A look at one of America's newest short courses: The Ashford at The Greenbrier

Mike Bailey

August 23, 2018

An aerial view of the new short course at The Greenbrier Resort in Sulphur Springs, W.V. Mike Wyatt/The Greenbrier

America's newest premium short course has opened at one of America's premier resorts, The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.

The resort conducted a grand opening of The Ashford Short Course on Aug. 22 with special guests on hand. The new 9-hole, par 3 walking course is available for members of The Greenbrier Sporting Club, and for limited use by guests at "America's Resort, The Greenbrier."

Ceremonial first shots were hit at the No. 6 tee, which will serve as the members' tee, by Kelly Shumate, The Greenbrier director of golf maintenance, who served as the designer of The Ashford; Patrick Murphy, The Greenbrier Sporting Club Golf Course Superintendent; and Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, a member of The Greenbrier Sporting Club, who recently competed in the U.S. Senior Open.

"I need to commit to working on my short game instead of always trying to hit the ball as far as I can," Smoltz said. "So this is perfect. The terrain of the golf courses out here have so much challenge to them, and obviously they're beautiful. It's like a little slice of heaven."

With holes that range from 53 yards to 122 yards, The Ashford Short Course is a walking nine-hole loop of par-3 holes open to members and guests at The Greenbrier and The Greenbrier Sporting Club. The holes pay tribute to revered architects such as C.B Macdonald and Seth Raynor and classic courses around the world.

The Ashford Short Course is the fifth course at the resort and club, joining the – Old White TPC Course , host of The Greenbrier Classic on the PGA Tour, the redesigned Meadows Course and The Snead Course, an award-winning Tom Fazio design exclusive to members of The Greenbrier Sporting Club.

The Greenbrier is the latest resort to commit to short courses. Pinehurst Resort opened The Cradle last fall, while Big Cedar Lodge debuted the Mountain Top family course. This year, Wisconsin's Sand Valley unveiled the "Sandbox."

Here are a few pictures from the grand opening of The Ashford:

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Mike Bailey

Mike Bailey is a former Golf Advisor senior staff writer based in Houston. Focusing primarily on golf in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America with an occasional trip to Europe and beyond, he contributes course reviews, travel stories and features as well as the occasional equipment review. An award-winning writer and past president of Texas Golf Writers Association, he has more than 25 years in the golf industry. He has also been on staff at PGA Magazine, The Golfweek Group and AvidGolfer Magazine. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeBaileyGA and Instagram at @MikeStefanBailey.