ON THE TEE WITH DALE

Dale Leatherman is a freelance travel writer specializing in golf, adventure, and the Caribbean. Her writing career includes four years as a newspaper features editor, 12 years as a magazine features editor, and eight years as a website editor. She has been a full-time freelancer for more than 20 years, with articles appearing in publications such as The Robb Report, Caribbean Travel & Life, Diversion, Meetings & Conventions, LINKS, Executive Traveler, Golf for Women, Continental, and LINKS. Her work also includes special advertising sections for Travel & Leisure Golf, Travel & Leisure, Attache, Sky, and the Los Angeles Times. Dale is editorial director of Caribbean Escapes. E-mail DALeatherman@cs.com for reprints or rewrites for publication.

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I drew back the drapes over the French doors of my Keswick Hall room and stepped onto the terrace. Beyond the balustrade, the Keswick Golf Club fanned across the countryside in swaths of spring green. Unfortunately, a driving rain blurred the scene like a Impressionist landscape. Conceding that my tee time was a washout, I proceeded with Plan B. Armed with a map and an umbrella, I set off to find out why Thomas Jefferson described Charlottesville as the "Eden of the United States." Recent critics seem to agree. The community of about 45,000, located next to the Rivanna River in Virginia's Blue Ridge foothills, has made Money magazine's "100 Best Places to Live" list four years running. Last year Frommer's Cities Ranked and Rated named it the country's No. 1 city.

My exploration of Mr. Jefferson's neighborhood began at Monticello, the hilltop estate that was always in the founding father's thoughts, and reflects his passion for architecture, agriculture, and horticulture. The 21-room, neo-classical mansion designed by Jefferson was a 19^th-century marvel, with skylights, great expanses of glass, open-air living spaces, and many clever conveniences. The house, outbuildings, gardens, orchards and vineyards look much as they did in the 1800s.

A half-mile from Monticello I lunched at the circa 1784 Michie (pronounced "Mickie" by the locals) Tavern, the sort of place where Jefferson would have met with his neighbor, James Monroe, to discuss farming and affairs of state over a hearty midday meal. Nearby, on land once adjacent to Monticello, I stopped for a tasting at the Jefferson Vineyards. In 1773 Jefferson gave this land to an Italian winemaker to establish a European-style vineyard, initiating what is now a booming Virginia wine industry. On another trip, I'll taste my way through the nearly 20 wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail, including the famous Barboursville Vineyards.

The rain continued, but I pressed on to the University of Virginia, which Jefferson designed in his 70s, after he retired from public service. His "Academical Village," still impressive, lies at the heart of a vibrant campus (known as "The Grounds" by locals). The white-domed Rotunda, patterned after Rome's Pantheon, faces a terraced lawn bordered by rows of Federal-style houses (faculty housing), connected by colonnaded walkways and student rooms. The hallowed but tiny Lawn Rooms house exemplary fourth-year students. Judging by the messages scribbled on note boards in the doorways, student life hasn't changed much: "Derek is a hottie." "Good luck on the thesis." "Party tonight!" Edgar Allen Poe's room is here, a Spartan shrine to a student who probably was not considered a "hottie."

Chilled and hungry, I hustled back to my cozy room at Keswick Hall. The massive Italianate building was built as a private home in 1912 and evolved into a country club and then a hotel. Since acquiring the property in 1999, Orient-Express Hotels has greatly enhanced the hotel's 48 guest rooms, added a new restaurant and bar, and is revamping the Arnold Palmer golf course, centerpiece of the 600-acre estate.

That evening, seated next to a crackling fire in the hotel's elegant Fossett's restaurant, I enjoyed delectable beef tartare, foie gras, seared sea scallops and canolli, each course served with by perfectly matched wines by my savvy waiter. Chef John Brand, highly touted by food critics, has my vote, too.

Sunshine prevailed the next morning as I made my way around the golf course, a 1930s layout redesigned by Palmer in 1992. New back tees are being added, stretching it to about 6,800 yards for the big hitters. However, the course rewards smarts more than strength. A pleasant ramble through hilly terrain spiced with lakes, streams, wetlands and big oak trees, the course is almost always in view of stately Keswick Hall and mountains in the distance. Awaiting at the end of the round is the Club, with its bar, restaurant, spa and indoor pool.

That afternoon I checked into 200 South Street Inn, which is actually two beautifully restored homes built in the late 1800s and furnished with English and Belgian antiques. Many rooms have fireplaces, and there's a cozy common room for continental breakfasts and afternoon wine and cheese parties.

