Meadows Farms Golf Course (Locust Grove, VA on 06/30/13)

The forecast called for thunderstorms so I took a look at the radar before calling the course. The storms looked to be east of the course so I decided to make the hour drive to take advantage of the $32 twilight rate. The proshop was able to get me out right away and sent me off the “Longest Hole” nine. There are three nines here each with a theme. The Longest Hole nine plays a whooping 3909 yards while the other nines play much shorter. The 1st hole is a medium length par 4 over a rise in the fairway and the 2nd is a monster par 4 that played 478 yards. The 3rd is the signature hole and plays as an 841 yard par 6. I have only played one other par 6 in my years golfing and that was the last at Lake Chabot Golf Course in Oakland. My first thought is that a par 6 is a bit hokey and designed just to make a course different. This par 6 was brilliantly designed as it needed an accurate tee shot and a 2nd shot over a pond around a dogleg. This could give the option to go for the green in three shots. The fairway sloped from one side to the other so the third shot would be played from an uneven lie over another pond. I didn’t have the angle to get to the green in three so I laid up and it is the only time that I didn’t mind hitting my 4th shot from 125 yards. The nine had some other quality holes with different features. The 4th is a par 3 where the green is surrounded by mounds and domestic vegetation and the 5th is a par 4 that plays up the hill. The 7th is a severe downhill par 4 that tests the short game and the 8th has to be one of the toughest on the course. The 8th is a 408 yard par 4 with a tight fairway on each side. The 9th is a par 5 that has a large green where someone can use the slope to get creative on short game shots. The bunkers created some nice visuals with some circles and railroad ties in them.

After the Longest Hole nine I headed over the “Island Green” nine. There is a warm up hole I think because I played a hole near the proshop and then found myself next to the tee box on the 1st which was about 400 yards away from the proshop. That was confusing, but it helped space me out a bit from the group in front. The Island Green nine picks up right away with another green that slopes from right to left on the 1st. I played my approach 20 feet right of the flag and it ended up 10 feet left of the hole. The 2nd is a par 3 to an island green where I really had to trust the yardage. I would say the 4th is the only “bad” hole of the 18 that I played because it had a blind fairway that moved right and the pin was in a bowl in the back where all shots rolled off the green. The 5th hole is a downhill par 3 to another green surrounded by water on three sides while the 8th has some church pew mounding down the left side of the fairway which I liked. The 9th is a 479 yard par 4 over a hazard which I think is just a bit too tough. I like stepping off the course feeling good and wanting to come back so an opportunity for a high score here isn’t my thing. This nine played only 3105 yards but it tested distance control with the irons and had some scoring holes.

The course is a novelty course with the par 6 and the island greens. In addition, the other nine had a par 3 that played over a waterfall and another par 3 that was themed after a baseball diamond. As far as the design, challenge, and reward for good shots the course would keep me coming back. I loved that it was open off the tee and a wayward drive could be found on most holes. I was disappointed with the conditions, especially the tee boxes. Most boxes were dirt with patches of grass so I had to tee the ball up a little more normal and avoid grounding the club. If I grounded the club the patches of grass would catch the club on the backswing and throw off my swing. The fairways were just starting to green up and resulted in a good lie but the greens were slow and had quite a few ball marks. I was able to make some putts because the greens didn’t bump offline but were slow. Most likely, I will will not be back as there are plenty of other courses in better condition within an hour of me but I really enjoyed the layout.

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