The Greenbrier's first 18-hole golf course, The Old White Course, opened in 1914. The course was named for the well-known Old White Hotel, which stood on the grounds from 1858 to 1922. One of the first golfers to play The Old White was President Woodrow Wilson in April of 1914. The course features generous fairways and challenging, undulating putting greens. Every hole has an obvious and well defined strategy that allows for either a very challenging approach to the green, or one that has less risk, and a higher chance of success.

Charles Blair Macdonald, a dominant figure in the early history of American golf, designed the course and modeled several holes from some of the most famous European holes. The Old White's No. 8 hole was styled after the Redan at North Berwick, No. 13 after the Alps at Prestwick and No. 15 after the Eden at St. Andrews.

Over the years, golf greats including Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson have played these challenging greens. Sam Snead shot his final hole-in-one on The Old White Course's No. 18 in 1995. To ensure the future of this traditional course, The Greenbrier began a multi-year restoration process, which was done by Lester George of George Golf Design and was completed in 2006.