Fast facts about Greenbrier golf

By | Sunday, August 31, 2008

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1. The first course at The Greenbrier was the Lakeside Course, a sporty nine-hole layout built in 1910 by Scottish golf professional Alex Findlay. That course lasted until 1922, when it was lengthened and rebuilt by Seth Raynor to accommodate the longer steel-shafted clubs then in use. The course was expanded to 18 holes in 1962, and it was redesigned again in 1998 and renamed the Meadows Course.

2. Much of the dirt for the expanded Meadows Course came from the excavation of a Cold War-era government bunker built under The Greenbrier´s West Virginia Wing. The 112,000-square-foot shelter was to be used as a relocation center for the U.S. Congress in the event of a nuclear attack. The facility is now open to guest tours.

3. Five of Sam Snead´s 35 career aces came on No. 18 of Old White. He canned his last one at the age of 82. All of his holes-in-one are documented in a case hanging in Sam Snead´s, the restaurant that overlooks Old White´s famed No. 18 green. Slammin' Sammy also held the record on the Greenbrier Course prior to upgrades by Jack Nicklaus. He shot a tournament record 59 in 1959 - the original scorecard is posted in the Golf Club.

4. Presidents and royalty have enjoyed golf at The Greenbrier. One of the first golfers to play the Old White was President Woodrow Wilson in April 1914. The Prince of Wales, later to become the Duke of Windsor, played the course in 1919 during a visit to the United States.

5. The 18th green on Old White used to have a horseshoe-shaped hump defining it, a trademark design of Seth Raynor. Only the top of the horseshoe was re-created by Lester George in his 2006 restoration because of modern-day property constraints, but the ridge makes putting difficult if you hit the wrong side of the green.

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