Back9Ben

Played here with a friend and we had a good time. Greens were pretty fast for this time of year. Test of the course looked really good. Always love the layout, a nice challenge but not too hard. A bit pricey compared to others but I think it's worth it and my buddy who had never played here agreed. Always recommend this place.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to play Full Cry at Keswick Hall and will always remember it not just for a great round at an excellent course but for the hospitality and elite staff that I would put on par with the finest clubs in America. Since the course was catering specifically to the outing I was a part of I’ll try to focus mostly on the elements any resort guest would experience here.

First and foremost, this is one of my favorite Pete Dye layouts. Tough but fair is the way to describe the design and how the course plays. Classic Dye elements are everywhere from coffin bunkers to sharp drop-offs next to the greens to railroad ties. There’s even a repurposed train car made into a bridge that gets you over the small ravine on the 16th hole. But there's little to get overly frustrated about, unlike a lot of Dye's courses. Fairways are generally wide open and many have helpful slopes that border them, rewarding a near-miss and guiding it back into play. There are also slopes near many of the greens that guide balls towards the flagstick. That's not to say this course is a walk in the park. Many of the bunkers--both fairway and greenside--are well-placed and there’s certainly a few you may not notice until you hit your ball towards one! I also liked the layout of the tee boxes, with plenty of options for all skill levels, and really only forced carries from the longer tees on most of the holes.

The conditions are very, very good as well. Just a small point of critique but nothing that impacts your play. Tee boxes, fairways, and bunkers are all nearly immaculate. I particularly enjoyed the sand in the bunkers that had a satisfying weight to it--not too fluffy, not too heavy. Greens are exceptional, some of the best bentgrass greens in the area that were a good speed (8.5-9) and perfectly smooth. Putts generally rolled straighter than the line appeared but there were still a good amount of longer putts made by our group.

The rough was clumpy in some spots but where it was lush, it was excellent, nice Bermuda grass that kept the ball propped up near the green where it’s cut shorter. Balls do bury a bit further out on either side of the fairways.

The facilities here are world-class and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better staff anywhere. The course adds a lot of small touches that really make the experience a special one. This is a stay-to-play course and it’s not a cheap stay but absolutely worth it if you come. Nearby Spring Creek has the “best Charlottesville area public course” award locked up, but for those looking for a more exclusive experience, it doesn’t get better than Keswick Hall.

Williamsburg is the top golf destination in Virginia and with good reason. Many of the state’s best courses are within easy driving distance of each other in this corner of the Old Dominion, on either side of the historic district of Colonial Williamsburg. Courses like Golden Horseshoe, Kiskiack, Williamsburg National, and Ford’s Colony are all highly regarded and much talked about, and deservedly so. But Colony Heritage Club is still the most underrated and the best value of them all.

The layout here is arguably better than any others this side of the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe. Kiskiack may have a couple nice water holes but Colonial Heritage is challenging, fair, and fun from nearly every tee. There’s forced carries, elevation changes, and a couple narrow landing areas to make you sweat but also plenty of forgiving holes that give you options for strategy. The signature par-5 5th and the awesome par-4 16th continue to be my favorites but there’s plenty to choose from.

The conditions here are also noteworthy. Despite a hot summer there was no sign of stress at this course. Bermuda grass tee-to-green certainly helps but just because the grass can grow in the heat doesn’t mean it’s maintenance-free and the work the grounds crew puts in definitely shows here. The greens, although showing some sign of traffic, are in beautiful condition and roll fast (about a 10 on the stimp) and true. The fairways likewise are smooth and nearly entirely free of soggy spots. The rough is nice and lush, the bunkers are well maintained and there’s no issues with the tees either.

The staff continues to be a highlight of your golfing experience at Colonial Heritage. Friendly and professional, especially the starter. With the dozens of courses I visit each year, it continues to amaze me how much courses undervalue the position of the starter and what a huge difference having a good one can make. I was one of the first groups out after a members league and the starter told me I’d probably catch up to them around hole 6. Guess where I caught up to them? It was like magic. Thankfully, they were done and out of the way by the time I reached #9 and it was back to a nice 3-hour pace from there on.

