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Greenbrier Golf History
Since The Old White’s construction in 1914, our storied history in this sport has seen the likes of golfing greats gracing our pristine fairways, major tournaments, historic moments, and over a century of championship-caliber play. Golf at The Greenbrier is more than just a game. It’s a legacy that runs deep, an art we’ve perfected over a century. This is how we got here.
Course History
The Old White
Originally designed and constructed by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor in 1914, The Old White has stood the test of time and is still considered one of the finest courses in the United States more than 100 years later.
The course saw a major restoration project after a catastrophic weather event in 2016. The Old White received new fairways, new bunkers, and new green complexes, and changes were made to return the course as close as possible to its original design.
The Meadows
The Meadows Course began as a 9-hole course named Lakeside. Designed by Alexander H. Findlay, it opened for play in 1911. In 1923, Seth Raynor redesigned the course while he was on the property, updating The Old White and building the original Greenbrier Course.
In 1962, Lakeside was expanded to an 18-hole routing by architect Dick Wilson, who used dirt excavated during the construction of The Bunker to expand the course. Years later, in 1999, Bob Cupp once again redesigned the golf course, at which point it officially became known as The Meadows.
After sustaining substantial damage during the flood of 2016, The Meadows underwent a full restoration and reopened for play during the summer of 2017. The exciting new routing features dynamic green complexes, breathtaking mountain vistas, and signature stacked sod bunkers throughout the course. The new layout provides a challenging but enjoyable round with breathtaking valley views.
The Greenbrier Course
The Greenbrier course was built in 1924 by Seth Raynor and renovated in 1977 by Jack Nicklaus. In 1979, it hosted The Ryder Cup, and years later, in 1994 was the host to The Solheim Cup. It is the only resort course in the world to have hosted both events. Following the redesign of the Meadows Course after the historic floods in 2016, The Greenbrier Course was left with 10 holes. Those holes may be played as a 9-hole loop or an 18-hole course. All Jack Nicklaus design elements remain in place. Future plans are to restore the course to an 18-hole layout.
From Hogan to Palmer and from Woods to Mickelson, most of golf’s greatest players have walked the lush fairways at The Greenbrier. But the name most connected with golf at The Greenbrier is the PGA Tour’s all-time wins leader, Sam Snead.
A Virginia native, Snead was first hired as the Assistant Golf Professional at The Greenbrier in 1936 before serving as our resort’s Golf Professional from 1946 through 1974. He was rehired as the Golf Professional Emeritus in 1993 and remained in that position until his death in 2002. Snead’s pictures and memorabilia are prominently displayed throughout The Golf Club, where its two restaurants — Sam Snead’s at The Golf Club and Slammin’ Sammy’s — are named in his honor. Since then, two other golfing legends followed in Snead’s footsteps and held the Golf Professional Emeritus tag at The Greenbrier. Tom Watson held the position from 2005 through 2015, and Lee Trevino was the Golf Professional Emeritus from 2015 through 2017.
Current stars of the game also hold a close connection to The Greenbrier. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson is a regular visitor and a fantastic ambassador for our resort. Stuart Appleby — a nine-time PGA TOUR winner who captured The Greenbrier Classic title in its inaugural year in 2010 — also serves as a spokesperson for golf at The Greenbrier.
In addition to these close ties, The Greenbrier has played host to other greats of the game on multiple occasions. Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper, Nick Faldo, Bill Campbell, and many others have played rounds at our resort. During the course of The Greenbrier Classic/A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier from 2010 through 2019, many of the game’s biggest stars, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Sergio Garcia, and Jordan Spieth have also graced our hallowed fairways. LIV Golf brought professional golf back to the Old White in 2023, and with it came new stars like Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell, and Cameron Smith
It’s not just stars of the game of golf that play The Old White, either. The course has hosted celebrities and politicians from all avenues, including Dwight Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Lou Gehrig, Billy Graham, Richard Nixon, Jerry West, Bing Crosby, Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Fitzgerald, Denny Hamlin, Drew Brees, and many others.
The Biggest Events
The Greenbrier is no stranger to major events in the world of golf. The Greenbrier Open — which later became The Sam Snead Festival — was the first professional event played at The Greenbrier and hosted many of the game’s biggest legends. It’s where Arnold Palmer won his first professional money in the 1955 tournament.
In 1979, The Greenbrier was the host of the first Ryder Cup that matched the United States against Europe, an event that marked Lee Trevino’s first visit to The Greenbrier. From 1985 through 1987, The Greenbrier hosted The Greenbrier American Express Championship, a 54-hole Senior Tour event. In 1994, The Greenbrier played host to the Solheim Cup, the women’s version of the Ryder Cup, becoming the first resort course to host both events. From 2010 through 2019, The Old White course hosted A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, formerly The Greenbrier Classic. In 2023, LIV Golf made its inaugural trip to America’s Resort and The Old White, nearly 110 years after the course first opened.
