Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 8, 1990 TAG: 9006090448
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Par golf? If I find a ball for every one I lose, I consider myself even.
That's how I finished "2 under" for 36 holes at Stone Manor, Chestnut Creek and the Waterfront - I found six balls and lost four, despite an outbreak of the shanks.
They'll find a cure for the common cold before somebody can tell me how to get rid of the shanks, but, fortunately, there were only eight holes remaining in our golf odyssey when I developed the right-to-rights.
Until that point, the most danger I had encountered was on No. 8 at Stone Manor, where I was trying to fish my ball from the water when I heard a workman scream from a nearby tee, "Watch out for the quick mud."
My mistake was not paying stricter attention to the owner, Marvin Young, who had suggested that playing partner Mark Bullock and I drive around the course and get some feel for the layout before teeing off. We drove over the first hill, figured we knew all we needed to know, and proceeded to begin our round.
At 2,703 yards from the back tees, the front nine is short, but not without trouble. The fairways are tight, many of them are sloping, and three straight holes (Nos. 5-7) have doglegs. The fourth hole, though only 251 yards, is built on three tiers.
None of the par-4s is over 320 yards, but there are a pair of par-5s, measuring 475 and 503 yards. The greens are the most impressive feature, billed as the "best around" by Young and course engineer Randall Thomas.
The project is the brainchild of Young, who some 20 years ago built a home on what would become Smith Mountain Lake. The home, surrounded by terraced hillsides reinforced by stone, now serves as the clubhouse. The clubhouse is about a two-minute drive from the pro shop.
The front nine was opened last fall, and Young hopes to have the entire back nine, much longer and more wide-open than the front, in operation by the end of the year.
For the time being, Stone Manor is open to the public, with plans to go private when the membership reaches a saturation level. Of the six lake courses in operation or on the drawing board, it is the closest to Roanoke.
Stone Manor, a 20-mile drive from downtown Roanoke, can be reached by taking Virginia 24 east to Stewartsville, taking a right at Virginia 757, then staying right at the fork in the road (Virginia 653).
Stone Manor and Deerwood Pointe, still under construction, are the only courses on the Bedford County side of the lake. On the other side are Waterfront, Water's Edge, Chestnut Creek and Lakenheath.
The Waterfront and Water's Edge, both developed by Ron Willard, were the first two lake courses to open. Not only are both courses private, but it is necessary to own property to become a member.
Chestnut Creek, which opened in September, is similar in concept to Stone Manor. The course will remain semi-private, meaning it is open to the public, until such time as the membership deems otherwise. That could be seven to 10 years or longer, developer David Smith estimated.
The nine holes now in use at Chestnut Creek eventually will be the back nine. The front nine has been seeded and could be ready for play by the end of the summer, "but you just don't know because of the weather," pro Steve Firebaugh said.
Chestnut Creek, designed by prolific golf architect Russell Breeden, shows remarkable maturity for a young course. The tee boxes are well-manicured, as are the greens. There is a creek that comes into play at Nos. 1 and 9, and two lakes, at Nos. 7 and 9.
"A real find," is the way stock-car writer and golf aficionado Randy King described it.
There is nothing cramped about the nine holes in operation at Chestnut Creek, which measures 3,280 yards from the back tees. The eventual front nine will be longer - as well as tighter - and the course will stretch approximately 6,700 yards when played from the championship boxes.
Chestnut Creek is 25 miles from Roanoke. It can be reached by taking Virginia 116 to Burnt Chimney, taking a left on Virginia 122, then taking another left at Virginia 616 just past the Booker T. Washington monument.
Stay on Virginia 122 for another mile or so, take a right at Virginia 616 and you're on the way to the Waterfront, which opened nine holes in 1981 and has had 18 in operation since 1984. The original front nine is noticeably tight and, for a stretch, brutally tough. The woods on No. 3, a 408-yard uphill par-4, claimed several of King's recently purchased Ultras.
The first eight holes and No. 18 constituted the original nine. When the rest of the course opened, the ninth hole became No. 18 and, with the new No. 9, the course turned away from the lake and the clubhouse and assumed a different, more wide-open look.
Of the Smith Mountain Lake courses open for play, only Water's Edge has holes on which the lake comes into play. However, three holes on the unopened nine at Chestnut Creek either sit on the lake, play over the lake or run adjacent to the lake. The lake is visible from the fourth green at Stone Manor and the sixth tee at Waterfront.
The Waterfront has gained quick acceptance, serving as a host for the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame Tournament and the Virginia State Golf Association Two-Man Championship; but, two years after its opening, the Water's Edge in Penhook has been rated one of the top 10 courses in the state by Virginia Golfer magazine.
Water's Edge boasts an island green at the par-3 seventh hole, and the 11th hole, a 198-yard par-3, also plays over water. The lake comes into play on five other holes.
"I think one of the distinguishing characteristics is, you can see the lake from all 18 holes," pro John Snyder said. "Also, I'd say we're in better condition than any course for 100 miles around."
One of the benefits of Water's Edge is a series of tees that makes the course play anywhere from 4,300 yards for women to 6,800 for championship men. The short hitters on the Roanoke Times & World-News sports staff, most notably Executive Sports Editor Bill Brill, found the white tees well within their range during a 1988 tour.
Of the Smith Mountain Lake courses now open, the Water's Edge is the farthest distance from Roanoke. To get there, take Virginia 220 South to Rocky Mount, then go south on Virginia 40. The course is about 40 miles from Tanglewood Mall.
Almost next door to Water's Edge will be another golf course that will be developed by Bruce Nash, originally of St. Petersburg, Fla. Nash is calling the community Lakenheath, after a British air force base, and it is likely the golf course will bear some variation of that name.
The course has been designed by Breeden and is to measure some 6,800 yards. "I don't want to stick my neck out with any predictions," said Nash, who also hopes to install an airstrip, "but we're 30 to 60 days from breaking ground. I need a firm commitment from the bankers."
That sounds like another developer, Jim Ray, who says he is close to opening nine holes at Deerwood Pointe on the Bedford County side of the lake. To get to Deerwood Pointe, located 27 miles from Roanoke, take Virginia 24 to Moneta, then go east on Virginia 608 to Virginia 626. The course is three-quarters of a mile south of the intersection.
"We were going to open last October," Ray said, "but the rains destroyed everything. Our timetable was destroyed completely. We could not get our last fairway [seeded] until November."
by CNB