[Mark Saltzman]

The first hole is a short-ish par-5 that is fairly forgiving from the tee.  Only a single fairway bunker is required in the driving zone to impact strategy, as it protects the ideal angle for the second shot.  



A pair of diagonal bunkers cut into the fairway 105-135 yards short of the green, protecting the high side of the fairway and the opportunity to play a running shot into the green.  A mis-hit tee shot leaves an interesting second shot decision.

 


The second hole is a 415 yard par-4 that, though straightaway, is a hole where the direct line is not ideal.  A ridge on the right hides the fairway's width and intimidates the golfer away from the ideal line into the green.




Though a longer yardage, the approach angle from the right is much preferred, as it provides greater room for error.  Playing from the left, on the direct line to the green, demands an aerial approach.




Already showing variety in greens, the 1st was circular and falling gently to the rear, the 2nd is massive and diagonal relying on a pair of internal mounds to create interest once on the putting surface.




The 3rd, another par-4 playing a little over 400 yards, is a special golf hole.  Appropriately named 'Himalayas,' it is a bit of trek to reach the third tee, but the view over the golf course is spectacular, and the tee shot is nerve-wracking.  A forced carry must be taken on to reach the third fairway, and the golfer bold enough to challenge the steep drop-off to the left will be handsomely rewarded...




As only approaches from the left will have a view of the flag.  Playing from the right, the view of the green is hidden by this lone fairway bunker.  The golfer is left to trust his instincts and imagination when approaching this difficult drop-down green, that offers a kicker on the right and a deep hollow short-left.

[mike_malone]

I see here what Weed could have done with Glen Mills if given more space. The first  4 at GM are similar in width and green imagination.

[Tom_Doak]

Look forward to seeing this course, as I haven't seen very many pictures of it.

Is the native rough on the 2nd typical of the course?  Looks like automatic lost-ball country there.

[Wade Whitehead]

Mark: When did you visit Bristol?

WW

[Bart Bradley]

Look forward to seeing this course, as I haven't seen very many pictures of it.

Is the native rough on the 2nd typical of the course?  Looks like automatic lost-ball country there.

Tom

The high grass is difficult but frankly most of the year you can find  some or most of the balls that go into the fescue.  The pictures may not give a full picture but the fairways are very wide...often 65-100 yards wide.  Lost balls rarely occur but definitely only on horrible shots.

Mike

Yes, Bobby is rightfully very proud of this effort

Bart

[JC Jones]

I am anticipating this photo tour as much as any in recent memory.  The Olde Farm looks to be truly engaging.

[jim_lewis]

I think I have played almost all of the highly regarded courses in Virginia. I can't think of one that I like better than Olde Farm. And yes Bart, I like it better than Grandfather. No reflection on Grandfather, but I think the site at Olde Farm is much better and far better than it's next door neighbor, the Virginian.

Jim

[Bruce Wellmon]

Sweet view from 3 tee.

[Mark Saltzman]

The 210 yard par-3 4th plays uphill and in the same direction as the 3rd.  The hole looks like a Redan from the tee, asking for a running approach from the right.




A hidden depression short of the green comes into view upon cresting the hill.  Though a running approach from the right is an option, it requires precision as only a slight miss to the left will find the swale.




High sides left and right will serve to collect approaches that are hit slightly offline, but will severely punish a wide miss.  Not exactly a tame green for such a difficult hole from the tee!




The 5th is a short par-4, but at 330 yards is too long to be considered drivable for any but the longest of drivers.  A centreline bunker is 190 yards to reach and 200 yards to carry from the second-from-back blue tees.  Though the bunker will catch a foozled drive, I don't know that impacts strategy as intended since the majority golfers will give no thought to driving over it.




The drop-down, punchbowl green is very cool, and semi-blind from outside of 50 yards.  




The dip short of the green can be used to kick the ball onto the green, and will encourage longer hitters to give the green a go.




The second par-3 is another challenging one at 210 yards, though playing downhill and downwind it played much shorter than the 4th hole.  The Long Barn, set hard against the green on the right, is very much in play!

[Bill McKinley]

Love the photo tour so far Mark.  I don't know too much about this course or the architect for that matter.

Does the tee shot on #5 look like the 5th hole at Crystal Downs to anybody else?  Something about that big bunker to the left of the fairway.

[hhuffines]

Thanks for the photo tour! 

Bart, how's the par 3 facility coming along?

