Bay Creek GC
Cape Charles, VA
2001, Arnold Palmer; 2002, Jack Nicklaus
Rt 184 off Rt 13
'01 Fees: ~$70 Wknd.
Golf Digest '02 Top 10 New Public Courses in the Country
T&L Golf Review, Bay Creek, Nicklaus ****
Developer Dick Foster wanted to build two golf courses for Bay Creek Resort & Club on the Delmarva Peninsula along the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, and he hired Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to design them. Although both courses are good, the Nicklaus layout, which opened just last year, gets the nod thanks to several picturesque holes that play among the dunes skirting the bay. The par-three fourth looks as if it were on a links in Ireland: The green is nestled in sandhills covered by swaying fescue. The eighth hole, back inland, is a short (327-yard) par four curved around a lake. Trying to drive the green is a tantalizing, if inadvisable, gamble.
One Clubhouse Way, Cape Charles, Virginia; 757-331-8620, www.baycreekgolfclub.com. Yardage: 7,417. Par: 72. Slope: 144. Architect: Jack Nicklaus, 2005. Greens Fee: $95.
Golf Magazine Review, Bay Creek Nicklaus: The latest addition to Virginia Beach golf is the Nicklaus course at Bay Creek, which curls along the pristine dunes. Most memorable are the par 3s, the 158-yard fourth and No. 12, a 238-yarder. The back nine is decked out like a prom queen, with thousands of azaleas and indigenous trees lining the lush fairways. The same holds true of the club's older Palmer Course, which is notable for a brutal stretch from Nos. 11 through 13. Pray that your scorecard emerges relatively unscathed from this Amen Corner.
Golf.com Review: Located on the southern-most tip of VA's Eastern Shore, Bay Creek is a 1,729 acre master planned marina and golf community. Bay Creek will be home to 2 semi-private 18-hole courses, the Palmer and the Nicklaus, both designed by their namesakes.
Opened in 6/01 is the 18-hole par 72 Palmer course. It measures just over 7,000 yards from the back tees and will take golfers through heavily wooded areas and long stretches of water, with several holes looking out onto Chesapeake Bay.
Where To Grub: T&L Golf likes Mariah's at Tower Hill Bed & Breakfast (Contemporary). Finishing an afternoon round at Bay Creek, one might look at the surrounding fields and conclude that a good meal is a long drive away. Not so. A few miles off, at this elegant little restaurant in a restored 260-year-old mansion on an inlet of Chesapeake Bay, the steaks are thick and delicious. And if you don't feel like driving after dinner, there are five tastefully furnished bedrooms upstairs. 3018 Bowden Landing, Cape Charles, Virginia; 757-331-1700. $$$
Where To Stay: Rittenhouse Motor Lodge is a majorly retro roadside motel on Rt 13.