That’s right, major championship golf is headed to the home of Larry Bird! (Now that's a historic site we might stop to see.) And from all I’ve seen and heard, this area's golf is as good as Larry Legend's jumper in his prime. OK, so I’m really cheating here because I haven’t been yet, but fingers crossed, because this is (BREAKING NEWS ALERT) the proposed venue for our 2024 trip. The final three holes circle near the James River, including the par-3 17th that plays on a bluff above the water. The course, which hosted the PGA Tour’s Michelob Championship from 1981 through 2002 and now hosts an LPGA event, sits quietly on the land and lets the natural movements of the wooded site-rather than sharp architectural features-define the character. But among them, the River Course at Kingsmill Resort continues to stand out and remains a strong expression of Dye’s early design period, more in the mode of Harbour Town than Sawgrass. Less heralded are his courses from the 1970s. He became a virtual household name in the 1980s after creating sensations like The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, PGA West and Blackwolf Run, and the fame continued throughout the 90s and for the rest of his career-at The Ocean Course, Whistling Straits, The Dye Course at French Lick and numerous others-until his passing in 2020. Pete Dye gained notoriety in the 1960s for his unique, trend-setting take on architecture at courses like The Golf Club, Crooked Stick and Harbour Town. The course re-opened under new ownership in 2020 and is currently ranked 12th in state. When the land wasn’t giving him much to work with, he made his own fun. But it didn’t stop Strantz from pulling, twisting and hiding targets.

The left-right/right-left par-5 10th is another winner, but from there the real estate gets in the way and the routing becomes broken and boxed in. The first nine holes are a treasure, especially four through eight that gallop over a peaceful, heathlands-like sector with gorgeous ground movement. The general theme is golf in the United Kingdom, with holes like the sporty par-4 first that lays out a visible section of tumbling fairway on one line and hides a different section tucked behind a grassy dune on another.

Royal New Kent is just a 20-minute drive west of Stonehouse, but it couldn’t be more different. One year after winning his first Golf Digest Best New Course design for Stonehouse, Strantz hit gold again with Royal New Kent, the 1997 Best New Upscale Public Course.

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