Bobby Weed’s legend precedes him. President of Weed Golf Course Design, he learned from the master during his apprenticeship with Pete Dye and was named in-house architect to the PGA tour in 1987. With the tour, Weed designed many of the TPC venues throughout the country. He continued to collaborate with Pete Dye on courses including Ocean Links and Oak Marsh, both at Amelia Island Plantation on Amelia Island, Florida. In 1994, he formed Weed Design, where he continues his commitment to building legendary courses by hand. Recently completed and originally designed courses include Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound, Florida; Spanish Oaks Golf Club in Austin, Texas; The Golf Club at Fleming Island in Orange Park, Florida; The Golf Course at Glen Mills near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; StoneRidge Golf Club in Stillwater, Minnesota; and The Olde Farm.
Weed’s philosophy is that golf courses cannot evolve solely through a set of plans but must be patiently molded in the field. Weed found the gently rolling terrain near Bristol, Virginia, so natural that he took only two days to stake out the tees and greens. His lay-of-the-land design encourages the old-style game of low, running approach shots.
Its rustic elegance and complete lack of distractions lend The Olde Farm its distinguished character and rural charm. Perhaps Golf Digest’s Ron Whitten said it best after naming The Olde Farm Best New Private Course of 2000: “The Olde Farm, Weed’s first Best New winning design, is old school yet representative of the future of golf.” Or as we like to say, pure golf at its best.