Wintergreen Resort - Devils Knob

After years of playing it’s lower-altitude, public-access, sister course Stoney Creek, I finally had an opportunity to play Devil’s Knob. Due to weather and other restrictions, I was only able to get 9 holes in (the back 9) but I believe my overall impression of the course would be unchanged had I played all 18 holes.

The conditions here are just as good as those of Stoney Creek, with satisfyingly fast, smooth greens, groomed bunkers, plush fairways, and even rough and tee boxes throughout. No complaints whatsoever despite playing immediately after a serious downpour. The course drains very well and the lower traffic compared to Stoney Creek means there’s less wear and tear on the course.

The layout, however, was a bit of a disappointment. I was told the back nine was the more technical of the two nines and very often the signature and/or more dynamic holes of any given course are on the back nine as well. This being a mountain course, there was plenty of elevation change to account for. But the straight-up-then-straight-down flow of the holes and lack of creativity really limited the course’s appeal to me, and I am a particular fan of mountain courses. Yet here I found far less diversity in the holes than Stoney Creek and not a lot of thought process needed to route your way through the course. Many of the holes ran together in my mind with a couple looking almost identical. There was also a lack of scenic views that you might expect from a course 3000+ feet above sea level. At least my tee shots went farther.

The staff was excellent. Because of the storm (and other factors) I got to spend plenty of time in the pro shop interacting with the lady there and she was very kind and friendly and was diligent in keeping eyes on the lightning monitor to let everyone know when it was safe to go back out.

As this is technically a private course I generally refrain from giving the course a specific value point. But for the hassle of getting to the course (nearly 30-minute drive up from Stoney Creek) and the fact that the lower course offers GolfNow Hot Deals, I think I’ll stick to it from now on.