I finished golfing at Cliff View and headed for I-64, on my way back to Charlottesville. I figured I might have just enough daylight to check out Cliftondale Country Club, a convenient course on the way home. I’ve driven through the area many times but never at the right time to stop and play the course. I decided that at the very least I’d exit the interstate and drive by the course, to see how things looked.

There is a gravel loop across from the course’s parking lot so I circled through that and caught a glimpse of three or four holes. I only saw one group out so I parked the car and went to inquire with the proshop. The proshop was getting ready to close up, but the person working there said it would be $5 if I wanted to walk until dark. That was all I needed to hear, so I paid my money and headed to the 1st tee.

I cruised through the 1st hole, waited a group on the 2nd and then cut over to the 8th. I played the 8th and 9th, before going back to the 3rd. Skipping around worked out well, but does get confusing while playing a new course.

Cliftondale is nine holes and plays as a par-34, with seven par-4’s and two par-3’s. The distance maxes out at 3,007 yards. I couldn’t find out who designed the course but it appears to have been built in the late 1920’s. That makes it very walkable, as the tees are close to the greens. The course has a simple, back and forth routing so you are never too far from the proshop. The holes seemed spaced fine with trees separating them.

There aren’t any holes that are “memorable”, but they all combined to offer a decent test. If you play two times, then the rating is 66.6 and the slope is 106. So, the course isn’t a pushover by any means thanks to some longer holes and small greens. Heck, the 1st is a 452 yard par-4 that is as tight as can be! I thought my bogey was a good score there. Additionally, there are three other 400(ish) yard par-4’s.

Unfortunately, the course had a disheveled appearance when it came to the conditions. The course was playable, but the fairways had a mix of different grasses that were different heights. With all the rain we’ve had some fairways hadn’t been cut and it was hard to tell where the fairway ended and the rough began. The bunkers were halfway overgrown. The greens were solid-looking surfaces and likely a few weeks out of aeration. They rolled fine considering, and at a medium speed.

Even though the course has decent bones, I don’t see any noteworthy reason to stop and play Cliftondale on your travels. However, for less than the cost of a small bucket of range balls you can walk nine holes and enjoy an evening. And, that is never a bad thing!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):