General’s Ridge Golf Course (Manassas Park, VA on 06/07/18)

I’ve commented a couple times so far this year on my blog about my desire to play more courses in Northern Virginia. Well, it was another sunny workweek and I couldn’t resist the temptation to take a day off and enjoy the sun! Plus, courses would be less crowded and the green fees cheaper, at least compared to a weekend. My first course was purely a convenience course. My afternoon round was at a higher-end course right around the corner, but more on that in my next post! For my morning round, insert General’s Ridge.

It took me a touch under two hours to get to General’s Ridge from Charlottesville. Getting to the course is a little odd because during the last bit you drive through a couple communities before the homes abruptly stop and a natural area begins. And, in that natural area is where the course lies!

I got there about 8:15am and immediately heard the roar of jet engines as I got out of the car! A huge Korean Air Lines plane was banking over the course, headed for what I think was a landing at the nearby Dulles Airport. Really impressive! So, if you are a plane nerd and a golfer then you’ll have your neck bent to the sky during your round. I had some fun trying to get a picture with the course and one of those huge planes in it, but only managed one crooked photo. Really though, it just looks like I dropped my phone and that it happened to take a picture at the same time, ha!

Unfortunately if I’m honest, the excitement of the jumbo airliners and my mad dashes to photograph them were the highlight of my time at General’s Ridge! The course is cut out of the thick woods and sits at the edge of Bull Run, which eventually drains into the Potomac River. As you might expect, the terrain is severe as it drops down to a low point near Bull Run. Bull Run doesn’t come into play at all, but another small creek does.

After the starter told me the course was tight, I ended up experiencing that for myself! The first two holes aren’t bad but besides those, and maybe the 11th, you are in for some target golf. The tree-lined fairways are narrow and you need to land the ball in just the right spot to hopefully get a bounce that allows the ball to stay in play. There are forced layups followed by forced carries and holes where you’ll have to skirt the trees if your shot shape doesn’t match with the dogleg. Plain and simple, General’s Ridge is just a difficult course to keep the ball in play. I lost two golf balls and was ecstatic that it was only two! For reference I played the championship tees which are 73.6/143/6651.

There is no shortage of interesting holes at General’s Ridge. Heck, even the cart ride around this place is nerve-wracking! The cart path was re-routed in one spot and going up the hills I had to give the gas powered cart the beans. That led to a wild ride down the other side! Anyway, I made it around alive and the par-5 4th and 5th holes are probably the most fascinating holes on the front nine.

The 4th is 537 yards but it plays significantly downhill. From the tee, the fairway is blind because of the elevation drop and all I was trying to do is keep it between the tree line. Hit whatever club you are most comfortable with as you don’t need driver. I hit a hybrid off the tee and it went an extra 50 yards, compared to my normal distance! The rest of the hole is just as much downhill as the tee shot, so it will be tough to catch it solid. Who knows, you might end up hitting two irons onto the green! The 5th is 478 yards, but unlike the 4th this par-5 is straight back up the hill. Of course, it is another terrifyingly narrow drive. I hit my hybrid again and in fact I didn’t hit a driver until the 7th.

The back nine continues with more of the same funkiness. The 10th is a tiny double dogleg, par-5 with a green that sits down a low area. I had 100 yards for my 3rd shot from the fairway and couldn’t see any of the green! Likely the strangest hole at General’s Ridge is the par-4 12th. At 362 yards it isn’t terribly long, however it needs two solid iron shots. Basically, it is two par-3’s. The fairway runs out around 210 yards so a long or even mid iron is what you’ll want from the tee. The approach then goes over a creek, which makes its way around the green. I pulled my second shot into the hazard so bailing right will likely be better for your scorecard!

If you can somehow stay patient there are some nice photo opportunities at General’s Ridge, because of the natural setting. The 12th green complex was really scenic and there are plenty of rock features throughout the course that add a nice touch. If you scroll down to my pictures you’ll see what I mean.

Overall, the conditions were fair. For $40 the only complaint I’ll make is about the awful bunkers. Just about every bunker was washed out or looked neglected. There were rocks in them which would tear up a wedge. The staff was out working on them but I think they’d be better off filling in half of them. The championship tee boxes were fine, but other tees were struggling. The fairways and greens were full and added some value to the round. The greens were slow, but they almost had to be with the crazy amount of slope in them.

I won’t go on any more about General’s Ridge, besides saying that it turned out to be one of my least favorite courses in Virginia. It is a mountain style course without any forgiveness. One suggestion I have is to mark all the woods as a hazard, I think that would make a golfer’s day at General’s Ridge more enjoyable. I always enjoy the thrill of a new course, but one round here was plenty!

#1 (363 yard par 4):