The first tee at the Omni Homestead Resort carries a bit of weight. It’s believed to be the oldest continually used tee box in the United States, part of a resort that was welcoming guests before the country itself was even formed.
On a bright, windy afternoon with the colored leaves blanketing the mountains around Hot Springs, golfers gathered with the familiar mix of excitement and nerves: a father and son, a husband and wife, four friends on a golf trip.
Standing nearby were Mark and Caleb Fry. Mark is the Director of Golf Operations at the Omni Homestead.
Mark has spent most of his life around the Homestead and its historic golf courses. As a teenager, he once took a lesson from the legendary Sam Snead, who lived nearby and was already a towering figure in the game.
Snead watched the young golfer swing and told him he had real potential.
“Everyone would stop and watch him hit balls on the range,” Mark recalls of Snead. “He was the Michael Jordan of golf.”
Mark grew up with a father who loved the game and encouraged him to play. His dad, now 88, found time in-between his long factory hours to golf and encourage his son to develop his talent. Mark eventually played college golf and even considered going pro.
Instead, he chose a different path.
He married his high school sweetheart, majored in business, and eventually built a life in the mountains of Bath County.
That life now includes a farm that has been in his wife’s family for generations. Angus cattle graze in the fields. Horses wander nearby. A few fat-bellied pigs roam around like family pets. Grandsons occasionally buzz up and down the driveway on mini bikes.
Golf, farming, and family all co-exist in the same rhythm. Caleb grew up right in the middle of it.
Mark introduced his son to the game early, but never pushed too hard; his own childhood had been filled with expectations, and he wanted his kids to find their own passions.
Caleb’s interests included horses, rodeo culture, and life on the farm. Eventually, golf found its way into the mix, but with a twist.
That mix eventually became the Cowboy Golfer.
A video Caleb posted online—blending cowboy fashion with golf—immediately struck a chord and spread. Today, his growing online following enjoys watching golf through a lens that feels equal parts ranch life and fairway.
Back on the first tee, father and son stepped up together.
Mark’s drive flew straight down the middle before Caleb’s launched high into the wind, hanging airborne for what felt like forever before finally settling in the fairway.
Father and son laughed and teased each other as they walked back toward the cart.
Both men are tall and strong, their posture confident yet dignified. Despite their growing recognition in the golf world, they carry themselves with humility.
Later, Mark drove the cart around the course, pointing out favorite holes and scenic overlooks while the wind whipped across the ridges above the valley.
Caleb had stopped by on his lunch break from working construction for his brother’s company, wearing cowboy boots, jeans, and a hoodie. At one point Mark jokingly traded shirts with him so the “Cowboy Golfer” brand could make an appearance.
These days, the two are beginning to collaborate more, filming instructional videos together and sharing their different perspectives on the game: one drawing from the traditions of golf’s past, the other representing a new generation who has discovered the game through phones and social media.
At the Homestead, those two worlds fit together just fine.
And somewhere between the fairways, the farm, and the mountains of Virginia, the Fry family continues to write its own chapter in the long story of golf.