Taking into account all of the above as well as the first-class facilities here, Colonial Heritage continues to be an excellent value, with GolfNow Hot Deals going for as little as $26 right now, an absolute steal! Even at the $65 I paid for a weekday morning, it’s well worth it. If you haven’t played here before, you absolutely need to put it on your list for your next trip to Williamsburg. If you have played here before, I don’t even need to tell you, you already have.

I was invited to play rounds at both the Championship and River courses here at Trump National. While both were equally fantastic experiences, there were a few differences in the courses, so this review covers just the River course.

The River course was definitely my favorite of the two courses in terms of the layout. Despite its name, the River course doesn’t actually have any holes that border the river. Instead, it offers a more diverse scenery and design (compliments to architect Arthur Hills, one of my favorites) than its sister course. Rather than a completely open layout, the River starts you out in the hills and trees, beautifully framed by flowering bushes and manicured creek beds. After several holes you join the floodplain shared by the Championship course but even here I found the River’s holes to have just a bit more character and required some extra thought for tee and approach shots alike.

This was particularly true of the par-5 8th hole which is likely the most controversial of the 36 on property. With two separate water hazards threatening your layup and/or approach shots, playing safe isn’t actually that easy to do (as I found out). Our caddie Con was not a fan of the hole, mostly because of how difficult it is to communicate a successful playing strategy to his players who haven’t played it before. Once you’ve walked the hole, however, it becomes more clear and I ended up liking it quite a bit. The last two holes finish up in the woods, though the 18th isn’t as grand a display as its counterpart over at the Championship course.

As with the other course here, the conditions of the River course were impressively excellent. Northern Virginia’s summer weather has been an utter disaster for many public courses in the area without the resources to combat the prolonged periods of flooding rain and sweltering heat. Looking at these courses though, you’d have thought it was 80 degrees everyday with a light shower each night. Greens, fairways, rough, bunkers, and tee boxes are all kept in immaculate condition, very green, very even, and very smooth. The thick rough will grab your club, making finding the fairways and greens extra important.
The greens are pretty quick (rolling about a 10) but with just the right amount of slope and undulation and the bunkers are predictable to hit out of. I recommend a forecaddie or yardage book as many of the golf apps don’t have the updated routing. Our caddie Con was fantastic; friendly, helpful, and professional and helped me achieve my lowest score ever!

The facilities here are world-class with an absolutely massive locker room inside the opulent clubhouse. The practice area has a grass range, chipping/pitching green, and putting green that would be the envy of most public courses. The food served in the restaurant downstairs was excellent and all members of the staff exceedingly professional. I really enjoyed my two days playing here you ever get an opportunity to do the same, don’t pass it up!

I was invited to play rounds at both the Championship and River courses here at Trump National. While both were equally fantastic experiences, there were a few differences in the course, so this review covers just the Championship course.

The aspect of the course I was most impressed by was the condition. Despite heavy rains and scorching heat for weeks prior to my visit, the course showed no signs of stress from either extreme element. Greens were fast (rolling about 10) but not too firm and buttery smooth. The fairways, tee boxes, and rough were all lush and green. Bunkers were immaculate and really framed the holes nicely. The only aspect that took some adjustment was how thick the bentgrass rough was. Even with a forecaddie, many wayward balls took time to find and chipping onto the green from the heavy rough was challenging. You can tell the maintenance crew take their jobs very seriously as I saw crew members hand-watering hot spots on fairways on multiple occasions.

The Tom Fazio layout was as splashy as you’d expect. The back tee box on #1 sits nearly 100 feet above the fairway, making that shot not much longer than the blue tees 70 yards ahead but at ground level. Several holes border the Potomac river, a unique viewing experience for this area and a real treat for those who appreciate links style of golf. The sight of the giant American flag by the 16th hole is present from most of the course (and often a good aiming point, I’m guessing by design). The giant waterfall/fountain used as a backdrop on #18 is truly impressive and perhaps a bit distracting but a cool touch.

Wide open, relatively flat layouts are not my forte but I found the design of this course to be enjoyable nonetheless with a great variety of long, short, and medium par-4s, some diabolical par-5s and a good assortment of par-3s. Greens are not overly sloped but the speed of them makes even shorter putts require your full attention.

