go right or left. Left looks bad so I'll go right. Oops. Turns out the hole is a slight dogleg right and anything in the right rough (I hit my tee shot through the fairway) is blocked out by trees. So I punch an 8-iron out to the right and come up 15 yards short of the green. My pitch rolls to a foot. My score - 4.

Hole 16 (525 yard par 5) - I hate this tee shot (which means its a good setup, just hard). A pond left, a big tree left, and woods right means a very narrow tee shot on this par 5. It's taken me 15 holes, but I've figured out this course is very much about positioning. So another less than stellar drive seems doomed for the woods on the right but gets held up in the rough about a foot below my feet. The trick to this hole is to position the tee shot down the left side (bringing all the trouble into play) to open up the right side of the hole for the 2nd shot. Being on the right doesn't help as I'm now hitting a blind shot over a bunker with the ball well below my feet. I overcompensate for that shot and pull my 8-iron into the rough on the left, 165 yards from the green. Now I have a baseball swing and I hack a 5-iron out into some more muck short of the green (this stuff doesn't come into play if you play the hole properly). From underneath a small plant, I take a Tiger-esque swing and plop my ball onto the green 15 feet below the hole. I hope that plant wasn't environmentally protected cause it ain't there anymore. I hole the uphill putt for par, whew! My score - 5.

Hole 17 (155 yard par 3) - very similar to #12 in that its a nondescript uphill par 3. My 7-iron finds the green 20 feet left of the hole and I roll it in for birdie. My score - 2.

Hole 18 (405 yard par 4) - the tee shot is downhill to this dogleg left par 4 and the slope of the fairway encourages tee shots to run to the left. My drive finds the fairway about 140 yards out. My dad goes first from about 5 yards further back and flies his 7-iron all the way to the back of the green that is significantly uphill from this low point in the fairway. I don't think an 8-iron is enough club so I decide to play a little punch 7-iron I've been working on in preparation for my Scotland trip next year. It looks great in the air and stops what looks to be reasonably close although I think its short. Nope. We get up to the green and the ball is actually past the hole... by about 6 inches. Tap-in bird to finish the round. My score - 3.

My total score - 38-35=73 (+1).

Closing notes:
1. These are some of the best greens I've ever played on... we don't get bent grass down in Virgnia very often so this was a nice surprise. It didn't hurt either that they had seen very little play so far and so were in perfect condition.

2. I didn't get the course record. Talked to the pro before we went out and he'd already shot a 72 from the back tees. We played the Green tees which were rated 71.4 with a slope of 133 and a total yardage of 6398. The back tees were 6900+ and thus a little far for our taste.

3. UVA won the day before 37-0 over Duke and Virginia Tech lost to Ga Tech 38-something so the whole weekend was a success. Fortunately, Wood didn't jinx me with his post above about Duke beating UVA.