The Homestead Resort (Cascades)

Perched amongst the trees at the foothills of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains lies the Homestead. It bills itself as America’s premier mountain resort and a haven for the sports enthusiast, so it seems wholly appropriate that the legendary William S. Flynn, who was a keen athlete in his youth, designed the Cascades, the Homestead's flagship course.

The mountain setting is truly delightful and the Cascades course looks totally natural with its ponds, streams and slopes. But the reality of the matter is that the Cascades required a great deal of manufacturing and Flynn used tons of dynamite to blast his fairways through the limestone. This was pioneering course architecture in the Roaring Twenties and eventually in 1923, after more than 12 months in the making, the Cascades opened for play.

If you use the naturally sloping terrain you can take advantage of the extra roll, so you may find that your score on the Cascades will improve the second or third time round. The Cascades certainly has magnetic appeal to golfers of all standards who return to this fabulous resort year after year to try and master the stern but totally unique Cascades. Sam Snead was born in Ashwood, near Hot Springs and he learnt his golf at the Homestead. We suspect few people will ever play the Cascades course better than Slammin' Sammy.

Robert Trent Jones renovated the Cascades course in 1961 but to maintain the integrity of Flynn's original 1923 blueprint, the course was closed over winter in 2005 for an extensive face-lift that concentrated on restoring the bunkers. In 2017, the course was enhanced further following a tree removal programme, which exposed creeks running along several fairways, thus improving strategy and shot selection.