Greenbrier just one of the TOUR's hidden gems in 2010

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This has been a year for golfers on the PGA TOUR to discover a new set of classic courses, some real hidden gems. There are the yearly brushes with great courses like Augusta National and Pebble Beach, as well as the inclusion of St. Andrews in the major championship rotation. But until this season few players -- and fewer fans -- were familiar with some of the world-class venues that have hosted tournaments.

THE GREENBRIER

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Aronimink was thrust into the equation as the host of the AT&T National when Congressional was deemed off limits because of preparation for the 2011 U.S. Open. Players raved about the Philadelphia-area course and talked openly about how it could -- and should -- host a major championship.

St. George's got a turn to host the RBC Canadian Open last week after waiting 42 years. It lived up to its billing as one of the top three golf courses in Canada. The greens weren't too quick, so the scores were low, but as Stephen Ames said, "Overall, I think it's a great layout."

This week The Greenbrier gets its opportunity to emerge from hibernation. The Old White Course, built in 1914 by Charles Blair Macdonald, tweaked by Seth Raynor in the 1930s, and renovated by Lester George in 2006, plays host to the first Greenbrier Classic. Players will discover a course with undulating greens and interesting bunkering.

"Neat, I guess for lack of a better word, is what we're looking for," said PGA TOUR rules official Slugger White, a West Virginia native who has played and competed many times at The Greenbrier. "We're looking at fescue around the bunkers; we're looking at greens with the Biarritz; we're looking at the redans; we're looking at a lot of things that people don't see every day."

Plus, it's one of the few layouts to end the round with a par 3.

"That's going to be pretty interesting, finishing up with a par 3. Pretty neat. It's a change," said Boo Weekley.

Among the courses that finish with a par 3 are Congressional and East Lake, host of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. But rather than the almost impregnable 200-yard par 3 that ends the round at East Lake, Macdonald made the finishing hole at the Greenbrier approachable at 162 yards.

"We don't see a lot of that," said Brandon de Jonge. "It's going to be an exciting finish. They've got a lot of choices for pin positions out there. Obviously could be a couple changes coming in there."

Many greats have visited the course since it opened, including President Woodrow Wilson, who was among the first to play there in April 1914. Bobby Jones and Perry Adair played some fundraising matches there in 1918 to help the Red Cross. President Eisenhower played there in 1956, just six months after he suffered a heart attack. (Note: Ike didn't order any of the trees cut down during his visit.)

And while Macdonald's influence on the course is large, the biggest shadow cast over the course belongs to Sam Snead, who was the club professional at The Greenbrier from 1944 to his death in 2002. The reason Eisenhower came to a conference at The Greenbrier a few days early was so he could play golf with Snead. In fact, the final hole-in-one of Snead's career came at The Greenbrier.

Today the man of the hour is Jim Justice, a third-generation West Virginian, who bought The Greenbrier in 2009. Justice competed on the course many times, often against his lifelong friend Slugger White; they called it The Emerald City. He immediately began lobbying for a TOUR event and had his wish granted last year. Like others, he longs to be a major player on the TOUR.

"I'm not going to stop until they come to me and say, 'This is the best event that we have on the entire PGA TOUR, maybe with the exception of the majors," Justice said. "It would be my hope that some day we could be sitting down and talking about the possibility of attracting a major or maybe a Presidents Cup, because we're going to make it just that good."

The Greenbrier isn't the end of the PGA TOUR's Magical Mystery Course for 2010. Ridgewood Country Club, built in 1929 by A.W. TIllinghast, returns as host to The Barclays during the first week of the FedExCup playoffs. Ridgewood hosted for the first time in 2008, a tournament won by Vijay Singh.

We can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.