Bull Run Golf Club in Haymarket, Virginia: A Washington, D.C.-area favorite weathers the storm

HAYMARKET, Va. -- Watching fairways go from lush to threadbare at Bull Run Golf Club in the late 2000s was an unsettling sight for public golfers in Northern Virginia. If the future of one of the most popular golf courses in the Washington, D.C. area could be so threatened, was any local course safe?

But an upturn in the economy and a takeover by Raspberry Golf Management has restored Rick Jacobson-designed Bull Run to its immaculate state of old.

Set in the shadow of Bull Run Mountain and traversing scenic woodlands, meadows and ponds, the course is on a dramatic parcel of land that feels out of the way, but it's less than five miles off I-66.

With wide fairways and sprawling greens, Bull Run is fun and forgiving. From the back tees, it measures 6,979 yards with a rating of 73.1 and a slope of 134. A player can shoot a career round at Bull Run, but it's not a walk in the park, especially for those who struggle to get their driver airborne as many tee shots are forced carries over water or environmental areas.