[Bart Bradley]

Hart:

The new 9 hole par three course is completed and is growing in...not very fast on days like today.  It looks like it is going to be filled with fun shots and lots of options.  I'll contact Bobby and see if he would be willing to send along a routing drawing of the par 3.

Bart

[Mark Saltzman]

The 7th is a long par-4 where, as at the 2nd, the golfer is forced to choose between a shorter approach and a preferred angle.  Often the architect will protect the high side of the fairway as the golfer is inclined to aim for this position, but in this case Weed has left the high side open and challenges the golfer to fight his instinct.




A swale separates the front and back portions of this 50-yard long and slightly angled green.




The 8th is 319 yards on the scorecard, but plays considerably shorter (about 270 yards) on a straight line.  The question that always must be asked on a split-fairway hole... does it work?  I don't know that the split fairway works, since it's only 185 yards to carry the cross-bunkers, and quite a bit more to play to the wider portion of fairway on the left.  I'm not sure the left play is ever one I would make.  Still, a tee shot over the cross-bunkers that is slightly off-line can leave a very awkward 50-yard bunker shot to a green that is dangerously back-to-front sloping.






Most of the fairway at the 380 yard 9th is blind from tee, hidden behind the hillside that creeps in from the left.  From the tees we played, the golfer may choose to hit less than driver as the fairway bunker to the right cuts into the fairway at 230 yards, but doing so could (with a mis-hit) bring into play the bunkering along the left, which is 200 yards to carry.






Though shallow-looking from the fairway, the angled, two-tiered green is a sufficiently large target (but not one you want to miss long!).

[Wade Whitehead]

I grew up 1 mile from The Old Farm (and am there this weekend visiting my family).  We used to ride BMX bikes across the property.  It's just a lovely place for a wonderful layout.  I look forward to commenting once the back nine is up.

Mark: Thanks for posting some great photos.

Bart: Where's the Par 3 course being built?

WW

[Bart Bradley]

Wade:

The par 3 course has been built mainly in the area of the original driving range....the open ground to the left of the 12th hole.

Bart

[Ronald Montesano]

Mark, correct me if I'm wrong, but this appears to be the 8th from above and hopefully adds to your description of the hole.



I've marked the tees with numbers, encircled the left fairway in gold and pointed out the positive (a bit of fairway) and the negative (a hungry bunker some 40-65 yards from the green) factors involved in the direct line/shortcut.

I suspect (without having played it numerous times) that I might agree with your assessment that the split fairway is debatably effective. I wonder if there is any reason to go right/straight at the green. I see no advantage to playing a tight long iron/fairway metal (carry the cross bunker up the right side) to have a flip wedge to a large green. If you miss short or long, you have awkward and challenging bunker shots.

It appears that, with the exception of a far-left hole location, any flag site is accessible from the left fairway.

======
It reminds me of the split fairway on number 4 at Ballyhack. I didn't understand the right-side (yellow outline) fairway portion being remotely accessible (intentionally, at least) as a target. It tilts right and downhill, encouraging a shot landing there to traipse farther on into the indigenous growth. The left-side (blue outline) is the way to go, time and again.

[Mark Saltzman]

Ron, maybe my description wasn't very clear... I argued that the left option is the one that I would never take.  Look at the view from the tee.  A narrow fairway with hazard running the whole way down the left... I think I'd rather take my chances straight at the green, especially with the bailout area to the right.  I would think I'm going to make more threes going right and take 6 mostly out of the equation.  Playing left means the possibility of having to re-tee.

Bart, does the way you play the hole vary?

[Bart Bradley]

Mark:

I think that the left option works well for the shorter hitter.  I am convinced, however, that for my game the best play is to attempt to drive the green.  A right miss, as long as it doesn't reach the high rough on the right generally yields an acceptable approach...the only other exception is if you happen to get a very bad lie in one of the bunkers or in the high grass surrounding the bunkers.  The left option also leaves a blind approach (you can only see the top of the flagstick)...although a short shot, I rarely hit it as close when the pitch is blind.  With the right option you can see the whole putting surface.

Best wishes,

Bart

[Andy Troeger]

Thanks for the photos, Mark. I really enjoyed The Olde Farm on my play with Bart a couple years ago. The setting is great fun and the greens make many of the holes.

I like the 8th hole in part because there are so many factors to consider. Driving the green or close to it does not guarantee a birdie. Really liked the 9th green setting too. The Olde Farm is one of the more underrated courses in the country.

