Poplar Grove Golf Club Returns to Snead's Vision By Brian Weis

Poplar Grove Golf Club Returns to Snead's Vision

By Brian Weis

In 2019, a rare golf course designed by one of the game's most legendary figures will experience a revival. Poplar Grove Golf Club, the late Sam Snead's final design collaboration before his passing in 2002, is being completely updated as the calendar turns. New ownership seeks to return the course to its original design intent. Virginia's own Ed Carton, who worked with Snead on the original layout, is overseeing the restoration.

Poplar Grove, a Golf Digest "Best New Upscale Public Course" in 2005, is poised to return to its heyday under the close watch of Carton, the man who initially brought Snead's blueprint to life. The two also teamed up to design nearby Spring Creek in Charlottesville, one of Golf Digest's "100 Greatest Public Courses in America."

"Along with many additions, the prospect of our golf course returning to its intended strategic design has created a significant amount of interest around the property," says Frank Murphy, CEO of Poplar Grove. "Carton helped bring Snead's vision to life and he will do an excellent job resurrecting it."

The $3 million renovation includes re-building bunkers, teeing grounds and green complexes, updating drainage, clearing trees, remodeling practice areas, and renovating cart paths with a new fleet of golf carts. The course will remain open for play during the project, with completion of Phase I projected for early spring 2019.

Phase I of the project is making swift progress as bunkers have been cleared and prepared for drainage replacements. Seven new tee boxes will add length to the course, returning it to a formidable test, designed to stand up to golf's elite players while providing playability for the everyday amateur.

Select tree removal will provide golfers with more strategic options and better views. Snead, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, was inspired by courses he played during his career - a career that accumulated a record 82 PGA Tour wins, including seven majors. As a result, Poplar Grove will continue to feature elevated tee shots on 15 of its 18 holes.

The historic Manor House, the property's storied centerpiece built in the 1700s, will also be restored and expanded to provide for larger groups and events. A 100-seat indoor-outdoor dining space, luxury member, several member-exclusive areas and overnight accommodations are among the planned additions for Phase II of the project.

Poplar Grove, located in Amherst, Virginia, will be a must-play for traveling golfers seeking out fresh and unique designs but remains a perfect destination for couples and buddy trips. The course is just 20 and 45 minutes from historic Lynchburg and Charlottesville, respectively. Aside from a solid assortment of golf in the adjacent counties, the surrounding Blue Ridge foothills are alive with breweries, distilleries and wineries, constituting the perfect getaway.

For more information, visit http://www.poplargrovegolf.com/.

Revised: 02/04/2019 - Article Viewed 14,629 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.