Growing up in southeastern Virginia, I always saw the phrase “Virginia is For Lovers.” As a kid growing up, traveling the state on road trips, I would see the signage and never really understood or appreciated the famous state slogan. As time passes and you get older and wiser, you can put more things in perspective.
While the slogan has meant many different things to many people over the years, one thing remains the same: LOVE. Over the past couple of weeks, as I have reflected on the visit my wife and I made to The Omni Homestead Resort, that message of LOVE stands out.
At Golf Aficionado, we’re all about sharing the best golf-related experiences with our subscribers. Our trip to The Omni Homestead Resort ranks along with everything we’ve done. Going on golf trips over the years, I’ve either traveled solo (more often than not) or with buddies, colleagues, and occasionally my significant other, who also happens to be the editor of Golf Aficionado.
My wife and I flew into Roanoke, Virginia, for our weekend getaway at The Omni Homestead Resort. It was our first visit to the property, and purposely like I do so often, I had only done limited research. I knew the basics. It was located in northwest Virginia, close to the border of West Virginia. It had been around forever and was where Sam Snead called home, spending many hours doing what he loved most, golfing and fishing. Everything else- I would learn by experiencing it at the resort.
For Lovers of History
You thought I was joking when I said The Omni Homestead Resort had been around forever. I wasn’t. The Homestead opened a decade before the American Revolutionary War. We are talking about 1766, 10 years before our country was formed.
Love U.S. Presidential history? The Lobby Bar is your place. A portrait of every sitting president to visit The Omni Homestead Resort resides in the bar. That list is long and distinguished; Jefferson, Madison, Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George HW Bush, and Clinton.
For Lovers of Nature
Perhaps even more famous than the resort itself are the natural hot springs upon which the resort was founded and built. I mean, we’re talking about Hot Springs, Virginia. This area of Virginia has the largest hot springs in Virginia. Records date back to when Native Americans would use the waters to rejuvenate themselves during their many excursions through the area.
Word spread quickly throughout the region about how taking a bath in the hot springs made you feel several years younger. A legend along the lines of finding the fountain of youth. Hot Springs is located in Bath County, Virginia. Just imagine how they came up with that name.
Besides the rejuvenating hot springs, The Omni Homestead Resort is located right in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains. The scenery and landscape are spectacular, and coming from Florida, provides the feeling of being on another planet. The area has numerous farms, streams, trails, and hot springs to explore.
For Lovers of Adventure
The Omni Homestead Resort offers so many activities. It’s the perfect place to get out and explore. Surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, the resort creates the ideal environment for outdoor pursuits every family member can enjoy. From horseback riding and hiking to fly fishing and archery, and it has a ski resort, there are activities for kids of any age at The Omni Homestead Resort.
During our visit to The Omni Homestead Resort, we had the chance to enjoy the Shooting Club. Like everything at The Homestead, the shooting club is historic, dating back to 1933. The Omni Homestead Gun Club hosted the first-ever U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championship in 1992.
During the shooting club experience, you are paired with a certified shooting instructor who will guide you thru a world-famous sporting clays course. The adventure starts as you load up and travel through almost a mile of wooded stations that simulate game birds and rabbits. Best of all, you get outfitted with everything you need, show up, and be ready for a fantastic time!
For Lovers of Food
We stayed busy at The Omni Homestead Resort, but one thing is for sure. We did not go hungry. We had one unique culinary experience after another. We started each day with the legendary buffet with every breakfast item, including a chef’s station with eggs cooked to order. You’ll need to be careful not to overindulge. Remember, your day is just starting.
Every meal at the resort was spectacular. On our first night, we enjoyed a fine dining experience in the elegance of The Dining Room. A fantastic Prix fixed menu was highlighted with options such as salmon belly and chateaubriand. Toward the end of the evening, the chef stopped by our table, and after hearing how much we loved the salmon belly, he shared his 18-hour process of preparing the dish.
On our last night, we had dinner at Jefferson’s Restaurant. Jefferson’s features a farm-to-table approach with a hand-picked selection of prime and regional meats from Virginia and beyond. Dinner included a variety of seafood and steak as we started with local oysters and finished with the 22-ounce bone-in ribeye. Somehow, we managed to save room for dessert!
And, of course, For Lovers of Golf.
I mentioned Sam Snead during the intro. Let’s start there. The main road through Bath County, connecting Hot Springs and Warm Springs, is known as Sam Snead Highway. Samuel Jackson Snead was born in 1912 in Ashwood, Virginia, about two miles from The Omni Homestead Resort, where he began to caddy in his pre-teen years. Then becoming the assistant pro at The Homestead at age 17, he turned professional and joined the PGA Tour in 1936 at age 24.
The Homestead is home to two world-class golf courses: The Old Course and the Cascades have a combined age of over 200 years. Cascades is the new kid on the block at only 98 years old, having opened in 1924. Names such as Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones, William Flynn, and Rees Jones have built or helped modernize the golf courses at The Homestead over the past hundred years.
Both golf courses have distinct personalities. The Old Course is located right outside the back steps of the resort, developed over time, opening with just six holes in 1892. By 1898, the Old Course expanded to nine holes. In 1913, Donald Ross completed the masterpiece, expanding the golf course to 18 holes.
The Old Course is short by today’s standards, but don’t let that fool you. Remember, you’re playing golf in the middle of the Allegheny Mountains. The elevation changes are substantial, and several holes play much longer than the yardage on the scorecard.
Thanks to a stellar maintenance crew, both courses are always in top condition; the fairways are thick and green, and the putting surfaces roll fast and true. Tree-lined fairways test your accuracy off the tee, and the contouring of the natural terrain leads to many uneven lies.
The Old Course was great, but the Cascades was my absolute favorite. I’ve played hundreds of golf courses, and Cascades is easily in my all-time Top 20. Located a few miles from the resort, back in 1919, The Homestead purchased a nearby farm and quickly enlisted William S. Flynn to begin construction on the Cascades.
Cascades has hosted eight USGA championships, including a U.S. Women’s Open, a U.S. Amateur, and two U.S. Women’s Amateurs. The topography of the Cascades is magnificent. Before being built, several top architects visited the property and declared it unbuildable for a golf course. Thankfully, William Flynn was up to the challenge.
The spectacular natural topography that constantly provides uneven lies is paired with superb bunkering to frame an exceptional championship golf course. The eighth hole is widely considered to be one of the greatest short par-3s in the country, and the Cascades finishes with a par 3, a rarity among top courses.
The Cascades is a unique layout with no homes on the course. There is nothing to spoil this natural beauty. A majestic mountain stream winds throughout the design, bringing water into play on a few holes. And a unique course routing that finishes with two par-5s sandwiched between two par-3s makes for an exceptional finish and an excellent opportunity to chase a low score.
On the day we left to fly back to Florida, I had a few extra hours in the morning, and I couldn’t think of a better way to use them than by getting in a quick 18 holes on the Cascades. That morning I hopped on the resort shuttle and was first out on the golf course finishing in just over 2 hours. My final moments included a tap-in birdie on 17 and a moment of reflection on how lucky I am.
Our trip to The Omni Homestead Resort was exceptional, and I love that I can share our experience with you all. Omni is making significant investments in the property and investing millions of dollars in renovating every wing of the hotel one by one. The resort has been around for over 256 years and counting. Over the next several years, with all the improvements being made by Omni, The Homestead will only get better with age.
For more information on The Omni Homestead Resort and to book your trip to The Homestead, please click here.