I walked the two blocks to the Downtown Mall, a bustling pedestrian promenade lined with shops, galleries, restaurants and bookstores galore. Charlottesville is a book-loving town. Thousands attend the annual Festival of the Book in March, and several well-known authors, including John Grisham, Tami Hoag and Rita Mae Brown, live in Albemarle County. Another local is Sissy Spacek, whom I noticed at a table near mine in the Bizou, a comfortable bistro with delectable lunch dishes such as cornmeal-crusted catfish quesadilla and grilled quail salad. A sucker for used books, I made the rounds of eight shops along Main, including Read It Again, Sam, and the Hardware Store--a popular restaurant that also sells books, jewelry, candy and art. Fascinating! There are galleries, too. Most, like the spacious Sage Moon, feature works by local artists with national reputations.

The next morning I was back on the golf trail—actually, the new Monticello Golf Trail that links Keswick with two other outstanding golf resorts and an exciting new golf club. Two miles from downtown Charlottesville, I settled into the Boar's Head Inn, a AAA four diamond property and restaurant for more than 15 years. Staying in the historic 171-room hotel with its country estate-style rooms, full-service spa and fine dining in the Old Mill Room, is an exquisite experience. In contrast, punishment awaits at the adjacent Birdwood Golf Club, a 1984 Lindsay Ervin design with many blind shots. This is especially true following a $1.1 million renovation by Pete Dye associates in which bunkers were revamped and approaches reshaped, re-mounded and re-sodded to up the ante on risk-reward shots.

My next stop was Wintergreen Resort, an environmentally conscious resort community with two very different golf challenges. Running along a 4,000-foot-high ridge, the Ellis Maple-designed Devil's Knob (recently renovated at a cost of $1.4 million) is the highest course in the state and one of the finest mountain layouts in the region. It's also one of the tightest and most unforgiving.

Down in the valley is the Rees Jones-designed Stoney Creek, home to three diverse nines intertwined with the namesake stream, 20-acre Lake Monocan, and wilderness areas. The Tuckahoe Nine is the most dramatic, with several extreme drops.

At both courses, the clubhouses and restaurants are superb—in keeping with the 11,000-acre year-round resort's fine amenities. Lodging is in condos, most with fireplaces and panoramic views, and mountaintop restaurants offer everything from pizza to gourmet. A tempting culinary diversion near Stoney Creek is the Blue Ridge Pig, a local favorite for barbecue.

Because I live in West Virginia, my loop of the Charlottesville area concluded in the west. On the way to Poplar Grove, the newest course on the Monticello Golf Trail, I stopped off for a tour and tasting at the King Family Vineyards near Crozet. I only regret that my visit wasn't on a Sunday, when I could have watched the action at the Roseland Polo Club next to the winery. Michael Shaps, the vintner who partners with the King Family Winery, is the hottest wine consultant in the area, having won the 2004 Virginia Governor's Cup for his 2002 Cabernet Franc. I couldn't resist two wines bearing his personal label, a merlot and a viognier.

Opened in May 2004, Poplar Grove is a stunning addition to the area's golf complement, but is scheduled to become the private purview of the club's homeowners in 2008. It was the last course design in which Sam Snead participated before his death in 2002. Well-versed in his father's philosophy, Jack Snead continued to consult with course architect Ed Carton, who earned his stripes on the Tom Fazio design team.

The course is tough, measuring 7,059 yards from the "Slammer" tees, with a rating/slope of 75/141. But there are four other tee choices, and the rating/slope from 6,100 yards is 70.6/135. In deference to Sam's wishes, there are no forced carries over water for the high handicapper, and the greens are open to bump-and-run approaches if you're in the right spot. Fourteen holes have elevated tees, so you can see what you're getting into, develop a strategy, and admire the subtleties of the terrain and bunkering. It's a beautiful, memorable track that makes good use of the site's hills, lakes, streams and forests of mature trees.

Close to the course is the 38-room Florence Elston Inn at Sweet Briar College. Along with the Boar's Head Inn, Keswick Hall and Wintergreen, the Elston is one of the lodging choices in a Monticello golf package offered by the Virginia Golfer Network, an online tee-time-booking service endorsed by Virginia Tourism. The three-day, two-night deal includes three rounds of golf on any of the five courses, lodging and a bottle of wine from one of the Monticello Wine Trail vineyards. My advice? Make it a double. There's way too much golf, history, shopping, dining and wine to fit in less than a week.

200 South Street Inn -- 800-964-7008, www.southstreetinn.com

Blue Light Grill & Raw Bar -- 434-295-1223, www.bluelightgrill.com

Florence Elston Inn at Sweet Briar – 434-381-6207, 866-388-6207 www.sbc.edu/elstoninn/hotel.html

200 South Street Inn -- 800-964-7008, www.southstreetinn.com

Blue Light Grill & Raw Bar -- 434-295-1223, www.bluelightgrill.com

Monticello Golf Trail – www.virginiagolfernetwork.com

Poplar Grove Golf Course -- 434-946-9933, www.poplargrovegolf.com