Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club

We had three players in our group and had a threesome in front who were rather slow and did not offer us the chance to play through. After about five holes a ranger appeared and asked them to let us play through. We had no hold ups after that and enjoyed the rest of the round. The slow threesome was 5 holes behind us when we finished!

Can’t say Enough about this course. Staff was super friendly! Free range balls before round! Fantastic practice facility. Starter was great! Course was in fantastic condition. Greens were fast and true. No leaves on the course. Played in 3 hours so pace of play was exceptional. Cost is high but the experience and course layout is why it’s worth it..at least once a year! If you haven’t played here yet, do yourself a favor and play.

Golden Horseshoe GC - Gold Course by Robert Trent Jones Sr. is offers on of the best golf experiences using the least amount of acres. The Gold course is a near-perfect use of the hilly terrain. All fairways are framed with tall mature trees making hitting the fairway very important. The course has one 4 amazing and fun par 3s which all required you to hit over water, including 16 which is an island green that proceeded the island green at TPC Sawgrass (I prefer this island green over TPC in design and beauty). While the course is on a smaller plot of land than many courses, you feel isolated on each hole because of the large trees. While the Gold Course has one of the best foursome of par 3s, the entire course is outstanding especial how it is routed amongst the rolling hills, Robert Trent Jones Sr at his best. My favorite hole was the par 5, 6th hole. The course located in Williamsburg, VA as apart of the Colonial Williamsburg Resorts. The course is a classic offering fun and challenging holes and outstanding conditions.

With apologies to the River Course and Royal New Kent, this is the best course in Tidewater. RTJ crafted a course that has stunning visuals while still looking like he barely moved any dirt. It feels like New England in the heart of Virginia.
The front nine serves as a good warm up, as it plays much shorter and narrower. A good wedge game will really allow you to score, if you an avoid all trees. Once you get to the back, especially from 14 in, the course opens up. Of course, it also gets really long and difficult, so your driver better be working. 16-18 are up there with courses like Pinehurst #2 and Bethpage Black (well, maybe 14-17 at the Black) for best finishing holes on the east coast. I can't say I notice a difference since they replaced the grass with a new breed a couple of years ago, but the bunker work they did was top notch and has really improved the conditioning.
Post round, make sure to make the short trip to Colonial Williamsburg for great food and beer (Hi, Precarious!). It's the perfect end to a day made perfect by getting to play the Gold Course.

I’ve been waiting years to play the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe. First, it was too expensive for my budget, then it was too far away, and for the past two years the conditions haven’t been up to the standard they’ve set with the rest of the course.

But finally today, with recent reviews raving about the conditions and with thunderstorms surrounding the Williamsburg area, the stars aligned for me to finally play here and what an experience it was!

First and foremost, let’s address my primary concern going in and that is the conditions. I’m pleased to report the work they’ve done on the greens has paid off, they are as good if not better than the greens on the Green course, and that is high praise. Perfectly smooth, perfect pace and slope, and fairly easy to read. Putting on these greens was a real joy.

The rest of the course might be in even better condition. Tee boxes are immaculate; your tee just sinks into the ground with the slightest effort. Fairways are lush and buttery smooth. The rough is evenly consistent in thickness and height. The bunkers are exceptionally groomed and filled with a wonderfully heavy, gritty sand that encourages balls out of them rather than swallowing them up swing after swing. Heavy rain towards the end of my round had no effect on playability as the course seems to drain very well.

The next thing to note is that the layout is every bit as good as you’ve heard. Yes, the par-3 16th and par-4 17th are perhaps the best of the bunch but each and every hole has something to offer and it would be difficult for me to narrow down to four as my favorites. More than the strategy involved in scoring on them, each hole is beautifully presented. This is one of the most photogenic courses I’ve ever played and it wasn’t easy to pick just six photos to post here. Though there is still a sizeable gulf between them in every way, this course is more like Augusta National in its look and feel than any other course in Virginia.

As I witnessed during my visits to the Green course, the Gold also offers fantastic amenities, facilities and a professional staff. To get all that plus a world-class course to play for as $69 is an exceptional value (less so if you play in the morning where it can reach $150, but this course certainly warrants that premium).

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked before today if I had played the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe, I wouldn’t have needed any extra to cover my round today. But now I can say I have, that the hype surrounding the course is warranted, and that the course is spectacular! I have written 150 reviews here on Golf Advisor and have only given three courses 5 star ratings across every category. The Gold at Golden Horseshoe is the fourth, it is well-earned and well-deserved!

I traveled from GA to treat my brother to a round of golf at this place! It was well worth the drive! From tee to green, this is a 1st rate golf course. If you’re in the Williamsburg, visit Golden Horseshoe!

