Glade Springs Cobb Course (Daniels, WV)

For all the guys who go to Carolina for a spring golf trip, if you're looking for a pit stop on the way home, I recommend playing golf at Glade Springs. 

(The par three third plays over a valley to a well bunkered green. From the tips, it is over 240 yards long. The Cobb Course hosts the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Open.) 

The Cobb Course is one of three at Glade Springs. It was designed in 1972 by George Cobb, featuring rolling terrain, several water hazards, beautiful bunkering, and greens with multiple pinning locations. Off the tee, the golfer is encouraged to open his shoulders and drive the ball with confidence. The challenge comes on the approach shots. The heavily bunkered greens protect the pin at every corner, and with multiple slopes bleeding in from the sand, the putting can be just as treacherous. They're large greens too so count on having a half dozen thirty to forty footers. 

(The par four fourth is an excellent example of the movement in the fairway.) 

(The long par four tenth doglegs left to a gorgeous green site.) 

The front nine has a nice three hole stretch, 3-5, that occupies rolling terrain. The other holes on this side are relatively flat, and I was thinking it was a typical resort course. The back nine changed quickly with ten, a dogleg left with a slightly elevated green framed by bunkers. (The bunkering really stands out at the Cobb Course!) The back nine builds on this, and takes advantage of the ponds and rollingness to create solid holes. It definitely gets the adrenalin flowing better than the front. 

(The par three seventeenth is uphill with a large bunker directly in front of the green. The back tier is a small tongue that fits between the far left and right bunkers. A three is a great score!) 

Glade Springs checks a lot of boxes;  it's in great shape, has a good restaurant, and is within 15 mins of I-77. It fits nicely as the halfway point from Carolina, which is another check point for me, even more so since West Virginia is not a hotbed for golf. I give Cobb a 5 (good)(worth driving one hour). 

(Eighteen is a rollicking par five that plays uphill, across a valley, and back uphill to an elevated well bunkered green. It's reachable in two, but the green is large, so finding a preferred yardage maybe the best choice. It's a very exciting finisher!)