Woodhaven #1

Woodhaven Course - The Resort at Glade Springs

The Beautiful Beast

By Brian Weis

In 2010, Woodhaven GC opened creating a trifecta of signature golf courses at the Resort at Glade Springs - The Cobb and The Stonehaven. Locals and guests rave about the new track and believe it will join its sister courses as a top course in the Mountain State.

Before my round I had an opportunity to meet Mike James, Director of Golf, and get his thoughts on Woodhaven.

"I love the course. The collection of par-3s might rival any course in the state," Mike initially boasted.

When I asked him which of the par-3s is his favorite, there was a long 30 second delay. I could see the wheels turn as if he was teeing it up at each of the holes. Finally, he lit up and deemed the fifth as his favorite.

"Number 5 is an elevated tee with a valley that angles through the hole. From the back tees, the shot plays about 200 yards but the elevation change is severe and I typically play it a club to a club-and-a-half less. The left side is dead protected by bunkers. There is room to bailout to the right. But you've got to hit a great shot to position yourself for a birdie. Yes, number five is my favorite hole. It is one of the prettiest spots on the course," claimed Mike.

One of my favorite conversations before a round is to get insight on the signature hole. Mike cautiously hesitated. This is a common reaction to my question. Many times designers and golf pros hesitate to deem one hole supreme. Instead of pressing him, I switched gears and rephrased the question, "What is the most talked-about hole on the course?"

"Number 8 is the hardest hole on the course. The long par-4 requires two quality shots. It is a beautiful hole that will challenge the best of golfers. Locals have mixed reviews on the hole because it is so tough," Mike shared. "Then there is number 13, a 506 yard par-4 that plays all up hill. It is a beast! Trust me, you better play from the right set of tees today."

Walking off the course, Woodhaven can be summed up as the intersection where God molded the beauty of the Glade Creek Gorge, and designer Tom Clark transformed it into a jaw-dropping beast.

The Skinny:
5 Tees: 7122, 6529, 6010, 5376 and 4926 Yards
Slope/Rating: 149/75.1

Unlimited Golf Package
The Resort at Glade Springs offers an unlimited golf package that includes golf at the three courses - The Cobb, The Stonehaven and The Woodhaven. In addition the package includes, overnight deluxe accommodations, breakfast, cart rental and club storage.

The package starts at $209 per person, per night based on double occupancy.

The Resort at Glade Springs
255 Resort Drive
Daniels, West Virginia 25832
866-562-8054
www.gladesprings.com/

Article Tags: The Woodhaven Course

Revised: 10/04/2011 - Article Viewed 34,194 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.