I was in a two day tournament here and we played the Plantation Course and the River Course. The staff were very accommodating and they made it easy to find our carts (it was a shotgun start) and head out. They also had a guy driving us to and from the driving range. They did run out of towels for us which was a slight bummer when it started raining.
The Plantation Course was a fun design that meandered through a housing development. It's one big 18 hole loop (for example we started on hole #10 and had to drive out for about 15 minutes, no joke). The fairways are very narrow, so if you're crooked off the tee it's not the best course for you. It is, however, a short course even from the tips. Lots of cool holes, a few drivable par 4s, and it's very flat overall. If you're playing it for the first time, buy a course map! The greens are slow, much slower than the practice green so take notice. Overall a fun track, but not one that's too memorable.
The River Course deserves a 5/5 stars. It's absolutely fantastic. The final three holes are worth the entry fee. The holes you see from the clubhouse are nice and wide open but the course narrows significantly through the round. Most of the time you're playing through the housing development at Kingsmill so watch out for out of bounds. Same as the other course, buy a course map. There aren't any blind tee shots but there are dangers lurking that you won't see. The greens were smooth and fast but were extremely hard to read. If you have the time read your putts from different angles, but only if you have time.
The biggest reason to give this place four stars is the driving range and "chipping" area. Honestly they are the worst practice facilities at any resort I have played. The mats were all tilted for a very uphill lie and they are made of some pretty cheap plastic. You also had to step in front of the mats to use driver off the grass. It was a little uneasy to warm up with golf balls flying by your head. They also use limited flight golf balls! Hard to get prepared for a tournament with this type of set up. The chipping green is just a bunker and some fairway grass for a green. There is also Bermuda grass around it which is nothing like the grass you'll see on the River Course. The only upside to the practice facilities is the putting green which is big and undulating. The grass around that, again, isn't like what they have on the course. Basically spend your time putting if anything else.
If you come out here for the LPGA Kingsmill Championship, know that you have a very long walk ahead of you on the River Course, and that there aren't many spots where you can see more than one hole at a time. So pick your favorite players and follow them wearing your most comfortable shoes.
I really want to like this place because the River Course is fantastic, but the practice facilities were exceptionally poor when I've heard so many good things about them. Maybe the Woods Course has better ones. Definitely a place I would play again but there is a better golf resort in Williamsburg. read more