[Ronald Montesano]

Mark, you could not have been clearer in your preference. It seems to me that from your tee deck (looks like my #2) the fairway is plenty wide and vertical accuracy (aka distance) is the only concern. The right side seems silly, given the chance for a long bunker shot, perfect for blading or hitting fat. I wouldn't want the possibility of hitting the cart path, people on the 9th tee, broken ground far right.

If you were playing the back tee (my #1) I could understand the uncertainty in the decision: overcooking a right-to-left shot into the marsh left or the crap right.

[Mark Saltzman]

The 10th hole, appropriately named "Barn," is an up and over 400 yard par-4.  If the golfer had not figured it out already, Bobby Weed is not afraid to use blindness as a hazard.  Playing away from the bunker (and the barn!) can leave a blind approach.




A tee shot down the right should find a speed slot and tumble down a hill leaving a short-ish approach.  A fore-shortening bunker, combined with a green that falls away from the line of play, will have many golfers struggling to play the approach to the correct yardage.






The 11th is a short par-5, within reach in two for most.  The tee shot is easily the least interesting on the course.




The green site is well-selected at the base of a ridge line below the clubhouse, but it is the sharply angled green and steep false-front that is the hole's primary defense.  Missing the green in the swale leaves a remarkably difficult recovery where only the bold or stupid will play a shot to anywhere but the centre of the green.  One of those holes where the golfer can travel the first 480 yards in two strokes and the last 10 yards in four.




At the 190 yard 12th, Weed intimidates the golfer with deep bunkering short-right and a false-front short-left, but the severe slope of the green from the back-left means that a long approach is the worst miss of all.






The 13th is a 400 yard par-4 that played into a strong headwind on the day I saw it.  As at the 2nd, the full width of the fairway is blocked-out by a ridge line.  Unlike the 2nd, the ideal line is in full view from the tee.




Surely the golfer will notice a theme as this is the third green in a row tucked into a ridge line.  This green, however, has the added challenge of a fronting creek.

[Mark Saltzman]

At the 14th, a 370 yard par-4, the golfer will want to play his approach from the left side of the fairway.  Finding the left side requires a tee shot that lands in the right half of this canted fairway.




While the approach looks innocent, it is the (maybe too) severely right-to-left sloping green that is the hole's primary defense.  De-greening on a putt from above the hole must be a regular occurrence.






How to get from the top of the ridgeline to the bottom?  Weed offers a very good drop-shot par-3 where blindness once again plays a role and intimidation, in the form of a deep, fescue-lined bunker, steers the golfer toward the deeper trouble.






The back-to-back par-4s at 16 and 17 cover near 900 yards and provide a stern test.  The tee shot at the 16th looks more difficult than it plays, at least for longer hitters, as fairway hidden by the reeds awaits on the right.  The shorter hitter is challenged to find a neck of fairway on the left.






Balancing out, the creek that protected the 16th along the right, protects the 17th along the left.  A classic tee shot at the 17th where the golfer is asked how much he dare cut-off to leave a shorter approach to the green.  Unlike some modern versions of this hole, the golfer is offered a wide open bailout area.




An interesting tee shot at the 520 yard 18th.  For many the hole is in that 'perhaps reachable if I hit it just right' yardage and the temptation to play to the left to cut off a few yards is strong.  Appropriately, the carry to the fairway is quite manageable if the golfer plays just left of centre, but as he attempts to move farther left, the carry yardage increases quickly.




The 18th green is set on a plateau and those choosing to lay up will be left with an intimidating, semi-blind approach to a green with a massive false-front.




The bye hole is no pushover, a 150 yard skyline par-3 with a severe two-tiered green.

[Ronald Montesano]

I think, amigo, that your picture of the tee shot on 11 is not the correct image.

[Mark Saltzman]

I think, amigo, that your picture of the tee shot on 11 is not the correct image.

Looks right to me!

[Tim Gavrich]

I look back very fondly on my trip 'round The Olde Farm with Bart, Bogey and Roger Wolfe a couple Octobers ago. The holes where the barns come into play are X-factor holes, IMO. The greens are a great mix of terror and potential glory, with the amount of sideslopes offset by a healthy number of false edges and de-greening opportunities (I still feel really, really embarrassed by a putt I hit on #5 the day I played it!).

The only hole I feel a bit off about is the par three 15th, where I find myself unsure how, on days when the greens are particularly firm, shorter hitters can feel like they have a chance to get a ball close to a pin on the middle or right-hand third of the green. It's a daunting shot, even with the helpful high elevation of the tee. It is definitely memorable and unique in my experience, though, which recommends it. Bart, what does the membership seem to think of that hole?

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