JustaGOONER

So the good -

Grass everywhere, minimal GUR locations.
Located on the property so leave the hotel and go play.
My coworker was loaned the pro's clubs to play since he couldn't bring his from Cali and when we were making the turn, my playing partner's sugar, who has type 1 diabetes, was crashing, so we stopped into the pro shop to see if they had anything and the pro loaded him up with snacks. Nice touch of humanity.
Free water, towels on the carts, etc.
The guy's manning the starter house were super as well.

The bad -

Greens were punched two days before we showed up. No mention of this at all. $89 for punched greens? That's a bit tacky for me. The round came with a dozen Callaway Super Soft balls that I don't play, so will give them away or maybe play them in the winter.
The course was lacking attention to detail, bunkers edging, etc. the only reason these stick out more for me is this is the WORLD GOLF VILLAGE.

If we would have had time after the day's work to go and play elsewhere, prolly would have played this one time. As it is, we played it all week due to time constraints.

Haven’t played here in a few years. In that time they have replaced all the greens and all the bunkers. So the greens I was hearing a lot of complaints about, very hard, very fast, etc. and having played them now, I think a high handicapper wouldn’t like that kind of green. To be fair, not a single green in regulation left a mark on the green so they are indeed stiff but mostly true. We’ve had some very cold spells so they weren’t mowed and rolled when I played. Things are starting to get to dormancy here on the piedmont, so I will definitely check it out next summer.

A very typical rolling, tight, elevation changing Virginia course.

Go. Play.

So if no one told me prior, I would have no problem believing the front 9 was designed by Mike Strantz. What a great test that just rolls with the landscape. Greens are very good, true and varied in size from tea cups to large ones.

The back nine is nearly completely different to the front nine. You get to number 11 tee and viola! Wide open Florida like holes. It tightens back up on 15 and 16, but opens again for 17, and 18 is an old school finisher to the clubhouse.

So I gave the pace of play a 5, but, I got stuck behind a threesome that watched me, a walking single, walk up to the tee while they were still on the tee, from number 4 all the way until the 18. Just no golf etiquette at all. Annoying but it was still only just over a 4 hour round.

Gonna play this again, maybe early in the week when it isn’t solid from tee to green on each hole.

I would have no problem if someone told me Mike Strantz designed the front 9, just goes with the landscape, tons of blind shots, lots of elevation changes, and does not suit the long ball hitter at all. It certainly suits the player who can control their ball, because you have to think your way around the front and out of position will hurt you badly.

And after the 10th hole, viola!, wide open almost Florida like course until the 15th where it is ball placement again. The par 5 16th is interesting with the double fairway, and a tea cup sized green.

All the greens were true, some massive, some tea cups and all in excellent shape. Bunkers were ok, I don’t get into them often when I play, but maybe the edges could have been crisper.

Practice areas are ok, I didn’t see a bunker to practice out of, the putting green is a little crazy on the side of a small hill, and the range is ok.

Has a restaurant, didn’t try it, the guy at the counter was very nice, I was stuck behind a 3 some, who refused to wave me through even though I was on the tee box with them at every par 3 and many par 4’s. At the turn I mentioned it to him and he gave me a 9 hole coupon. He didn’t have to do that, but much appreciated. All in all, it was about a 4 hour round and I was walking, so you can play this pretty quick if you ride.

Gonna have to come back and play this on an early weekday when the player traffic is lighter.

So birkdale is always known for a couple things, pace of play is always slow, that’s simply due to the amount of players usually here. The second thing is the layout, fun and challenging in my opinion.

Here’s the rub.

No Marshall. I played behind a 3 some that look, frankly sucked. Left, right, shank, chunk, etc. I waited on every single shot except the last hole because the cart guy ran them in. I was walking by myself. They knew I was waiting for them every time.

Greens were poor, lots of dead spots in the fairway.

And a cardinal sin for ANY golf course is not providing water on the course during summer months. That just should never, ever happen. There was no water and no drink cart.

The staff are always friendly, I couldn’t care less really. They can be unprofessional and the course can be amazing and you’ll forget all about them.

“Off course amenities”? What does that even mean? 🙄

Still, a fun track now and then.

Look, 244 yard par 3’s? Yes please!

Haven’t played it in a lot of years, so decided to get a change of pace from my home course. Brickshire is right down the street from the glorious nightmare that is Royal New Kent. They share a couple similarities in blind shots, undulating fairways that you MUST get your ball into the right place or it’s over for that hole.

The conditions were perfect. So much variety in the course, some par 4 holes are long and some are short. You have to think your way around this course. 18 is a fantastic hole, a great finishing green that dares you to try to reach in two. Don’t do it. It’s an easy birdie hole if you take the right approach.

Cheers, Logan, thanks for letting me wait out that storm while on 9th tee.

After playing this for a 4th time, these are my favorite greens. Subtle undulations and tricky reads. Fairways are good, a little drier than I expected, but everything else is worth the money. Old school course, just isn’t busy like a municipal course.

I am close to joining this club.

Go check it out.

Cheers

I’ve played here a few times now. The range is good, but you will have to adjust for yardages as it is well below the hitting area.

The course is always in great shape, the tee boxes are level, the fairways are clean and the greens are some of the best in the area, fast and true.

What I truly do not understand is why they renovated the 19 hole but it is NEVER open. Ever. Like EVER.

This used to be a private club and they, like many, have allowed public play for a semi private experience so maybe they just used the 19 hole for member events...???