Of course the Championship and River courses share the same staff and amenities and they are both world-class. The clubhouse is extremely impressive with the largest locker room I’ve ever seen. Food was excellent, the staff on all fronts extremely professional. Our caddie, Con, was absolutely fantastic and if you have the opportunity to play here and want a forecaddie to guide you, I highly recommend him.

The range, practice greens and other off-course amenities were exactly what you’d expect from a private course with this level of prestige. It really helps to have some time to sharpen your game before playing a course like this and I was able to do just that in about a half hour, going from full shots to pitching and chipping to putting.

It was a pleasure to play here as I truly enjoyed the “6-star” experience. I don’t often have the opportunity to play courses like this and it was certainly an opportunity I’m glad I didn’t pass up.

Playing Potomac Shores GC had been on my to-do list for years and finally an opportunity to make the drive from Richmond presented itself this week. While the conditions of the course weren’t what I hoped for, the other aspects of my first experience will ensure I make the trip back up here again soon.

I had heard so many positive things regarding this course and after reading reviews posted just a few weeks prior hailing the playing conditions, I felt confident the $49 twilight fee would be a no-brainer. I arrived at the course with high hopes but it soon became clear how quickly things can change.

The course has clearly been struggling with a bad batch of weather the past several weeks, but I’ll first focus on the areas that were in the best shape. The course spent a lot of time and money on renovating the bunkers and changing the fairways to Bermuda. These improvements were noticeable, the bunkers I found to be the best aspect of the course, very well done and aesthetically pleasing. I found myself in a few of them but didn’t find them overly penal.

The fairways had recently been punched but aside from that they generally were in good shape. There were signs of heavy traffic but I expect that with just about every NoVa public course. It seemed that the Bermuda grass was handling the hot, wet conditions far better than the bentgrass rough and greens.

Now for the bad: nearly every green and green surround/apron had a significant portion that appeared to somehow be simultaneously burnt and rotten with bare, blackened, and soggy patches that made chipping and putting unpredictable and overall was a bit of an eye-sore.

The rough was perhaps the bigger issue from a playing standpoint. Around the greens much of the rough was clumpy and uneven. There were also many spots of rough so bare and dry that they had put down landscape netting. For a course that typically charges $70-100, I do expect better turf conditions but, again, I know they can only do so much when hit with bouts of extreme weather.

There are some courses where conditions and design go hand-in-hand to frame your opinion of the course and this is certainly one of them. With the degraded conditions, I wasn’t able to truly appreciate the design of the course. There were several creatively constructed holes with visual illusions that try to play tricks with you. I actually found that I played better by trying to ignore these tricks and play each hole straightforward but some dumb luck kept me from making a mess of things on a couple holes.
My one complaint on the layout is not unique to this course: there a lot of driving between holes, and gives the perception that the course was almost an afterthought to the design of the Potomac Shores community.

But enough with the negativity, I can’t say enough nice things about the staff here. The cart attendants were delightful and friendly as was the gentleman in the pro shop who drove around as a marshal during my round to check on things (a rarity at 7pm on a weekday at most courses).

WORTH NOTING: After posting some comments about the course conditions on social media, a member of the staff contacted me to address my concerns and I am always grateful when the course reaches out to show they care. I am looking forward to returning here when conditions improve but for right now, my recommendation of this course comes with an asterisk to wait until conditions improve before paying the full rack rate if value is a priority for you.

Playing Lake of the Woods Golf Course is an uninspiring act of mundanity (is that a word? Well it is now). The course layout has few memorable holes or features, the conditions are better than some, worse than others, and pace of play is neither speedy nor sloth-like. The staff is friendly enough, the on-site amenities are just ok, and the cost to play reflects all of the above.

The design of the course is very parkland with somewhat narrow, tree-lined fairways, modest elevation changes, a few water hazards, and bunkers sprinkled here and there to give a pale illusion of difficulty. As the layout is predictably intertwined with the houses of LOWA (this is a gated community after all) there are several holes with white stakes that you must avoid and lengthy walks between some of the holes (though this course is quite walkable despite this). A week removed, I’m struggling to remember any more holes than the ones I took photos of.

