Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9405010099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Carved two years ago from the fertile, rolling farmland at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Draper Valley Golf Club has established itself as a must on any Southwest Virginia golfer's itinerary.
After hearing all the rave reviews, I decided it was time to make the 65-mile drive and check out Draper. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. For one of the few times in life, something actually exceeded my expectations.
The most striking about Draper is the maturity and lushness of its fairways, greens and rough. I looked for four hours and couldn't find a bare spot anywhere. Too bad I can't get course superintendent Tony Montgomery & Co. to work on my back yard.
Unlike 99 percent of golf courses its age, Draper is so well-manicured that you actually can play the ball "down" and never worry about getting a bad lie.
The course layout offers something for everybody, from the scratch professional to the high-handicap hack.
If length matters, Draper has all you want - and then some. The place will wear out a set of fairway woods. From the blue tees, it's 7,000 yards and change. Like a long par-3? Try No. 11. It's 245 yards, the final 30 over water.
Although for the most part the course is wide-open - and will continue to be until planted trees grow taller - the finesse game is not totally omitted. The course tightens a bit on the shorter back nine, requiring the player to go to layup clubs off the tee on several par-4s.
Perhaps the biggest key to conquering Draper Valley is negotiating the massive greens, all of which include humps of various degrees. There is no such thing as a flat putt at Draper. You're either uphill, sidehill or downhill.
Because of its length, which becomes more of a problem if the rough is allowed to grow high, Draper doesn't need as many hazards as a shorter course does to keep things interesting. Small ponds come into play at holes Nos. 6, 7, 9, 11, 15 and 18. Meandering creeks run across the fairways of several other holes. There is a paucity of sand traps, some of which are so removed from the greens that they rarely come into play for better players.
The low-cut rough is a smart decision for a course where the number of rounds played increases each week. The four-hour round, unheard of at some recently built layouts in the area, is the rule, not the exception at Draper.
As far as amenities go, no one is cheated. Unlike some courses, no road map is required. The course is marked at all the right places with directional signs. Miles of asphalt cart paths lead the player through every shot.
A new plantation-style clubhouse, which opened in June 1993, includes a grill and a well-stocked pro shop.
The club's six owners, all from Southwest Virginia, certainly didn't cut corners. From the moment you drive through the gate, you get the feeling you're in for a treat.
The course, the brainchild of Wytheville businessmen Harold Lauthen, Gene James and Bobby James, is located on a 200-acre tract within sight of the interstate. The investors also are developing another 120 acres into 30 lots for upscale homes.
Lauthen, a land surveyor, did the basic design for the development. Lee Baker, a specialist in golf courses, shaped the greens and put in the irrigation system.
While Draper Valley may have been a secret two years ago, the word has spread in a hurry. Rodney Ford, the head professional, said the club hopes to bag from 30,000 to 35,000 rounds played this summer.
"I think the response has been a little better than the owners thought it would be," Ford said. "We're getting a heck of a lot of play out of Roanoke, Bristol and Princeton, W.Va."
Being a fully public facility - no memberships are being offered yet - anybody can tee it up at Draper.
"I think we'll remain public forever," said Ford, who said plans call for another nine holes to be built on the land behind the sixth tee.
"We're here for all the people to simply enjoy."
\ NO SALE: Contrary to recent speculation, owner Pete Dodd is not shopping Brookside Golf Course.
Dodd said he didn't know how rumors started that he was primed to sell the popular Williamson Road par-3 course.
"I had a guy come in and make me an offer on the place a few months ago," Dodd said. "Maybe that's how all this got started. I listened to him. It was a good offer, but I don't really care to sell the place."
\ NO STOPPING ARMAN: The venerable Arman Fletcher continues to amaze at age 65. Fletcher just keeps on keeping on as evidenced earlier this week when he beat his age at his home Countryside course, firing a 7-under-par 64. Fletcher had eight birdies and one bogey in scoring one of golf's rare accomplishments.
\ SAND BLASTS: The Blue Hills quartet of Brenda Harvey, Janet Cochrane, Bonita Howell and Debbie Young fired a 3-under 68 to beat Hidden Valley's Dot Bolling, Nancy Shuck, Holly Updike and Cathy Caldwell by a stroke in the low-gross division of Tuesday's Roanoke Valley Women's Golf Association's Lady 4-Ball tournament at Botetourt Country Club. Joan Wilson, Mary Conrey, Joan Binnings and Rachel Scott shot a 49 to take low-net honors. . . . Roanoker Ned Baber and partner Jim Alexander finished third, one shot back in the VSGA Senior Four-Ball played Monday and Tuesday at Williamsburg Country Club. . . . Jimmy Williams, teaching pro at Cox's Golf Range in Blacksburg, tied for fifth Monday at the Middle Atlantic PGA's Aureus Head Professional Championship in Queenstown, Md.
Randy King covers golf for this newspaper.
by CNB