Kingsmill Resort: River Course

Kingsmill Resort's River Course is Pete Dye's 1975 design along the James River in Williamsburg, Virginia, a restrained Dye layout by his standards, without the extreme framing that defines his later work. The course hosted the PGA Tour's Anheuser-Busch Classic (later the Michelob Championship) from 1981 to 2002, then became the home of the LPGA Kingsmill Championship from 2003 to 2021, a two-decade tour stop that shaped the River's reputation as a precision test rather than a pure length test. The par-3 17th is the signature hole, played along the river bluffs with historical markers visible from the tee. The 18th tightens further, Dye's closing par-4 along the water is routinely cited as one of the more photogenic finishing holes in Virginia. At 6,831 yards and par 71, the course rewards positional play off the tee and patience around Dye's shallow, exacting greens. As part of a Williamsburg golf itinerary, the River pairs naturally with Golden Horseshoe Gold, two of Virginia's most established resort courses a short drive apart, with contrasting design philosophies (Jones's dramatic par-3s vs. Dye's restrained strategic lines).