I was so impressed with this course. First it’s completely beautiful and worth every penny. Just pristine. It’s tough but fair and playable for most levels of golfer. I’m having a hard time putting my finger on what made it so special but it just feels like what golf is supposed to be. Visually it looks like what I imagine Augusta looks like. The par 3s are awesome but the rest of the course is just as good. I’ve played all over and this is easily my favorite course to date. If you play in Williamsburg do not miss this one. It’s just special.

Fantastic course. Excellent and well supplied pro shop. On course personnel were excellent. This hilly course and very greatgreens. Would not hesitate to return. Will highly recommend to friends.

Truly one of the most fun and interesting courses in Virginia, the Gold Course at Golden Horseshoe is a must-play if you're anywhere near Colonial Williamsburg. First of all, it's in one of the most historic parts of the United States, so if you can pair it with a stay at the Williamsburg Inn and a little sightseeing, you've got quite the complete vacation.

But the golf course stands out quite nicely on its own, thank you. This Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout, which opened for play in 1963, has been renovated twice by son Rees Jones (the first time in 1998 with Greg Muirhead), most recently in 2016. The results of the latest round of improvements are more fair greens and a golf course that's simply more playable, while losing none of its charm.

I went into this round having heard that the Gold Course had the best collection of par 3s in the state, and I wasn't disappointed. All of them are dramatic and quite challenging, punctuated by the 16th, which features an island green. The rest of the golf course doesn't lack character either, and I thought the par 5s were particularly intriguing, starting with the second, which plays down to a green fronted by a pond, setting up a compelling risk-reward situation if you hit a good tee shot.

And inside the clubhouse, the fun continues with a most friendly staff from Kemper Sports, well-stocked golf shop, grill overlooking the 18th hole and a golf museum as well. Inside you'll find historic photos of RTJ, legendary pros and presidents who have played the course over the years. There are also some familiar replica trophies (Ryder Cup and PGA Championship, for example) that were crafted by a local silversmith in Colonial Williamsburg.

8 of us came down from Toronto area to play golf for a week. It was our favorite of the 7 courses we played but also twice the money on average. Everything about the Gold course is top notch from the bag drop to the restaurant afterwards. We realize it is earlier in the season but some of the courses we played were in better shape which was disappointing especially for the rather high green fees. We got a deal on GolfNow or we probably wouldn't have played here.....but we did and we were glad we did.

Such a beautiful course! I played back in January and it was ok. The course wasn’t in the best shape, but it was January. Having played the course before, I figured it would be very wet with a few solid nights of rain just prior to playing... I was very surprised how dry the course was. The greens were in awesome shape! Firm yet receptive, smooth and great speed. There were 1 or 2 greens with some minor rough patches but didn’t make the green unplayable at all. The layout is so much fun and every hole has a different challenge. All the par 3’s are beautiful and fun to play! 18 is a great finishing hole as well! Such a treat to play there!

First time playing the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe. As soon as you arrive you feel you are at a very special place. Excellent staff, practice area all top notch. The layout and playability of this course is great for any golfer.

However they had a problem with their greens this year due to adverse weather conditions. Greens were certainly playable and putted well in the areas that were unaffected. This will be a 100% great condition course once the greens recover. Just be aware that this condition exists before you arrive so you are not disappointed in paying top dollar for spotty greens.

Love this golf course. The staff is awesome. Unfortunately the new greens have not taken with the weather. Real shame, it renders the golf course somewhat unfair and unplayable.

Give it some time.. The layout makes it a must play and trumps the deplorable green condition.

This was my first time playing the course. I LOVED the course layout and the beauty of the golf holes. There are some really spectacular looking golf holes. However, the greens were terrible. Almost every single green had LOTS of bare dirt where the greens had been burned up by the sun. Several greens were being repaired (old, dead grass being removed and new sod being laid down).

The driving range is mats only which is kind of a bummer. The practice area is very nice with lots or areas to practice.

The course is really nice and VERY well maintained, all except the greens. The staff is super friendly and happy to have you there playing golf. If the greens were in half way, decent condition I would give the course five stars. However greens didn’t roll well due to being burned up and lots of bare dirt. I just think for the price, I expected more.

I would love to play the course again when the greens are in better condition. However, several of the holes are beautiful and specticular (#16 and #18).

Definately play the course. You will not regret it.

Had a great time at this course. Great layout. Greens have been aerated but not bad. In a few weeks they will be great. Staff was very helpful and friendly. A must course to play.

This course is challenging with amazing vistas and surprising elevations. Well worth the Golf Now greens fees. If in Williamsburg for a golf vacation, this is a must-play course.