Prince William Golf Course (Nokesville, VA on 04/14/18)

When it comes to public courses in Virginia that I haven’t played, most are at least an hour and a half drive from Charlottesville. Included in that list are many of the Northern Virginia courses, which I haven’t targeted for various reasons. But, I’m going to have to tolerate the overcrowded and overpriced courses up that way if I want to continue finding new to me courses! Prince William is one of the closest Northern Virginia courses to Charlottesville, so it made sense to start there.

I had to hurry over here as my morning round finished later than I expected. When I got to Prince William, it was a madhouse! Cars were parked in the grass, carts were all over the place and multiple groups were lined up by the first tee.

I could have guessed it wasn’t going to be a fast round since it was such a nice day, but it was looking really ugly from a pace of play standpoint when I arrived at the course. I checked in and was told they were running behind (no surprise there). I found the rest of my group and we teed off around 2:15. I turned my car on shortly after 7:30, and the epically long round is one of the things I’ll remember most about Prince William!

I was talking with a friend after my round and poor pace of play here has been his experience on a regular basis. What’s funny is that the course maxes out at 6,266 yards, so it wasn’t as if everyone was playing a monster track! There doesn’t seem to be any denying the slow rounds here, so don’t say I didn’t warn you if you roll the dice and play here!

The pace of play issue aside, I enjoyed Prince William’s design. The course was built in 1967 and has many “older” design characteristics. For example, the course layout is compact with some parallel fairways and tees that are close to the greens. I tried to find out who designed Prince William, but from what I found I don’t think there really is a designer. The course website says that the Prince William was designed by a bunch of farmers!

Our group played the blue tees which are 70.0/129/6266. Even though Prince William isn’t the longest course, it isn’t a pushover either, as it is a par 70. While you don’t need to hit driver after driver, you can if you’d like. The front nine is a par 34 with two par 3’s and the rest par 4’s while the back nine is more traditional in regards to the par and the yardage. In fact, you don’t play the first par 5 until the 12th hole! And, when you get there you will probably be wishing for another par 4, as the 12th is 583 yards!

The wind was howling when I played so it was pretty much just hit the ball and hope that I could find it. Thankfully, there is plenty of space around the course to find wayward shots. I think that on a calmer day you could have a good day on the scorecard if you can figure out the greens. I won’t say the course is easy, as uneven lies abound and the greens have cups and cups of break. I had quite a few short putts where I had to play at least a cup of break! Just about every green slopes from back to front and drops off severely over the back edge. My advice for playing here is to miss short of the greens!

I don’t think there is a signature hole at Prince William, but there are a couple to remember. From a scenery perspective the 3rd and 14th are on a quieter corner of the property. The 3rd is a shortish par 4 with woods to the right. You can layup off the tee, but if you miss to the left then you’ll have a longer approach over a pond. The green is tucked into a hillside and has a good look to it! The 14th is close to the 3rd and it is a 208 yard par 3 that plays downhill. That green complex is framed by a line of pines and is another spot to pause and enjoy the course.

The 9th, a 396 yard par 4, is probably the best test at Prince William. The tee shot plays downhill to the fairway before the approach goes back uphill to the green. The landing area is blind and around 240 yards out a creek cuts across the fairway. Since it is a blind tee shot, you’d be better off laying up your first time around. From there, it is a mid iron from a downhill lie and we know that is always tricky! If you are a big hitter or playing well you can try to carry the creek and reward yourself with an uphill lie.

I was impressed with the conditions at Prince William, considering that I think it is a county course and that I only paid $40. I see it is managed by Billy Casper Golf – so I’m not sure of the exact relationship between the county and BCG. The course was a beautiful green color as there is very little bermuda and pine trees line many of the holes. The fairways were full and didn’t have many divots while the greens were smooth and quick. The ground was firm and I struggled to control the ball after it landed. Drives bounded out and I couldn’t get anything close on the greens after a big first bounce. Once we get some rain that should help take the fire out!

Prince William is far from a must play course, but I’m always excited to add a new course to my list. And this one was no different! There are a lot of things that I liked about the course, including the ability to walk it and that I thought it was fair. In the end though, this isn’t a course that you want to play when it is packed. There were carts from all over crisis-crossing too many holes to count and it is a place where you need a hard hat. One of the guys in my group got nailed in the leg by a wayward shot. So be on the lookout for stray shots!

#1 (325 yard par 4):