Hell’s Point Golf Club (Virginia Beach, VA on 07/14/18)

I was done with my second round at Heron Ridge shortly before 4pm. By this time I was pooped after the long drive and two of my better rounds in quite some time! I think I expended a bunch of energy worrying about how my good rounds were going to fall apart, ha! I debated what to do next as I was only 10 minutes from Hell’s Point, which is one of the farthest Virginia Beach courses from Charlottesville. Geographically speaking, it made sense for me to check out Hell’s Point since I was so close.

And, that is exactly what I did! I made a wrong turn and got caught in some heavy beach traffic, which ultimately doubled the 10 minute drive. It didn’t really matter as Hell’s Point was like a ghost town when I arrived. My delay meant I had to follow a twosome but we made it around in about 3 hours. It felt like a much longer round because of the difficult design and because I felt like a zombie! I’ve only done 54 holes in a day once before and that was a bit different because I didn’t do a lot of driving that day. On Saturday, I was wiped my whole final round and didn’t feel better until I got some dinner after the round. Apparently, feeling like a zombie helped as I holed shots from everywhere! I took only 25 putts and broke 80 on this frightening layout, so I was super excited all the way home!

Hell’s Point is a Rees Jones course that was built in the 1980’s. The course is set in the wetlands between the beaches to the east and the developed land to the west. The course is probably only a mile or two from the coast so you get that cooler, ocean breeze which is a nice relief on a summer day! The holes are carved from the woods so it is a beautiful and secluded place to golf. There are houses along the 9th hole, but other than that Hell’s Point is in a natural area. Think along the lines of Stumpy Lake or Red Wing Lake for the setting.

The tee shot at the par-4 5th. Good luck!

There are certain golf course names that instill a sense a fear. For example, Purgatory Golf Club in Indiana or Doral’s Blue Monster in Florida are courses with a “scare” factor because of their name. Well, I’d add “Hell’s Point” to that list! I don’t think there was any scary intention behind the name of the course as Hell Point Creek bisects it. I bet Jones probably named the course after the creek, but he sure ended up designing the course with plenty of knee-knocking shots!

Hell’s Point is as tight and narrow of a course as I’ve played in Virginia! Trees line every hole and there are hazards everywhere. The only thing you want to do is keep the ball in play on as many holes as possible, as there is little room to miss. I played the black tees which are 72.6/133/6766. The rating and slope seem low to me, but I don’t hit a straight tee ball so that likely influences my comments. And, if you don’t bring one straight shot after another then it is very likely your scorecard will have one big number after another! My strategy was to put the ball in play, at any cost. I never hit my driver and relied on my 3-wood, hybrid and long irons to get the ball in play. My strategy worked out well, so you might consider using whatever club you can to find the fairways. There is also an abundance of bunkers and contour on the greens.

While just about every hole at Hell’s Point makes you play to a target, there are two holes in particular which take the cake. The 5th and the 17th holes are sure to be the most talked about holes in your group! They have water in play and force you to pick a line and hit it solid.

The 5th is a 384 yard par-4 with water all down the left and that water can grab tee shots and approaches. From the black tees it is all carry on the drive and if you bail out to the right then there are bunkers and the woods to deal with. I’ve never played TPC Sawgrass, but the 5th hole strikes me as a miniature version of that hole! It is as nervous a tee shot as I think you’ll find on a course. If you are bold then you can cut the dogleg with a driver and leave a short approach. Just make sure you don’t pull it!

Even though the 17th is one of the shorter par-4’s at Hell’s Point (341 yards) I thought it was one of the course’s most difficult holes. The 17th is similar to the 5th, except it doglegs to the right and is about 40 yards shorter. Water goes all the way down the right side and when standing on the tee it looks like there isn’t any fairway to hit to! The fairway angles to the right so you either need to layup with a mid iron to a narrow section, hit a longer club to a slightly fatter part of the fairway or try to carry as much of the hazard as possible. I enjoy options but it seems all those options had the same amount of risk – a lot. You can drive it through the fairway quite easily, which honestly might not be a bad play. Then, if you hit the fairway don’t go right on the approach. I played it as two par-3’s and hit a 5 iron and 8 iron. I don’t know if there is a good way to play that hole, besides gritting your teeth and trying to hit it straight!

Regarding the conditions, I wasn’t expecting much! I read review after review that Hell’s Point doesn’t drain well so I expected to slosh my way around. I guess I must have caught it at a good time because just a handful of spots were squishy and almost everything looked great. The conditions impressed me, especially the fairways. Without a doubt, the fairways are the best that I’ve played in Virginia this year! They were lush and the ball sat up. I could tell they had some moisture to them as I took hefty divots, which is unusual for me on bermuda grass. The greens were full and rolled well, just slower as you’d expect this time of year. The one exception to the solid maintenance is that multiple tee boxes were sanded. The conditioning was well worth the $29 green fee.

I’m not usually a Rees Jones design fan and he didn’t do anything at Hell’s Point to win me over. Hell’s Point is one of those courses that is too tough for the average golfer. If you are a straight hitter then I think you might enjoy taking your friends’ cash here. However, if you are like most golfers and spray the ball then it is going to be a long day. Only you will be able to determine if losing a bunch of golf balls is worth it to check out the fantastic setting!
#1 (511 yard par 5):