I played here on 09/15/12 from the back tees at 70.7/123/6346. I am new to Central Virginia and like to play new places, so I figured that I would take a $23 time on golfnow and give this place a try. The course sits in the Shenandoah Valley and has gorgeous views of the area from many spots on the course which is not spoiled by homes. Standing on the tee on #1 I had to stop and take in the views as it was a very peaceful setting. I enjoyed the open layout off the tee as a wayward shot was playable on most of the holes and I liked the elevation change of the uphill and downhill holes. The course layout was pretty straightforward without too many tricks. The course is short (<6400 yards) and sits at some elevation so it played even shorter than that so it was a fun place to play and I felt good about my game as I had a good score. Hole #1 is a short, downhill par 4 that is drivable and there are some reachable par 5’s which made for what I thought was a great layout. There were a couple holes that tested my game too and #9 (a long dogleg left par 4) and #12 through #14 went through the woods and put a bigger emphasis on accuracy. I really enjoyed playing #16 which had a great view of the area. The course ended with a par 3 which is a design feature that I am starting to like more and more. Hole #18 was a 191 par 3 that played slightly uphill and the green had an amphitheater type setting. That is all the good about the course, but even with that I probably will not be coming back as it was just too far to drive to play with very poor conditions. The greens were in good shape considering the rest of the course so no complaints there, but the tee boxes, fairways, and rough were the worst conditioned of any of the ~50 courses that I have played so far this year. The staff was very nice and accommodating and I got the feeling that this course was a “mom and pop” run course probably with a small budget so I hate being so truthful about the condition, but the maintenance was terrible. I hit 10 fairways and 7 or 8 times I ended up in a dirt patch surrounded by crab grass and an inconsistent mixture of other grasses. The conditions certainly cost a few strokes. I got around in 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon which is as quick as I am going to play and had a good round so it was a good day, but I do not think I will be going back there play.
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