Historic Oakhurst Links in West Virginia Up for Sale

The birthplace of American golf, West Virginia's Oakhurst Links, is up for sale. The asking price for the nine-hole course and its museum is $4.5 million.

It's not just the tie to history that makes a stop at the course a must for the serious golfer; it's the journey back in time. Visitors are required to use replica hickory clubs, hit gutta-percha balls molded from the sap of the sapodilla tree, and form tees from a mound of wet sand. Electric carts are unavailable - golfers walk among the dozens of sheep just as participants did a century ago. 

The course held its first competition in 1884. It would eventually closed in 1910. In the 1950s, after hearing about the course from friend Sam Snead, the property was bought by Lewis Keller. Although he would hit the ball around the property, it wasn't until 1994 that the course reopened for play.

Oakhurst Links is on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been closed to public play this year, although a tournament was held earlier this summer.

The course's museum is full of snapshots of visits from golfers such as Snead, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson, who is now the golf pro emeritus at the nearby Greenbrier resort. Keller is hosting an event with Watson at Oakhurst in mid-September.

Keller said the course's preservation is key to the sale.

"We personally feel it's very important to our state, our town and everyone in golf," Keller said.

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