Hunting Hawk Golf Club (Glen Allen, VA on 03/31/18)

If you know me, you know that golf equipment doesn’t really excite me. I pretty much only upgrade my equipment out of necessity! Well, I realized that it was time to replace my wedges and had new ones shipped to my home in Charlottesville earlier this week. I needed to get a half inch added to them, so I headed over to Richmond to get the work done.

I dropped my clubs off, had some lunch and then headed over to Hunting Hawk Golf Club, which is about 10 minutes from the I-64 and I-295 interchange. I played Hunting Hawk back in 2012 shortly after I moved to Virginia, and liked it a lot. I’ve been wanting to make a return trip and this was the perfect opportunity.

As you’ve probably read, the month of March in the Mid-Atlantic was extremely chilly! That means the courses around here with bermuda fairways have not started to green up yet. So, most courses are going to have that all yellow or brown look to them. Part of my reason for getting over to Hunting Hawk this weekend is that they overseed the fairways, meaning that the fairways are green!

The first time I played here was in late October and it was cart path only as the course was in the processing of letting the rye grass grow. Sure enough, this time around I was greeted with views of green fairways walking from the car to the clubhouse! It wasn’t the lushist overseed that I’ve played on, but I’d struggle to name five public courses in Virginia that overseed. I’ll take anything I can get! The fairways actually looked like they were painted. There were dormant bermuda patches, but the fairways were softer and allowed me to dig in with some the short irons. It was great to have some outline of where the fairway started and ended!

Hunting Hawk is a Bill Love golf course and it opened in 2000. Love is a name that I’m becoming more familiar with after five years of living in the Mid-Atlantic. From what I’ve seen of his courses he seems to create a fairer modern course, compared to most architects. And, he doesn’t seem to go too crazy with the bunkers! If I get the chance I’d like to check out some of Love’s other work, including Laurel Hill Golf Club in North Virginia.

It is a shame that I’ve read articles about Hunting Hawk getting sold for a real estate development, because there are a lot of things to like about the course! First, the wooded setting is great and there aren’t any homes. The only homes you might get a glimpse of during the winter months are from the development surrounding The Dominion Club. Between the overseeded fairways and all the pine trees on the property, Hunting Hawk is a very “green” course and would be a good winter choice.

Another thing to like about the course is that it is walkable. It is a tiny bit spread out, but both times that I’ve played it, I’ve walked. There aren’t many walking bridges so you won’t find shortcuts to the fairway, but the land is pretty flat even if going out of your way. There were a fair number of walkers out so you might consider hoofing it. Just don’t try walking to the range, that took me quite a long time!

All the tees here have a “hawk” theme to them. Most are just different color hawks while the tips are called the Talon tees. The first time I played the course I played the Talon tees, which are 72.7/137/6760. From the Talon tees, lengthy holes certainly increase the difficulty. There is a 567 yard par 5, 222 yard par 3, and three long par 4’s.

This time around I tried the Black Hawk tees and those are 71.1/134/6404. To me, it seems Hunting Hawk plays easier than the higher slope. Much of the course has an open feel to it, which is something else that I like. From the first tee you can see parts of maybe five or six holes. Even on the wooded holes, it feels like there is some space. And, that is unusual in Virginia! There is a nice mix of elements to test the game including tricky greens, doglegs, and position holes. Depending on the season, sight lines can be obstructed by the hazards.

There are some tighter holes, specifically the 7th on the front nine, and then a couple on the back nine. Really, the 7th is the only hole that I think could be considered “quirky”. It is 459 yards with a fairway that runs out into some wetlands. The fairway runs out at 255 yards from the Black Hawk tees and starts up again at 305 yards. Tee markers provide distances to the hazard, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I missed the fairway to the right and had to pitch back sideways as overhanging trees blocked me out. I thought I scrambled for a bogey, but then I looked at the scorecard and the 7th is actually a par 5! In fact, there are five par 5’s and five par 3’s at Hunting Hawk.

This time of year a course in the Mid-Atlantic isn’t going to be in super shape. I already described the fairways, which had that comforting green look in the winter. The rough was dormant and the ball sort of sat up, allowing me to catch it cleanly with long irons. The tees were mixed, some being overseeded and others dormant. The greens were aerated about three weeks ago and while the holes had filled in, all the sand that was put down really slowed the greens. For whatever reason, there were a bunch of ball marks this time around. For $35 I wasn’t the least bit disappointed and the course looks to be in a good position going into spring! I say check out Hunting Hawk if you can.

#1 (396 yard par 4):