THE VIRTUES (formerly LONGABERGER) GOLF CLUB (740-763-1100)
Ohio Golf Course Review
This is a special golf experience!
The Virtues Golf Club (formerly Longaberger Golf Club) in Nashport, about 20 minutes north of Zanesville and 50 miles east of Columbus, has been awarded 5 stars by Golf Digest Places to Play in 2004/05, and was honored as # 65 out of the top 100 golf courses open for public play in 2006. The property hosted the 1999 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf featuring Dottie Pepper and Karrie Webb, and also hosted the 2004 PGA Club Professional Championship.
Built by the Longaberger Company - America's premier maker of handcrafted baskets with its company headquarters nearby, this property features a 60,000 square foot clubhouse that includes a golf shop, a beautifully appointed bar and restaurant, plus conference and banquet rooms. There are locker rooms with showers for men and women, and the practice facility encompasses 25 acres with bent grass tee stations directed towards a targeted range. A large practice green is adjacent and short game area with sand bunker is nearby. Practice balls are complimentary, included in the green fee.
The banquet and meeting facilities include indoor and outdoor locations that can accommodate up to 280 guests, with outstanding golf course and countryside vistas. The "Place off the Square" in nearby Newark is affiliated with The Virtues Golf Club, and offers comfortable accommodations, a restaurant, indoor pool, complimentary continental breakfast, banquet rooms and high speed internet access. For more information on this property click here.
Designed by Arthur Hills, the course is a tournament caliber par 72 layout offering five sets of tees that play to distances and slopes measuring 7243 yards/138 slope, 6856 yards/135 slope, 6498 yards/132 slope, 6075 yards/128 slope for men and 134 for women, and 4985 yards with a slope rating of 122 for ladies playing from the forward tees.
On course, 100, 150 and 200 markers are located on both the fairways and cart paths. Sprinkler heads are also measured to the center of the green and each tee box is also marked. Pin placement positions on the mostly raised, large sloping putting surfaces are indicated on the sheets provided for on each golf cart, which also offer rear weather covers and towels.
Mounds, collection areas and grassy swales often surround the green complexes, with numerous sand bunkers also in play. In total, there are 62 sand traps located greenside or along the landing zones on the fairways, and water comes into play in the form of wetlands or ponds on 8 of the holes. The manicured and beautifully contoured fairways are often sculpted into hillsides, and usually present quite generous landing areas off the tee. Surrounding fields and natural areas are teeming with wildflowers and wildlife. The green complexes are undulating, and present some challenges for those hoping to recover from offline approaches. Generally speaking however, there is room for up and downs on most of the holes.
There is not a lot of level terrain to this property, as many of the tee shots and approaches play uphill or downhill, with some significant elevation changes. Doglegs, bending in either direction, are also prominent in the hole designs. Some of the vistas are quite spectacular, as witnessed by the photos in this review. The view for the par five 4th which plays from an elevated tee and doglegs left with a pond situated to the right of the green, is outstanding. The green complex on the par five 10th, protected by a creek to the front and right is also memorable.
The Virtues Golf Club is a spectacular course with many signature holes and a great variety in design. It is a destination course - and an experience one can plan a golf trip around. We highly recommend a round here. For more information, visit our page for the property, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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