MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Golf Digest magazine has released their latest edition of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses and two West Virginia clubs are included in their exclusive list.
Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown debuted as the 45th best course in America in 2013 and moved up to 44th when the semi-annual list was released this week. The Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport fell from a ranking of 46 in the last list to the 53rd spot in 2015.
The Pikewood course, located seven miles south of Morgantown on the Kingwood Pike, has been recognized several times by Golf Digest despite being a very young course. In 2009 the magazine named Pikewood the best new private course in America and last year, in addition to naming Pikewood to their top 100 Greatest list in America, also placed the club 74th in the world in their semi-annual World 100.
John Raese and Bob Gwynne of Greer Industries, whose corporate headquarters are located in Morgantown, designed the Pikewood National track. Ryder Cup teammates Johnny Pott and Dow Finsterwald were consulted during the construction of the course. Pikewood plays to 7,588 yards and offers vista views of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
PGA golf professional Bob Friend, Pikewood’s Director of Golf and a member of the Champions Tour, has played courses all over the world and is still blown away by Pikewood’s design. “This golf course combines incredible natural beauty with magnificent golf holes”, said Friend. “For two amateur course designers to have a new course receive this much acclaim is unprecedented.”
Pete Dye designed the course named after him just outside of Bridgeport. The 7,308-yard course has consistently been mentioned among the premiere courses in the United States. It opened in 1993.