Bay Creek Resort & Club - Palmer Course

Palmer course is the 18 hole course at resort. IMO it is not as good as the original 18 hole Nicklaus course as it had most of the housing on it and does not have the waterfront holes like the Nicklaus course had prior to 9 holed closing.

Course has the feel of several Palmer courses I have played in Florida as well as the now closed Palmer course at Virginia Beach. Worth the effort to play all 27 holes at the resort.

Nicklaus course has been reduced to only 9 holes which is unfortunate as it wss the better 18 hole course. The views of the bay are sublime. The layout is tremendous and it has wonderful Nicklaus greens.

Prior to the elimination of 9 holes, it was in my top ten of Virginia courses. Still worth a visit to see the bay holes.

This is my absolute favorite course on the east coast. I use to come every year and play both courses but the layout and atmosphere is second to none

*This review encompasses both Nicklaus and Palmer courses*

Bay Creek Resort offers two of the best golf courses in the whole state. From excellent conditions and unique, world-class layouts to exceptional staff, facilities, and value my only regret is waiting so long to come play here!

My first impressions as I walked up to the first green of the Nicklaus course at Bay Creek Resort was “this is as Florida golf as Virginia gets.” It’s true that the landscape of the first few holes of each course reminds me quite a bit of the few Sunshine State tracks I played earlier this year. That two of those Floridian courses are Jacaranda and TPC Sawgrass makes my comparison of Bay Creek to them quite a compliment. Bermuda grass from tee-to-green gives the courses a clean, well-manicured look and feel. Bunkers abound in all the right (wrong) places for wayward tee shots and while most holes present themselves in front of you quite easily, there are plenty of challenges to partake.

It’s not until you reach the par-3 4th on Nicklaus Course that the $90 in-state greens fee earns its keep, and boy does it ever! With a soothing yet eye-popping backdrop of the Chesapeake Bay, this short par-3 offers a variety of angles of approach depending on your tee and plays very differently because of it. The combination of this hole and the next--a long par-4 with the world’s smallest peanut-shaped green tucked in a corner--is likely my favorite 1-2 combo of the 100+ courses I’ve played.

The Palmer course is no slouch either and I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to play them both back-to-back. There is a distinct difference between the two despite sharing the same plot of land though I’m not enough of a course architect nerd to really elaborate on the differences. One thing to note if you are planning on only playing one: the Nicklaus course was noticeably drier than the Palmer course which had some soggy spots. Considering this has been the wettest 5 months on record here, I did not find said spots upsetting.

The staff here is absolutely fantastic and it’s worth mentioning that the gentleman in the pro shop was exceedingly pleasant and informative in helping me plan my rounds out and waived the $40 replay fee. I certainly wouldn’t expect such an act of goodwill to be a regular occurrence but to me it showed how personal they are there and it definitely motivated me further to come back here as soon and as frequently as possible, despite the 3-hour drive.

No other course in Virginia has achieved at Top 5 spot in my course rankings after just one play, but Bay Creek has and that is a testament to the wow factor the courses and the staff leave you with. Despite a relatively crowded tee sheet, I was still able to navigate around both courses and have a break in between in just over 6 hours. The practice facilities are excellent and so is the food here. As a resident of the Richmond area it pains me a bit to say this but: if you’re coming to visit Virginia, forget Omni Cascades, forget Williamsburg, just come straight here!

My dad and I played Bay Creek / Palmer on a very hot June weekday, so we had no trouble getting around at our own pace.

The course is challenging for all players, with numerous tee boxes for all skill levels. The course has numerous twists and turns in the track, allowing better golfers the chance to move the ball where they can.

The course was in excellent condition, from tee to green. The greens were aerated a week before we played. There was plenty of evidence of the aeration on every green, but never did we lose a putt because of the aeration-holes on the green.

Your greens fee covers a GPS-enabled cart, which provides you location data for every shot.

I look forward to my next chance to visit and play this course.