Vacation and Rejuvenation

Last week I celebrated at a family wedding and then headed to the beach for a much-needed vacation. I originally planned on publishing the newsletter, but my schedule has been so frenetic this summer I decided I needed a break from everything. Sometimes, the best thing to do is just relax and let the world slip away.

We travelled to Williamsburg, VA for the wedding of a family member. If you’ve never been to Williamsburg, it is a great place to get connected to American history. You can walk the streets where Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington walked (and many other famous Americans).

Two other historical sights are short drives: Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, and Yorktown, where the decisive battle of the American Revolution took place. The entire area is a living history museum.

There’s also Busch Gardens if you love amusement parks, and Virginia Beach is a short drive for all the beach lovers.

As for golf, (this is a golf newsletter after all) the area has amazing golf courses. For Mike Strantz fans, Royal New Kent and Stonehouse will satisfy their love of the late architect. If you like Tobacco Road, Caledonia, True Blue, etc., you will love these two Strantz designs.

The more well-known courses in the area are the Golden Horseshoe Gold and Green courses, and the River Course at Kingsmill Resort. Golden Horseshoe Gold has an island par-3 and is the grandaddy of the famous courses in the area. The Green Course is an excellent complement to its more famous sister course. I’ve played both courses and enjoy them. Overall, I prefer the Green Course, but it’s solely because the course suits my eye better. Both are excellent courses and deserve their stellar reputations.

I had not, however, played the River Course at Kingsmill. With some of the wedding attendees playing the course last Sunday morning, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s a course I have always wanted to play. The River Course is the former host of the Anheuser-Busch Classic on the PGA Tour and the Pure Silk Championship on the LPGA Tour. Famed architect Pete Dye designed the course, and it doesn’t disappoint.

The River Course is not an overly long golf course from the tips at 6831 yds. Dye used the topography of the land beautifully to design a target-oriented golf course with a great blend of right and left doglegs. As with many Pete Dye courses, the par-3’s are fantastic with the par-3 17th serving as the signature hole. Set along the shore of the James River, it is a tricky 177 yd. hole from the back tees. Set into a hillside, the right side of the green drops off towards the James River.

Here is a view from behind the green looking back towards the tee.

The course also ends with what I consider a Pete Dye signature, dogleg right with water down the left. As with other Dye finishing holes, he provides plenty of bailout to the right which, while safe, presents a longer second shot. But he also presents the player with the option of trying to challenge the water and leave only a wedge to the green. Just don’t get too greedy.

But the best view on the golf course goes to the par-4 16th hole. The tee shot is bordered by condos and houses which detracts from the hole, but, once you crest the hill of the slight dogleg right, you are left with a magnificent view down to the green with James River in the background.

As for the round, I was -1 through 11 holes before making some tired swings down the stretch. I finished +3 which I was happy with since it was my first trip around the course. I’m looking forward to playing it again soon.

This was my only golf for the week. Just as the PGA Tour was done for a little bit following last Sunday, so was I. And I really needed it. I love golf, live golf, breathe golf. After I finished at the River Course last Sunday, I didn’t think about golf until I sat down to write this week’s newsletter six days later. Sometimes, you just need to get away, relax and rejuvenate.

To see information on when to take breaks from strength and/or speed training and golf, subscribe to the paid portion of the newsletter. Paid subscribers get extra content each week.

As always, be grateful when you play. Always be thankful you get to play this amazing game. And enjoy every moment on the course.