Is Wade Hampton all that?

[Craig Van Egmond]

The superior ratings system of Golf Digest ranks it as the 15th best course in America!

It won best new private in 1987 by Golf Digest.

Golfweek ranks it as number 19 on its 2008 modern list.

Golfweek magazine has also recognized the course as the “America’s Best Residential Golf Course”

On Golf magazine it comes in at number 53.


Is this the best Tom Fazio ever?  I ask because I almost never hear anything about it.  Is it really the bees knees in North Carolina?

[cary lichtenstein]

I heard that Michael Strantz did alot of work on this one. Can anyone confirm that?

[Craig Van Egmond]

Cary,

It appears so, here is an excerpt from the Mike Stranz biography..

"  In Hilton Head, Mike's career with Tom Fazio began at Moss Creek Plantation. He later served as an on-site designer and shaper for Fazio's Links and Harbor courses at Wild Dunes near Charleston, and served that same function at eleven additional Fazio courses--including Lake Nona, Wade Hampton Club, Kiawah Island's Osprey Point and Florida's Black Diamond Ranch--over the next eight years."

[Matt Varney]

Wade Hampton is very exclusive and from the few pictures I have seen it is very nice.

The stories I have heard about this place are legendary.  Several friends of mine that are members at very nice clubs in the Southeast say this Augusta in the NC Mountains.

[Matt_Ward]

Craig:

WH has been discussed at length on GCA.

I find it extremely overrated not just nationally but also in the Tar Heel State.

TF has done a range of much better layouts ...

I would include on the short list that I have played the following three to name just a few ...

Glenwild (UT)
Karsten Creek (OK)
Galloway National (NJ)

WH is a scenic wonder in many spots but I don't see how it has maintained such a lofty position for so long. Others may disagree but for me it's more about the look rather than the content there.

[james soper]

wade hampton is a world class facility. three top notch par three's, staunch par fours, and quality par fives. outstanding conditioning, and low key atmosphere make it a truly pleasurable experience. you can use your whole bag here given the wonderful variety. top it off with cocktails and lunch on the verandah and your in for a real treat. scenery is second to none. word has it that alot of work was recently done to keep up with the new kid on the block, mountaintop.

[Adam_Messix]

To answer some of the questions...

Yes, there has been a lot of bunker and drainage work to the golf course at Wade Hampton over the past two years.  A number of fairways were narrowed and the bunkers were brought in tighter in the driving zones.  There will be more this coming winter as well. 

Mike Strantz and Dana Fry were both involved with Wade Hampton.  The 4th green at Wade is an excellent example of Strantz's artistry. 

[Ed Oden]

Here is a thread from a few months ago discussing Wade Hampton.

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,33032.0.html

[Craig Van Egmond]

Ed,

     Excellent! Thanks for finding that not so old thread. 

     Even after reading that thread I still don't get the feeling that this is the best Tom Fazio ever.

[JC Urbina]

Craig
I believe that Wade Hampton is one of his best.  I have seen a lot of Fazio courses and I am confident that the artistic flare was at a all time high, whoever was responsible.  The natural features they used combined with the very beautiful setting make it # 1 in my books.  I saw it back in the early 90's so I am sure a lot has changed, I would be curious to see how it has evolved.

[Ed Oden]

Ed,

     Excellent! Thanks for finding that not so old thread. 

     Even after reading that thread I still don't get the feeling that this is the best Tom Fazio ever.

Craig:

I think Wade Hampton is very, very good.  That being said, I honestly can't say for sure whether it is the best of the 20+ Fazio courses I have played.  It may be, but its certainly not head and shoulders above some others.  To my simplistic mind, courses in the top 20-25 range should separate themselves from the pack.  I'm not sure Wade Hampton quite meets that threshold. 

Ed

[Jim Franklin]

Victoria National is Fazio's best. Wade Hampton, IMHO, is #2. I have played two of the three Ward choices and I like WH better. To each their own, but WH is an awesome experience.

[Mike_Young]

I am fortunate to play WH a few times each year....very nice course...and I don't know anything about where ti stands in the Fazio rankings....BUT I find I like Grandfather much more than WH when it comes to mountain golf...

[BCrosby]

I've never understood WH's high ranking. It's a good course, but I think The Farm down the road in Dalton, GA is a better Fazio. Cuscowilla is a better course than either of  them.

Adam -

I'm sorry to hear they are narrowing fw's. I thought one of WH's best features was its generous fw's. Am I correct in assuming this is motivated in response to Mountaintop?

Bob

[John Shimp]

I don't know about Mountaintop having anything to do with it.  I saw video that the course owner put together describing the work on the course.  A couple of things seemed to be driving it.  First, the course has bent fairways and a lot of cart usage that entered the fairways at what I'll call choke points.  For much of the last several years carts couldn't get to the fairways and members were frustrated.  It has been discussed on here that WH tends to be overly damp.  So, they wanted to provide more steady access to the fairways via carts and they wanted to get some of the fairways dried out to do so.  Second, many bunkers were moved closer to the lines of play.  From the video it didn't seem to be tightenting fairways so much as to try to make some ornamental bunkers at least play a little bit.  Several of these moves were highlighted.

[BCrosby]

John -

That makes sense. I am surprised to hear WH is still having problems draining fw's. I know they have spent lots of money over the years trying to fix it.

Bob

[michael j fay]

Face it, Wade Hampton is one hell of a property for a golf course. Like many TF courses the golf is above average.

I think that much of its' rating comes from the fact that is so pretty. People (including most raters) like the backdrop as much as the course itself.

I remember WH being a very nice golf experience the one time I played it but honestly I remember practically nothing of the course 15 years later.

Seems the formula is to take a great backdrop (say, the Pacific Ocean, the Dornoch Firth, the mountains of North Carolina, etc.) and build a pleasant playable golf course and you have a winner.

[Adam_Messix]

Bob--
You could say that changes were brought about by Mountaintop, but I wouldn't necessarily agree with it.  First of all, they have sandcapped only the two wettest fairways, 12 and 18, Mountaintop sand capped every fairway and ran their irrigation ponds pretty dry to keep the grass moist last year.  They have no intention of doing additional sand capping at Wade.  The course is 21 years old and in a difficult environment due to all the rain, so the enhancements were needed.   

John S--
A lot of the rough areas on the golf course were regraded to allow for additional areas for carts to get back to the paths.  When Wade was built, the idea was for it to be a majority walking club, with caddies.  I've walked the course many times carrying my bag and enjoyed the walk.  They are reinstituting a caddie program there, hopefully it catches on.  Also, there were few cart issues last year due to the relative lack of rain.  The previous year, we received 120 inches for the year which made it tough. 

Jim F--

I agree with you on Fazio's top two, but I'd reverse the order with Shadow Creek 3rd, World Woods PB being 4th.  I'll agree to disagree with Matt W on Wade. 

Mike Fay--
Upon looking at the original pre golf course topos, Fazio did a lot more with the property than you might think.  He did a great job of making everything look like it's been that way forever. 

[Matt_Ward]

Jim F:

Be curious to know what one of the three you have not played that I mentioned?

Can you explain in greater depth why you see WH ahead of the other two?

I do agree with you about Victoria National and would include it ahead of WH.

Jim, when you say "awesome experience" are you referring specifically to certain design featurs / shot values of particular holes. I don't doubt the awesome beauty but where's the real beef that underscores such a lofty rating for WH?

Michael F:

You hit the nail on the head for me regarding WH and my time there -- I don't remember anything really standing out when compared to the other top tier TF layouts I have played.

Mike Young:

Agree with you / re: Grandfather v WH. The former wins by a solid margin over the latter in my mind.