The speed of the greens is inoffensive. Bunkers have enough sand in them to justify their existence. The rough is decently thick and the fairways are cut short enough so as to incentivize you to hit them. The overall conditions are utterly acceptable and nothing more.

The best thing about playing here is actually the food inside the clubhouse. Breakfast served all day is music to my ears and the staff actually undersell the french toast by equating its quality to that of IHOP.

There is no room for a driving range but the putting green and separate pitch/chipping green with practice bunker is an agreeable consolation.

I paid $30 to walk 18 holes, about right for this course, but the 90-minute drive up here would not be worth it on its own. Thankfully there’s Meadow Farms GC just across the street and other courses in the area that I like well enough to venture up this way again, but I’m not sure I’ll include this on my future itinerary.

Over the years the charm and uniqueness of Meadow Farms Golf Club has been reduced as I’m sure the course struggles with the upkeep of so many unique,high-maintenance features. While that makes the course less quirky, the layout itself still holds its own with plenty of diversity in the holes and plenty of shots to utilize to score well here.

The conditions were pretty good the day I played with the greens, fairways, bunkers, rough, and tee boxes all looking well. Signs of heavy traffic were the only detractor. They were spraying the greens with that bluish-green chemical that gets all over your ball and hands but doesn’t really have an impact on play.

The long 600+ yard par-6 is still the draw for me to this course; I love playing such a unique hole that really challenges you to make 4 good swings.

I make it up here about once a year and plan to come again soon.

I play this course a few times a year; it used to be my home course before I moved away. The layout remains solid for a muni course and the more you play it, the more you appreciate its design. Conditions are generally pretty consistent here and despite a very hot and dry summer in the Valley so far, the course maintenance team has done a great job keeping the course very playable with few signs of heat stress. The course can get busy but it’s not too expensive either (especially if you walk or get a GolfNow Hot Deals tee time), making this course a good value.

Heritage Oaks remains the best public course in the Harrisonburg area and I always recommend a visit; and if you live here, a membership.

I played Pendleton Golf Course the afternoon following the end of the British Open (sorry…*ahem* Open Championship!) as a way of seeking an outlet for the game we see on TV that we all wish we could emulate. This was my first time playing here and it turned out to be a perfect choice!

Getting to the course was a bit of a challenge: if you’re coming from the south, Google will direct you down a gated service goat path instead of the course’s long driveway guarded by no less than seven 5-mph speed bumps. This is a small criticism in the grand scheme of things but holy suspension pains, Batman! Please get rid of these!

The course’s website advertises the Thomas Walker layout as “Like playing in Scotland without the airfare.” Well, close. Not sure whoever wrote that headline has actually been to Scotland (full disclosure: I haven’t either) but this course is not the wide open, generally flat Scottish links-style with pot bunkers and massive greens that we associate with St. Andrews and other famous Scottish courses. Instead, this course does bear a resemblance to Irish links, with several blind approach shots, tall fescue grass and mounds guarding many fairways, and many greens that sit more in a bowl than on top of a hill. It’s kind of like a poor-man’s Royal New Kent, and considering RNK is my favorite course in all of Virginia, that’s far from an insult.

The conditions of the course were very good, with only slight signs of browning from the harsh summer heat, the course was holding up quite well. Green speeds were slower as you might expect to save them from roasting; the fairways, bunkers, and rough were in good shape as well. There were some bare drainage ruts here and there but nothing that really affected play.

The staff was very friendly, the amenities onsite just OK (despite a sign pointing me in its direction I never did find the practice putting green). The round was about $50 for a Sunday afternoon, not bad, but not an amazing value either. Because of the unique layout and favorable conditions, I plan to return later this year to play again when it’s a bit cooler.

After years of playing it’s lower-altitude, public-access, sister course Stoney Creek, I finally had an opportunity to play Devil’s Knob. Due to weather and other restrictions, I was only able to get 9 holes in (the back 9) but I believe my overall impression of the course would be unchanged had I played all 18 holes.

