Oakhurst Links is a historic

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

located at White Sulphur Springs,

Greenbrier County, West Virginia Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History ...

. It was the first golf course in the United States. It is a nine-hole course built in 1884, in a design based upon traditional Scottish design elements. The first competition for the Oakhurst Links Challenge Medal was held in 1888.CBSSports.com wire reports: ''Greenbrier resort buys historic Oakhurst Links course in West Virginia'', http://www.cbssports.com/golf/story/20552068/greenbrier-resort-buys-historic-oakhurst-links-course-in-west-virginia, Oct. 12, 2012.

Description

Located on the grounds is course developer Russell W. Montague's home, which served as the Oakhurst Links Clubhouse. The clubhouse was built around 1880, and is a two-story " I house" plan dwelling with sparse

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

stylistic elements. The property was operated as a golf course until 1912, when the property reverted to pasture. In 1959 the property was purchased by Lewis Keller and his wife, Rosalie. For many years, Keller raised thoroughbred race horses on the property. Keller often played with

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...

, who was the resident playing professional at

The Greenbrier The Greenbrier is a luxury resort located in the Allegheny Mountains near White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. Since 1778, visitors have traveled to this part of the state to "take the waters" of th ...

resort in White Sulphur Springs. Snead told Keller he believed the property was the site of the first golf course in the United States. In 1994, a restoration effort was launched for the course. The course was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2001. Except for one year at Pinehurst No. 1 course, the National Hickory Championship was played at Oakhurst Links from 1998 to 2015. Modern players typically dressed in period clothes and use hickory-shafted clubs and

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ...

balls driven from tees fashioned from sand as was done before the wooden tee was invented.Ryan Ballengee: ''Historic Oakhurst links sold at auction'', http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/historic-oakhurst-links-sold-at-auction/, Jul 28, 2012. The course was damaged by floods in 2016; as of 2019, it had still not re-opened.

References

1888 establishments in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Greenbrier County, West Virginia Colonial Revival architecture in West Virginia Golf clubs and courses in West Virginia The Greenbrier I-house architecture in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Greenbrier County, West Virginia Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Golf clubs and courses on the National Register of Historic Places {{WestVirginia-sports-venue-stub