Resort opens new Pete Dye course
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, has opened its second championship golf course, a move destined to secure its status as a top-flight golf destination.
Shepherd’s Rock, a Pete Dye-Tim Liddy collaboration, is a companion piece to Dye’s 1995 creation, Mystic Rock, the state’s top public-access course. Shepherd’s Rock is even more dramatic, and it may prove to be an equal or better test of golf.
One thing is for sure: Shepherd’s Rock is fun. At the course opening, Joe Hardy, the 94-year-old founder of 84 Lumber and the resort, said golf was too “stodgy,” and that his daughter, Maggie Hardy Magerko, decided to lighten things up at Nemacolin.
Golf doesn’t evoke many chuckles, but one cannot look at the whimsical sheep statues positioned throughout the new course without laughing.
Sheep are integral to the theme of Shepherd’s Rock. A new flock of 40 Icelandic ewes and lambs graze in pastures alongside several fairways. Val, the ram, is the course mascot and appeared in a kilt at the course opening.
Shepherd’s Rock is a natural setting for sheep, with its Scottish-style rock walls, rail fences and tall, waving grasses — and, oh, the bunkers. Dye and Liddy spiced the layout with 149 sand traps, many of which are set deep in the face of mounds.
They’re scary to look at but not too penal, said Mike Jones, Nemacolin’s director of golf.
“It’s a fun course with a variety of holes that will keep you intrigued,” he said. “You can go from bombing a drive on a par 5 like the first hole to navigating a narrow par 4 with a punchbowl green on the second hole. You get to play a few more clubs than on Mystic Rock, which is longer and a big-hitters’ course.”
The 7,142-yard Shepherd’s Rock ranges from treed, parkland-style holes to wetlands and links-style challenges with looming mounds. One dramatic feature that’s a constant is the infinity greens, which are backed by views of the mountains and lakes.
“Pete Dye doesn’t like a background to greens,” Liddy explained. “He wants the view to infinity. It plays with your depth perception and it showcases the incredible setting. Shepherd’s Rock is a combination of the most unique and enjoyable golf holes we’ve built, with a stunning mountaintop environment and views that speak to your soul.”
For more on Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, visit www.nemacolin. com.