The conditions here are just as good as those of Stoney Creek, with satisfyingly fast, smooth greens, groomed bunkers, plush fairways, and even rough and tee boxes throughout. No complaints whatsoever despite playing immediately after a serious downpour. The course drains very well and the lower traffic compared to Stoney Creek means there’s less wear and tear on the course.

The layout, however, was a bit of a disappointment. I was told the back nine was the more technical of the two nines and very often the signature and/or more dynamic holes of any given course are on the back nine as well. This being a mountain course, there was plenty of elevation change to account for. But the straight-up-then-straight-down flow of the holes and lack of creativity really limited the course’s appeal to me, and I am a particular fan of mountain courses. Yet here I found far less diversity in the holes than Stoney Creek and not a lot of thought process needed to route your way through the course. Many of the holes ran together in my mind with a couple looking almost identical. There was also a lack of scenic views that you might expect from a course 3000+ feet above sea level. At least my tee shots went farther.

The staff was excellent. Because of the storm (and other factors) I got to spend plenty of time in the pro shop interacting with the lady there and she was very kind and friendly and was diligent in keeping eyes on the lightning monitor to let everyone know when it was safe to go back out.

As this is technically a private course I generally refrain from giving the course a specific value point. But for the hassle of getting to the course (nearly 30-minute drive up from Stoney Creek) and the fact that the lower course offers GolfNow Hot Deals, I think I’ll stick to it from now on.

I’ve been waiting years to play the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe. First, it was too expensive for my budget, then it was too far away, and for the past two years the conditions haven’t been up to the standard they’ve set with the rest of the course.

But finally today, with recent reviews raving about the conditions and with thunderstorms surrounding the Williamsburg area, the stars aligned for me to finally play here and what an experience it was!

First and foremost, let’s address my primary concern going in and that is the conditions. I’m pleased to report the work they’ve done on the greens has paid off, they are as good if not better than the greens on the Green course, and that is high praise. Perfectly smooth, perfect pace and slope, and fairly easy to read. Putting on these greens was a real joy.

The rest of the course might be in even better condition. Tee boxes are immaculate; your tee just sinks into the ground with the slightest effort. Fairways are lush and buttery smooth. The rough is evenly consistent in thickness and height. The bunkers are exceptionally groomed and filled with a wonderfully heavy, gritty sand that encourages balls out of them rather than swallowing them up swing after swing. Heavy rain towards the end of my round had no effect on playability as the course seems to drain very well.

The next thing to note is that the layout is every bit as good as you’ve heard. Yes, the par-3 16th and par-4 17th are perhaps the best of the bunch but each and every hole has something to offer and it would be difficult for me to narrow down to four as my favorites. More than the strategy involved in scoring on them, each hole is beautifully presented. This is one of the most photogenic courses I’ve ever played and it wasn’t easy to pick just six photos to post here. Though there is still a sizeable gulf between them in every way, this course is more like Augusta National in its look and feel than any other course in Virginia.

As I witnessed during my visits to the Green course, the Gold also offers fantastic amenities, facilities and a professional staff. To get all that plus a world-class course to play for as $69 is an exceptional value (less so if you play in the morning where it can reach $150, but this course certainly warrants that premium).

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked before today if I had played the Gold course at Golden Horseshoe, I wouldn’t have needed any extra to cover my round today. But now I can say I have, that the hype surrounding the course is warranted, and that the course is spectacular! I have written 150 reviews here on Golf Advisor and have only given three courses 5 star ratings across every category. The Gold at Golden Horseshoe is the fourth, it is well-earned and well-deserved!

The name of Pete Dye attached to any golf course strikes fear into the hearts of many a golfer. But Wintonbury Hills Golf Course represents a softer and gentler side of Mr. Dye. That’s not to say it’s a pushover or that his signature design features are absent, but that they’ve been applied in a way that’s not as frustrating as at other courses of his.

The layout here is very good, I really enjoyed the contrast of the open, links-style of the front nine that transitioned to a more traditional parkland, wooded layout on the back nine. This allows the golfer several holes to collect themselves and find their game (especially off the tee) before being challenged for accuracy.

