With the Presidents Cup approaching, we’re reminded of the link between the game we love and the highest office in our land.
The tie runs deep.
William Taft was the OG of golfers in the Oval Office. Elected to the post in 1908, Taft played golf so often that his predecessor and political mentor, Theodore Roosevelt, urged his protege to set aside his sticks.
Taft declined.
Among his favorite spots to peg it was at a venerable retreat in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia that began life as the Homestead and is known today as the Omni Homestead Resort. Many of Taft’s successors followed in his path. In the past century-plus, 24 U.S. Presidents have stayed at the Omni Homestead. A good number of them, including Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and both Bushes, have stayed and played.
VIPs of other stripes have been a constant, too. Of all the famous names, few loom larger around the property than native son, Sam Snead. Born in nearby Ashwood, Va., Snead started caddying at the resort at age 7, later served as an assistant pro and became the head professional in 1934.
By then, the Omni Homestead was well-established as one of the country’s marquee golf destinations. Its first course, which opened in 1891 and was later redesigned by Donald Ross, is aptly called the Old Course, and it is said to have the longest continuously operating first tee in the U.S.
It also has a younger sibling, the Cascades Course, which is old enough to date back to the Golden Age. It was designed by William Flynn, in the early 1920s, and has hosted eight USGA national championships, including the U.S. Women’s Open.
Last year, the Cascades celebrated its centennial. But around the resort, much of what was old is new again, thanks to a recently completed $150 million renovation that included updates and restorations of everything from the guest rooms and the famed Great Hall to the bathhouses of the property’s hot spring-fed pools. Meanwhile, fresh history is often being made. In 2025, the Cascades Course will host the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, followed by the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2029.
Just last month, another headline-making moment occurred on property, when maintenance workers clearing trees from the Old Course came upon a stunning find: embedded in the trunk of a splintered oak was a rubber-covered golf ball with a throwback dimple pattern that appeared to date to the early 1900s.
Though the provenance of the ball has yet to be pinpointed, it’s possible it once belonged to a POTUS.
As Omni director of golf Mark Fry told GOLF.com: “You can kind of let your imagination go towards all kinds of possibilities. Maybe this ball was hit by President Taft.”
For more on Omni Homestead Resort or to book your stay, click here.
