Nemacolin offers stellar golf and much more

FARMINGTON, Pa. – Wandering the expansive halls of the Chateau and Lodge at Nemacolin, one finds themselves wondering what to do next. The options are staggering. 

All the usual resort amenities, on a massive and first-class scale: pools, tennis, the spa and the holistic healing center. Maybe tackle the ropes course just down the road? Trout fishing, or target shooting? Want to throw an axe, indoors? Zip line, climbing wall or canopy tour? There’s even a car museum and a giant outdoor carousel. All that and a lot more await in the hills of rural Pennsylvania not far from the West Virginia and Maryland state lines. The resort’s Lady Luck Casino down the street always beckons, but there’s so much more.

Nah, forget all that for a bit – we’re here for the golf. For all the other activities available during a stay at Nemacolin, it’s the two Pete Dye courses that shine brightest for the golf-afflicted. With a sunny break after a bit of a morning drizzle, my group asks Kelly O’Donnell, the director of golf operations at Nemacolin, if we can head straight back out for another nine. 

“It’s Nemacolin,” said the affable O’Donnell, who took over his current role in 2021 after moving up from Texas. “You can do anything you want.”

In June, I was on my first trip to the resort 90 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh International Airport, and the scale of the place was hard to absorb quickly – I was somewhat familiar with the golf story, but the rest of the resort in the Laurel Highlands is almost overwhelming in scope. Accommodations range from the Chateau to the Lodge to Falling Rock overlooking the golf courses and beyond. A diverse art collection is displayed everywhere, even on the courses. There’s high-end shopping connected through the hallways of the main accommodations. Ice cream parlor, sports pub, steakhouse, cozy leather-bound cigar bar – and those are just some of the most obvious things to sample on the 2,000-acre property. 

Turn almost any corner and you’ll find something new. Head across the property in a shuttle, on a bike or on foot, and you’ll find even more. The general manager surely needs a cheat sheet to recall everything on the activities list.

And it all goes back to a dad wanting to give his daughter a place to catch a few fish. 

That would be Joseph A. Hardy III, founder of 84 Lumber Company, buying a few acres near a lake for his daughter, Maggie Hardy Knox – now the owner and president of…