Bay Creek Golf Resort: Golfing Beside The Chesapeake Bay

Bay Creek Nicklaus Course # 8

When two of the greatest golfers of the 20th century design courses side by side, its certain to offer players one the very best golfing experience to be had. That is exactly what Bay Creek Golf Resort in Cape Charles, Virginia, has -- an Arnold Palmer course and a Jack Nicholas course and they are spectacular.

Bay Creek is being developed by the award-winning Baymark Construction Corp., headed by Richard Foster. Foster has established a reputation for uncompromising quality and demanding standards. His communities balance the human need for "quality of life" with respect for the sensitivities of the natural environment of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Since its inception in 1980, Foster and Baymark Construction have received numerous awards for outstanding residential designs. In 2003, Bay Creek was chosen as one of "America's 100 Best Master-Planned Communities" by Where to Retire magazine.

Located in the charming bay side community of Cape Charles, Virginia (just 10 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel Bridge) Bay Creek features a world class, full service marina, a fine restaurant, and shops. Kings Bay, a gated community overlooking the water (near the marina), is a colorful group of homes designed for vacation or year-round living. “Our architect wanted to create a West Indies’ look,” said Linda Buskey, Sales Manager, “and I believe he did just that.”

Adjacent to the golf courses is another established resort community, The Hollies. Property sales and construction has begun on a new development called Bayside Village near the golf courses. It will eventually have 135 homes, plus a community center, and direct access to over 2 miles of pristine beach. Eventually, Bay Creek plans to have 2,500 homes located at nine prime locations on the 1,700 plus acre property.

“It is highly unusual to have two signature courses at the same resort,” said Mark Wesolek,

General Manager. “but it offers players the very best options for an outstanding golfing experience.” “Actually, its four nine hole courses. Palmer and Nicholas were each invited to design one course on the water (bay) side and one on the land side. It gave each of these great players an opportunity to use their talents on entirely different landscapes and the results are amazing,” he said.

Great care has been taken to preserve the natural beauty of the area and the important habitat it provides for wildlife. In addition, Bay Creek’s developer Foster’s influence can be seen throughout. A avocational gardener, he was interested in introducing flowering plants so 50,000 roses, azaleas, and hydrangeas have been planted along cart paths and roadways.

An additional 5,000 new trees were planted anda full scale replica of a local lighthouse (long gone) was built. A smaller version of the lighthouse is located on a bridge over a large water hazard named the “Jack Nicholas Bridge.”

Palmer Course # 1

Arnold Palmer, puts the setting appropriately, "There's not a better place in the world to put a golf course and have it work as well as it has ... Bay Creek is a fantastic layout, one you'd never get tired of playing -- and that's the true measure of a great golf course."

Palmer's longtime design partner, Ed Seay. says, "Bay Creek's site was unusual for a couple reasons. First, because it's got a seaside location, which is extremely difficult to find these days--due to extensive development of prime coastal areas. Second, it gave us some natural sand dunes to work with -- and placing golf holes in between the natural dunes is, to me, the most ideal site in the world. Our biggest challenge was the protection and enhancement of the wetlands -- we had over a hundred acres to preserve at Bay Creek, and we were very careful with it." The Palmer course opened in 2005 and the Nicholas course a year later.

As Palmer said, “There’s not a better place in the world to put a golf course and have it work as well as it has … Bay Creek is a fantastic layout, one you’d never get tired of playing — and that’s the true measure of a great golf course.”

Bay Creek Marina

Story by:

James weaver

Golfwiz Blog

Senior Travel Writer