As a name, The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech pretty much says it all about the home course of the Hokies golf teams.
The famous – or infamous — Pete Dye was the designer and the course is vintage Dye with a diversity of holes and greens complexes, including pot bunkers, that have made him famous through renowned courses such at TPC Sawgrass, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Harbour Town and of course, The Cardinal by Pete Dye in Greensboro.
The course, which opened in 2006 in Radford, Virginia, about 11 miles from Virginia Tech and a 45-minute drive from Roanoke, is owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation, though managed by McConnell Golf of Raleigh, whose portfolio also includes Sedgefield Country Club, The Cardinal and Old North State Club in the Triad. The foundation bought the course, then home to a more modest layout, and turned it over to Dye, who changed much of bunkering and some of the routing.
Then there’s the New River, which runs along a dozen holes, serving as a lateral hazard while supplying consistent spectacular views of the roaring, wide channel and the magnificent bluffs on the other side. The layout, a links course bordered by a large river rather than an ocean, with sand and natural areas — not trees — lining the fairways and bordering the river.
PGA General Manager Michael Abraham said Dye also eliminated many trees, giving the course a “links” feel and more scenic views of the river.
“I was told that Pete Dye said, ‘I envision this as a links-style course,” Abraham said. “If somebody who played the course before Dye made the changes, they would probably feel like they were on a different course.”
Though located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the River Course sits in the valley, stretching along 2.5 miles on the West Bank of the twisting New River. The clubhouse offers a magnificent view from a perch on the western cliffs.
The course is open to the public. Somewhat remote, the River Course is about 1 hour, 45 minutes from Winston-Salem and 2:15 from Greensboro via U.S. 52 and Interstates 77 and 81.
Dye provided the VT Foundation with a course long and tough enough for top competition but manageable for children and high-handicappers, too. Summer rates are $56 on weekdays and $71 on weekends. Memberships, some with privileges at other McConnell courses, are available.
The course is extremely walkable with no major climbs or long treks between greens and tees.
“It is probably the flattest golf course in the Roanoke-New River Valley area,” Abraham said.
Facilities include practice range and putting green. Preston’s on the River, a full-scale restaurant and bar, is open six days per week, and features a patio looking down over the final hole, the river and the cliffs on the other side.
From the tips, the par-72 course measures 7,685 yards with a 77.3 rating and 145 slope, with other tees playing 7,088, 6,495, 5,903, 5,142, 4,606 and 3,881 yards. Abraham said the commonly played tees are the 6,495-yard Orange, a stiff challenge with a 71.9 rating and a 134 slope.
“We do an annual SWAT analysis and usually the No. 1 threat is how hard our course is,” said Abraham. “We’ve tried to embrace that. We admit we’re tough, but we have different tees.”
Last year, the 4,606-yard yellow set of tees was added, quickly becoming a favorite of many women players.
An example of the course’s versatility and balance, each of the four par-3s play in different directions — north, south, east and west — and important feature considering the typically significant winds off the river. The front and back sides each have one long and one short par-3 hole.
Abraham said the course offers steady winds, sometimes with gusts of 20-25 mph.
The bent grass greens are typically perched with the edges rolling down though extended, tightly mowed collars into a variety of traditional bunkers, pots and grassy swales, requiring skilled chips and pitches. With as much as 10 yards of collar around some greens, players often have the option of putting, though often that requires a firm strike uphill to the speedy, undulating putting surfaces, which typically range in size depending on the expected approach.
The course’s four par-5s are the top handicap holes. Often fairway sand, pots and natural areas encroach on fairways forcing well struck shots to set up an approach.
Players get an early impression of what’s in store upon arrival in the pro shop, which looks down 75 feet from a cliff to No. 18, a long par-4 stretching along the river.
