Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg occupies an unusual position in the American golf landscape. It is a small city known primarily for the 301-acre living history museum at its center, a place where costumed interpreters demonstrate colonial trades and tourists walk streets laid out in the 18th century. But within a 30-minute drive of the historic area sit six golf courses designed by Pete Dye, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Rees Jones, Arnold Palmer, Mike Strantz, and Jim Lipe. The design talent is disproportionate to the destination's profile, and that gap between reputation and reality is precisely what makes Williamsburg interesting for golfers willing to look beyond the obvious resort corridors.
The area operates on a different rhythm than Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach. There is no strip of daily-fee courses competing on price. Instead, the courses cluster around two anchors: Kingsmill Resort on the James River and Golden Horseshoe Golf Club on the grounds of Colonial Williamsburg. Each has its own character, its own history, and its own reason for existing. The public courses, Royal New Kent and Williamsburg National, fill in the map with options that range from audacious links-inspired design to solid mid-range daily-fee golf. Six courses may not sound like much, but the variety across those six is considerable.
The Courses
Kingsmill Resort's River Course is the headline act. Pete Dye built it in 1986 along the James River, with elevation changes and water on multiple holes creating a layout that hosted the LPGA Kingsmill Championship from 1977 to 2017. The signature par-3 17th sits on a river bluff, and the course plays 6,831 yards with a slope of 136. Green fees of $150 to $250 require a resort stay, which shapes trip planning but also ensures manageable pace of play. Kingsmill's second course, the Plantation, carries Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay's signature and offers a more accessible experience at 6,432 yards with wider fairways, multi-tiered greens, and water on eight holes. At $80 to $150, it provides a genuine counterpoint to the River Course without leaving the resort gates.
Golden Horseshoe Golf Club brings a different lineage entirely. The Gold Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1963, was formerly ranked in Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses You Can Play. Its defining feature is the par-3 16th, which Jones built as his first island green, predating the more famous version at TPC Sawgrass by two decades. The course plays 6,817 yards with a slope of 144, and green fees of $99 to $169 include cart. The Green Course, a Rees Jones design from 1991, stretches to 7,120 yards and represents one of the strongest value plays in Virginia golf. Green fees of $27 to $89 make it accessible to nearly any budget, and a Player's Pass at $99 per year reduces that further for repeat visitors. Both Golden Horseshoe courses are open to the public, and their location on Colonial Williamsburg Foundation property places them within walking distance of the historic area.
Royal New Kent Golf Club sits 30 minutes west in Providence Forge and delivers something entirely different. Mike Strantz's 1997 design was modeled after Irish links courses, drawing explicitly from Royal County Down and Ballybunion. Golf Digest named it Best New Upscale Public Course that year. At 7,440 yards from the tips with a slope of 140, it is the most demanding course in the area and the one most likely to provoke strong opinions. The green fees of $75 to $103 are reasonable for a course of this ambition. Williamsburg National's Jamestown Course, a Jim Lipe design from 1995, rounds out the area's offerings with a well-conditioned 6,953-yard layout and green fees of $60 to $120 that position it as a reliable mid-range option.
Where to Stay
Kingsmill Resort is the natural base for golf-focused trips. Its 300-plus villa-style accommodations range from one- to three-bedroom configurations, and rates of $250 to $450 per night reflect AAA Four Diamond recognition. On-site amenities extend well beyond golf: a full-service spa, 15-court tennis center, indoor and outdoor pools, a private beach with lazy river, and five dining venues. The resort's position on the James River gives it a setting that feels more substantial than a typical golf resort.
The Williamsburg Inn, an official Colonial Williamsburg hotel, occupies a different category. Its 62 rooms carry a five-star rating and nightly rates of $300 to $500. Guests receive two complimentary Colonial Williamsburg admission tickets and access to the Golden Horseshoe courses at walking distance. The Williamsburg Lodge, an Autograph Collection property adjacent to the Inn, offers similar proximity to Golden Horseshoe with rates of $200 to $350, a Forbes Four-Star spa, and the practical advantage of Marriott loyalty integration.
For budget-conscious travelers, the Courtyard Williamsburg Busch Gardens ($120 to $200) and Hampton Inn Williamsburg Central ($100 to $170) provide clean, functional lodging with complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Both sit 10 to 15 minutes from Kingsmill and Golden Horseshoe, and 30 minutes from Royal New Kent. The savings on accommodation leave more room in the budget for green fees.
Beyond the Course
Colonial Williamsburg is the obvious non-golf anchor, and it is a genuinely substantial attraction. The 88 restored and reconstructed 18th-century buildings, costumed interpreters, and colonial trades demonstrations fill a full day comfortably. Admission runs $31.50 to $35 for adults, with prices reduced for America's 250th anniversary. Busch Gardens Williamsburg provides a different register entirely, with roller coasters, seasonal events, and enough diversions to occupy a full day for traveling companions or families.
Jamestown Settlement brings the area's colonial history into sharper focus with replica ships, a Powhatan village reconstruction, and a colonial fort commemorating America's first permanent English settlement. Ghost tours through the colonial district offer an evening activity that works well after a day on the course, with multiple operators running lantern-lit walking tours at $15 to $26 per person. The Williamsburg Winery, Virginia's largest, provides wine flights from $8 and guided tours with tastings from $12.
The non-golf programming here has a character distinct from beach or mountain destinations. It is historically grounded, accessible without physical exertion, and varied enough to sustain multi-day visits for companions who have no interest in golf. That combination is harder to find than it might seem, and it is one of the quiet advantages Williamsburg holds over destinations that rely on a single non-golf attraction.