The Course
Clear Creek Golf Club
Bristol, VA
Casey Barnes
General Manager / Head PGA Professional
First Impressions:
The first thing you can’t help but notice and admire about this place is how beautiful it is. After the first hole the scenery just keeps getting better and more interesting all the way to the 18th hole. More about that shortly, but in addition to that is the very friendly and professional staff. The local golfers that play here are great people as well. I had the privilege of meeting and playing with 4 of them but if they are any representation of the others then my statement on that is true and accurate.
Casey Barnes is the General Manager and PGA professional. From the very start when I was making my plans for travel Casey was super helpfully and made me feel much more welcome than I deserve. He worked hard on setting me up with 2 guys to play with and since they could only play the first 9 holes, he didn’t just leave it at that. He had 2 more ready for me to play the back 9 as soon as I got done with the front 9. Casey is just that kind of guy that wants to make sure your day on the course is as good as it can be (with the exception of your score of course, since that part is totally up to you) Thank you, Casey.
My golf partners:
Front 9 holes
Zachary H age 41 working in medical industry
Henry B age 73 Retired
Both these guys played very well. Both better than me and if not for their knowledge and guidance on each hole I could have done worse. Zach has only been playing for about 2 years and wow is he off to a good start. Henry is a force to be recon with. He said this was one of his better days but I bet he has a lot of them. I can tell by the hat he wears that he is serious about his game. Zachary & Henry play a good game and I had a great time trying to keep up with them.
Back 9 holes
Bob G age 81 Retired
Gary M age 72 Retired
Bob & Gary are not only great fun guys to play with but they are loaded with great tips and information about every hole on this course. However, in spite of all the guidance they gave me I still failed to keep up with them. They are members at this course and one or both of them (sorry I forgot) travels a long distance to play here. That tells you a lot about how nice this Couse is. Gary made a great putt on 18 for par and Bob got out of the sand like a pro to finish with a bogie. I finished with a double bogie on that hole and was happy with that considering how my game was going all day.
About my Game:
Today was defiantly below par for my usual. I finished with a 50 on the front 9 and another 50 on the back 9. I can usually finish 9 with a 45 or better but not today. The weather was great about 80 degrees and sunny with no wind. My only excuse if any is that I teed off just 11 hours after traveling for 12 hours to get here. I few in from Oregon so I was for sure having some jet lag. The course had some challenges where I needed to be hitting some straight shots but I was hooking balls more to the right than usual. If not for the information I was getting on each hole about what was up ahead and how to best play the hole I could have done much worse. However, I never fret over my score because the overall experience was worth every minute of the day.
My favorite hole:
Hole # 17 on this course will raise the eye brows of any golfer who has never played it before. It is definitely unique. You stand at the T-box (white) and you look down what seems to be about 300 feet below to a landing area. The landing area is about 85 yards shot and the green is off to the right that you can’t see from the T-box. I am told that some golfers drive (blind) over the trees on the right and to the green below. That would be impressive but not happening for most of us.
I also liked holes 4, 5, & 12 because I pared them. I missed a birdie opportunity on #12 after hitting out from under a tree and missing a 6-foot putt. The out from under the tree and on the green so close to the hole was my best shot of the day.
A little more about this course:
Like I said, it’s just beautiful scenery everywhere. You drive over a dam to get to hole #10 (see picture) and some of the other holes you drive through is what seems like a wooded area that makes you think you might see some campers around the bend. There is some steep up and down hills and tight turns to be careful with when driving the cart but the carts are in great shape and they do a good job of keeping you slow where you need to be. This is a course worth going out of your way to get to and if you play it, you are sure to remember it forever. I know I will, and I will be back anytime I get the chance.
