Course Review - Old White Course & Albatros Golf Course

After violent storms at Congressional, players are hoping for better weather in the final chance to dust the rust off their game before the rigours of Major Championship golf at the British Open. This week brings a brush with history at the Greenbrier Classic, and a glimpse into the future at the French Open.
Styled as America's Oldest Resort, the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs West Virginia is home to the Old White Course that was originally designed in 1914 by Charles Blair Macdonald, the Canadian-born "Father of American Golf Architecture".

Collaborating with groundskeeper Seth Raynor, Macdonald repeated a strategy used in a number of his other layouts whereby he created his own version of famous holes in Britain. Fourteen of the Old White's holes were designed this way, including the 8th that was styled after the Redan at North Berwick and the 15th that pays homage to St. Andrews' Eden. To make the layout more current, the 6650m par 70 course underwent a total refurbishment and restoration that was completed in 2006. After the inaugural event in 2010 when Aussie Stuart Appleby became only the 5th player in PGA Tour history to card a 59, the Old White went through further modifications, with all 18 greens and the practice facilities being reconstructed. Success can be measured by the tournament having been voted best event in 2011 by the touring professionals.

On the European Tour the Open de France is taking place at its purpose-built home just 30 kilometres to the west of Paris. Here at Guyancourt, next to Louis XIV's Chateau of Versailles, Hubert Chesneau and von Hagge Design Associates took three years to build the Albatros golf course at the Golf National complex. The Albatros follows the stadium design style and was destined to host national and international championships.

Open for play in 1990, the course welcomed the French Open the following year and has hosted all those events since, except in 1999 and 2001. The 6700m layout was built on what was originally a relatively flat and unremarkable piece of land. However, the architects created great definition by moving massive volumes of earth. Long fescue grasses and gorse-like bushes together with dune-style landscaping give a British links flavour to a large section of the course. In contrast, a significant part of the layout carries a distinctly American feel, especially the four closing holes where an abundance of water is in play. It's not hard to see why this venue was selected to host the 2018 Ryder Cup.

A Golf Weather
Editorial