FARMINGTON, Pa. – Wandering the expansive halls of the Chateau and Lodge at Nemacolin, one finds themselves wondering what to do next. The options are staggering.
All the usual resort amenities, on a massive and first-class scale: pools, tennis, the spa and the holistic healing center. Maybe tackle the ropes course just down the road? Trout fishing, or target shooting? Want to throw an axe, indoors? Zip line, climbing wall or canopy tour? There’s even a car museum and a giant outdoor carousel. All that and a lot more await in the hills of rural Pennsylvania not far from the West Virginia and Maryland state lines. The resort’s Lady Luck Casino down the street always beckons, but there’s so much more.
Nah, forget all that for a bit – we’re here for the golf. For all the other activities available during a stay at Nemacolin, it’s the two Pete Dye courses that shine brightest for the golf-afflicted. With a sunny break after a bit of a morning drizzle, my group asks Kelly O’Donnell, the director of golf operations at Nemacolin, if we can head straight back out for another nine.
“It’s Nemacolin,” said the affable O’Donnell, who took over his current role in 2021 after moving up from Texas. “You can do anything you want.”
The carousel at Nemacolin (Courtesy of Nemacolin)
In June, I was on my first trip to the resort 90 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh International Airport, and the scale of the place was hard to absorb quickly – I was somewhat familiar with the golf story, but the rest of the resort in the Laurel Highlands is almost overwhelming in scope. Accommodations range from the Chateau to the Lodge to Falling Rock overlooking the golf courses and beyond. A diverse art collection is displayed everywhere, even on the courses. There’s high-end shopping connected through the hallways of the main accommodations. Ice cream parlor, sports pub, steakhouse, cozy leather-bound cigar bar – and those are just some of the most obvious things to sample on the 2,000-acre property.
Turn almost any corner and you’ll find something new. Head across the property in a shuttle, on a bike or on foot, and you’ll find even more. The general manager surely needs a cheat sheet to recall everything on the activities list.
And it all goes back to a dad wanting to give his daughter a place to catch a few fish.
That would be Joseph A. Hardy III, founder of 84 Lumber Company, buying a few acres near a lake for his daughter, Maggie Hardy Knox – now the owner and president of the resort. The beauty of the setting was catching, and that initial foray led to more land acquisitions and bigger dreams. The resort took off in the 1980s, and in 2022 it celebrates its 35th anniversary, during which it can boast earning 22 Forbes Stars for the third consecutive year.
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Mystic Rock at Nemacolin in Pennsylvania (Courtesy of Nemacolin/Evan Schiller)
Mystic Rock, the resort’s first course, was added in 1995 and quickly climbed into Golfweek’s Best rankings of top courses. It is the No. 1 public-access course in the state, and it’s ranked No. 92 among all of Golfweek’s Best resort courses in the U.S. It also ranks No. 10 on the list of best courses owned or operated in conjunction with casinos in the U.S. The layout was host to the PGA Tour’s 84 Lumber Classic from 2003-06 – there’s even a statue of John Daly in a pond, just one example of the unexpected artwork on the course.
Unlike many Dye courses, where the famed architect often sculpted challenges to accentuate a flat or less-than-perfect site, Mystic Rock was an opportunity for him to revel in great golf ground. The course rolls up and down, never too steep and never too flat through its idyllic setting. The design hugs the natural curves, which presented ample opportunities for Dye to establish preferred angles into greens featuring bold slopes that reject even well-struck shots played from the wrong spots.
Mystic Rock underwent an expansive renovation in 2021, led by longtime Dye associate Tim Liddy. Several waste areas and bunkers were removed – a total of 40,000 square feet of sand was replaced – while a few new bunkers were introduced in strategic areas. The overall effect was to widen the effective playing corridors, making it a touch easier while allowing an observant golfer to better set up the best angles into greens without playing from sand.
One example is the par-5 16th, where a greenside bunker to the right was taken out. The hole features a pond down much of its left side, and Liddy removed the greenside trap to better allow for a miss on the opposite side of the green from the water. With the slopes and runoffs to the right, the bunker simply wasn’t needed to protect the hole’s difficulty. The trap’s removal certainly made the approach a tad easier, but when describing a Dye course, easier might mean taking the difficulty level down on a scale of 1 to 10 from a 9.5 to an 8 – there’s still plenty of challenge out there, even for accomplished players.
Shepherd’s Rock at Nemacolin in Pennsylvania (Courtesy of Nemacolin/Evan Schiller)
Teeing off adjacent to Mystic Rock and also in the shadow of the over-the-top Falling Rock hotel is the resort’s second course, Shepherd’s Rock. Also designed by Dye and Liddy, Shepherd’s Rock opened in 2017 and has climbed to No. 5 among all public-access courses in Pennsylvania, a tie for No. 178 for all resort courses in the U.S. and No. 27 among U.S. casino courses.
While sharing similar ground as at Mystic Rock, Shepherd’s Rock features a lot more zest around the greens, which frequently are pushed higher above the surrounding grade. The sometimes wild greenside slopes can force balls down and away, especially if played from the wrong approach lines. But if players plot their way from the greens backward, it’s sometimes possible to use many of those slopes as backboards and sideboards that feed the ball down and toward a pin location. The setting is similar as with Mystic Rock, but the Pete Dye meter was turned up a few clicks at Shepherd’s Rock, especially around the greens.
A firepit adjacent to the Chateau at Nemacolin in Pennsylvania (Courtesy of Nemacolin)
Combined, the two layouts make a very strong introduction to Dye the designer for anyone who hasn’t experienced his sleight-of-hand and disregard of a good player’s score. You have to golf your ball around these courses, as the old cliché goes, but that’s just Pete Dye. He never served up softballs. And if you need help with all the demonic Dye design challenges, Nemacolin also opened in 2021 a state-of-the-art golf academy with all the latest digital wizardry and coaching to help any player improve.
Book your round at Nemacolin – Shepard’s Rock today
Besides, there’s not time to fret about the final tally on a scorecard at Nemacolin. There’s just too much else to do. Fishing. Hiking. Climbing. Eating. Drinking. Luxurious accommodations. Shopping. The spa. The casino. Did I mention the …
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