That said, there was one glaring lack of diversity as it pertains to the first two holes of each nine which share such a striking resemblance to each other, you can’t help but assume it was designed that way on purpose and wonder why. #1 and #10 are both straight-ahead, flat par-4s (both very scorable) and #2 and #11 are both uphill, slight dogleg left par-4s that really challenge par.

That quirk aside, the course fits well into the setting, reminding me a bit of TPC River Highlands (the only other Connecticut course I’ve see up close) on some of the holes on the back nine. And while the conditions here aren’t exactly PGA TOUR level, they are quite good for a public course. Tees, fairways, and rough were all in very good shape despite a lot of heat and rain this season. Greens were slower than they appeared but this likely was on purpose to guard against burnout. The iconic Pete Dye bunkers were well-filled with soft-ish sand that’s not overly difficult to hit out of.

I found the staff to be friendly and the cart girl was very attentive. Just one drinking cooler on the front nine had me begging for water by the turn on this hot day but there were more of them on the back nine. I showed up for my tee time with seconds to spare so I did not get a good look at the amenities.

$79 for a midday Friday tee time seemed reasonable for the area, neither a shockingly good deal or a bad one. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone wanting to experience Pete Dye’s design without the aggravation.

It breaks my heart to only give my favorite New England public golf course 4 stars for the first time but the conditions simply don’t warrant 5. The maintenance crew here seem to be doing the best they can with an absolutely awful hand dealt to them by the weather gods this past winter and spring.

Several greens have significant bare spots in them and some of the holes have areas that still can’t be mowed and are oversaturated, hampering play and playability. The rest of the course is still in great shape so it’s by no means bad throughout but certainly not up to what the course usually has.

The staff continues to be great here and the layout is still one of my absolute favorites. Hopefully they can get this course back to the standard I’ve played multiple times. A twilight rate here is still worth the underperforming conditions but if you’re looking to stay-and-play for a few days, maybe hold off for a bit.

After driving through the Hudson River Valley dozens of times en route to NH from VA, I finally decided to check the Empire State off my lists of states I’ve played and after reading several reviews, chose The Lazy Swan as my destination and I’m sure glad I did.

The aspect of this course that drew me to it and that I’ll most remember is the fantastic and unique layout. The signature par-5 7th hole is one of my favorite holes ever with a towering tee shot and nice risk-reward options from the fairway. Back-to-back par-3s on #9 and #10 is highly unusual but this course’s collection of par-3s is so good I didn’t mind in the least.

The diversity continues with driveable (but blind) par-4s, long par-5s, wide open holes and some narrow landing zones. The elevation changes will definitely test your club selection and distance control. Even though it was my first time out there, it was easy to see everything in front of me from the tee on most of the holes. The look and shape of the course made it an absolute joy to play.

The conditions were a bit of a mixed bag. Clearly the course is well-maintained and while the greens were still recovering from aeration that was probably well over a month ago, they rolled smoothly with good speed. It was obvious the course has been working on the bunkers with many of them having fresh sand that’s doing a better job of keeping the weeds out than those bunkers than haven’t been attended to. A couple bunkers were unplayable but properly marked as ground-under-repair.

Tee boxes, fairways, and rough were all in very good shape despite the overall wet conditions. There were two short downpours that came through during my round and the course drained quickly from them both.

The staff here is friendly enough and the facilities are ok but the lack of water on the course, drink cart, and no driving range were noticeable and missed. I got a Hot Deal for $25 on GolfNow, making this an excellent value. I would highly recommend you check out this fun course if you are in the area.

I last played here a month ago when the greens were blazing fast and the pin positions in objectively silly locations. There were also a lot of bare spots and many of the bunkers were a mess.

Today's round showed improvement in all these areas. Much of the course is fleshed out, bunkers were better but still need work, and the pin positions were mostly fair. Add to that the speed of the greens were noticeably slower and the result was a score 15 shots better without playing any better.

But the shape of the greens, especially on the back nine continue to make playing here more of a chore than a leisure activity. This course beats you up, regardless of how well you play it.

The staff continues to be the best part of this course, among the friendliest group of people I've encountered on any course. I really wish the course was as kind as they are.