The Country Club of St. Albans (Tavern Creek)

Overview: Tavern Creek is the second course at St. Albans, laid through rolling wooded terrain, natural valleys and the rock-lined waterways that gave the routing its name. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry created a course that is more enclosed and rugged than a typical resort layout, with elevation changes and creek corridors repeatedly influencing the preferred line. The surrounding reserve supplies both the visual frame and much of the playing strategy, while the greens and transitions between holes keep the round varied.

History: The St. Albans property was assembled in 1988 around the historic village and its surrounding hills. After the Lewis and Clark Course established the first 18-hole course at St. Albans, Hurdzan and Fry were selected for a second design. Tavern Creek opened in June 1997 and completed the club’s two-course golf identity. The architects worked within a 5,400-acre setting that preserved Civil War-era graves, historic stone homes and natural habitat, so the course became part of a broader conservation-minded development rather than an isolated golf project.

Did You Know? Tavern Creek is named for the largest of four creeks running through the St. Albans property. The waterway is more than a label: rock-lined creek corridors appear as recurring visual and strategic features, helping separate the course from the nearby Lewis and Clark layout. The wider property also protects habitats for hundreds of wildlife and plant species.