Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305110507
SECTION: DISCOVER PAGE: 17 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A golfer's dream.
In many communities, though, such luxuries are often restricted to private golf clubs.
Folks not wanting to pay dues are forced to play the rough, rocky terrain at their area public courses.
Fortunately, that's not the case in the New River Valley.
There are a number of excellent public courses in the area that are easy enough for hackers to enjoy, but tough enough to challenge skilled golfers.
The newest course is the Draper Valley Golf Club, opened last summer near the Pulaski-Wythe County line.
Reginia Quesenberry, who helps manage and is part owner of Draper Valley, said golfers have come from as far away as Beckley, W.Va., to play the 200-acre course.
She said tee times are usually booked full every weekend.
Carved out of what used to be farmland and nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Draper Valley offers golfers an excellent view of the New River Valley's natural qualities. Streams provide water on six of the course's 18 holes.
"We've had a lot of complevments on the beauty of the course and people just keep coming back to play again," she said.
Right now, wide fairways make Draper Valley a relatively easy course, but that will change in a few years when the evergreen and flowering trees planted around the course have grown.
Construction on a new clubhouse at Draper Valley that will serve as a pro shop and snack bar is scheduled to be finished in June. The pro shop is now housed in a refurbished farmhouse.
Golf professional Mark Cote also is scheduled to join Draper Valley this month. Quesenberry said Cote, from Tarpon Springs, Fla., will teach lessons and manage the course.
Another popular course is on Virginia Tech's campus. The course offers discounts to students and faculty of the school, but the general public also can play there.
There are also two golf courses in the area that are owned and operated by local government bodies.
The Blacksburg Municipal Course, located at the end of Graves Avenue, is a nine-hole course, and Castle Rock Golf Course is an 18-hole course that is owned and operated by Giles County.
\ PUBLIC GOLF COURSES\ \ Blacksburg Municipal Golf Course. 961-1137. 9-hole course located at the end of Graves Avenue. Greens fees: $7 weekdays; $9 weekends. Cart rental: $7.32 for 9 holes.\ \ Virginia Tech Golf Course. 231-6435. 18-hole course located on Virginia Tech's campus. Greens fees: Weekdays: Tech students,$6 all day; Tech faculty, $9 all day; General public, $12 all day. Weekends: Tech students, $7; Tech faculty, $11; general public, $14. Cart rental: $19 per 18 holes.\ \ Draper Valley Golf Course. 980-4653. 18-hole course next to I-81 near the Wythe-Pulaski County line. Greens Fees Weekdays: 18 holes, $15; 9 holes, $8. Weekends: 18 holes, $20; 9 holes, $10. Cart rental: $9 for 18 holes and $5 per 9 holes. Discounts available for play after 3 p.m.\ \ Castle Rock Golf Course. 626-7276. 18-hole course owned and operated by Giles County. Located in Pembroke on Virginia 626. Greens fees: Weekdays: $10 all day. Weekends: $12 all day. Cart rental: $18 for 18 holes, $12 for 9 holes.\ \ Loch Lowman. 639-6923. 9-hole, par-3 course on Belspring Road in Radford. Greens fees: $4 all day. Cart rental: $3 for 9 holes.
by CNB