Golf in the State of Virginia
Officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, and nicknamed the Old Dominion from its days as the first permanent English Colony in the New World, sits between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, providing unique geographic and climatic conditions influencing the golfing scene. Of the state’s 301 golf courses, 38 are found near Hampton Roads, 31 in capital city Richmond, 16 at Roanoke, 11 at Lynchburg, and several in smaller centers such as Blacksburg with 8, Charlottesville with 7, 5 at Staunton and 4 near Harrisonburg.
Pinecrest Golf Course, Alexandria, close to Washington DC, is a challenging 9-hole executive course due to its many hills and water features. Meadows Farms Golf Course, Locust Grove, features 27 unique holes, fun golf and low fees. Burke Lake Golf Center, Fairfax Station, an 18-hole par 3, gives opportunity to practise the short game. Independence Golf Club, Midlothian, calls itself the “premier public golf course and event venue in Virginia”. For those who enjoy walking, the 9-hole executive Jefferson District Golf Course, Falls Church, invites players to a “gently rolling playing surface with four ponds.” The Algonkian Golf Course, Sterling, invites players to 18 holes along the Potomac.
Pro Lanny Wadkins hails from Richmond, is a member of the Golf Hall of Fame and presently a TV analyst. Curtis Strange, born in Norfolk to a country club owner, is also presently a TV color commentator. Sam Snead, from Ashwood, is considered one of the best to ever hold a club and has a nephew named J.C. Snead, born in Hot Springs, who followed in his footsteps. Donna Andrews, born in Lynchburg, is the first female to be inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame and after a successful stint in the LPGA has retired to become golf instructor at the Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines and near the famous Pinehurst, North Carolina. Billy Hurley III, born in Leesburg, was ranked the world’s 6th best amateur in 1994.