The big disappointment with this is that there is NOTHING near the course for eats and drinks. With all the play, why would they not provide that for pre or post play?

They did have a refreshment cart yesterday, so that was a nice change of pace, but why the 19th hole isn’t available is pretty baffling to me.

Well worth the trek through the countryside to get to it.

3 sets of 9 holes. Blue and white are very challenging, red is straightforward.

The greens suck and they always have. Each one is different, slow, fast, in between, very unpredictable. Bunkers, they aren’t Florida fluffy white sand and rarely raked by the machines.

But the good would be the layouts. Good for an MWR funded course.

New clubhouse, that’s it. Nothing else is different. Range balls are totally ridiculous. You can get range balls from Independence Golf Course cheaper and these two courses aren’t even in the same universe.

Still, if you are a beginner and/or are working on your short game, not a terrible track, but not a course that I would revisit a lot, like Vineterra, or Dogwood Trace, which offer comparable pricing.

I’ve played this course many, many times. For the most part, it is a very good layout with a wide variety of club selections.

So the good -

Layout is excellent in that you have some links style fairways, old school holes, and almost no gimmies. Really, it isn’t some high class track, but they try to keep things on good shape.

So the bad -

My only enduring complaint, and it will continue for the foreseeable future, is the greens. They are WONDERFULLY shaped and sloped, but they never roll them. So In the sense of true roll, you get some unpredictability in most of your putts. I like 12+ on my meter. Fast and true are my preference.

If you can get on the base, play it.

Every club but the 4 iron can used here. Variations and elevations really help and waste land between the tee and green on 1,2 and 9 which all have false fronts really present the mental challenge.

Fun course, well worth the money and you can go around a few times if your up for it. I did 4 trips and was glad I did.

Might check out the main course someday.

Fully private club that let me come out and see it. Layout is good and you have lots of shot shaping opportunities. I hope seeing these member for a day tee times means they are considering semi private going forward.

Attendants are all very welcoming and friendly. Even if they weren’t the course is worth seeing.

Cheers

Didn’t play very well at all, but got to see the course.

The good -
They have endless, new range balls and things to aim at, a field goal post, flags, metal signs, among other things
Greens are certainly proper. Fast, true.
Sand traps are proper, raked and unpacked even with all the rain
Tee boxes are perfectly flat and mowed
Maintenance is apparent
I drove a green on a short par 4

The bad
I still think it is way over priced. You can play The Golden Horseshoe for less and it is an elite course, and once a PGA tour stop back in the day.

The interesting
The marshal rides in a Lexus

The conclusion
I’d play it again, preferably in the warmer months but not for $100. The club is missing out on a LOT of potential play IMO by pricing it so high. It just isn’t an elite course. For comparison, Kiskiack’s greens are just as good, layout is similar and they charge no more than $50, often $25. Meadowbrook, a private course with a similar layout, less the same elevation changes, excellent greens, will let you play for less than $50. For me, Independence, while a nice course, is a badly overpriced golf course that needs to pay for the Lexus and the massive clubhouse somehow.

Always love this track. Haven’t played it in a couple years so the front 9 and back 9 were reversed then. I suppose it finishes better with 18 now near the clubhouse, but they took out the tree that would make you think about your tee shot. That’s a little disappointing, but now 18 is basically a links style hole.

Still, the greens, while beat up quite a bit from the enormous amount of play they see every day, rolled true and fast.

The pace of play was ridiculous. Tee time of 1340hrs and it was nearly dusk (1830-1845hrs) when I finished. The 4some in front never waved me through and I was pushing them very hard. Oh well, I have played here 20 times and there is never a Marshall so it is up to the players to figure it out.

I like the course. It is a classic Virginia layout. Narrow fairways and undulating greens, but not the crazy roller coasters they created at Magnolia Green. I like this course and almost everything about it.

My issues are the greens, good and firm but need better policing. Divots not repaired, etc. As for the water, it is a crime to have moldy and dirty coolers on the course when it is hot out. Clearly they are not refreshing and disinfecting the water coolers EVERY SINGLE DAY.

That should be unacceptable in any club.

Otherwise it is a great track in the middle of nowhere almost. Not much around it but houses.

No food/drink cart, ever any of the times I have played it. Maybe they save that for the tourneys.

Cheers

Course was wet so sloppy and it can be hard to keep it pristine as it almost awaits is.

Now......the greens here are some of the best in the area but it appears they are losing them. I really hope they don’t as that is the best part of the course IMHBAO.

Always great course conditions and the 19th hole is special as well.

Great folks, course is always good but was recovering from aerating but greens are always true.

Would love to see the LPGA give it a look. Not quite long enough for the PGA hitters but a great venue for spectators.

GO.PLAY.

Well, the weather was SUPPOSED to be 52 and sunny but the skies never cleared up and it stayed pretty cold. That said, if the weather would have been sunny, I feel the day would have been nearly perfect.

First time playing Ford's Colony and the Blackheath course layout is fabulous. I didn't feel like any one hole was the same as another. Great club selection course and I hope to play it next year in the summer.

Greens were challenging but fair and true.

Go and play it, after the round, get a meal and drink from Murdoch's. Granted I was pretty hungry but one of the best burgers in a while.

I love this course. Everything about it. I give 3 for the amenities because the 19th hole isn't open as they are between management.

Otherwise this course has all you could want. Great practice facilities and range, risk reward holes, elevation changes and challenging but fair greens.

This time of year in Virginia the rough will swallow your ball, so stay in the short stuff.

This course is absolutely worth the trip. Will play is many times in the future.

Cheers