Windy Hill Sports Complex: Lake Course (Midlothian, VA on 10/07/17)

I was in the car for about a half hour and got the bug for more golf! I remembered that Windy Hill has a couple nine hole courses and it was on my way home. I thought that if things went perfectly, I’d be able to knock both nines off my list of courses to play.

I got there with just enough daylight left to play the Lake course before I planned to play their par 3 course at night. Yes, they have a lighted par 3 course! The sports complex actually has all other sorts of things to do for the whole family. There is mini golf, batting cages, go karts, a lighted range, these courses and I’m sure other activities that I didn’t see!

The lighted par 3 course interested me the most as I’ve always wanted to try night golf. But, darkness wouldn’t fall for another hour so I had to do something with that time. I figured I had just enough daylight to hoof it around the Lake course before playing the par 3 course under the lights, so that is what I tried to do. I say “tried” because ultimately my plan didn’t work out, but I did manage to play the Lake course without losing a ball due to darkness!

The Lake course is the facility’s “regulation” course. I had to look up the definition of a regulation course and from what I found, the Lake course is indeed a “regulation course”, just a short one. The course is a par 35 with three par 3’s, four par 4’s, and two par 5’s. Even from the blues tees the distance shouldn’t be a problem as it only plays 2,670 yards. For 18 holes, the course has a rating of 65.2 and a slope of 113 from the blue tees.

Both courses sit on the backside of the wooded property and the Lake course makes an outer loop, while the par 3 course makes an inner loop. The Lake course, as the name indicates, has a small lake that is the centerpiece for the nine. The greens are small and mounding is the main design “theme” that I noticed. It had the look of a mini Rees Jones course!

The 1st is a reachable par 5 that plays downhill, maybe 100 feet if I had to guess. I hit driver and 6 iron onto the green so it allows the chance for a good start if you get the tee shot in play. The 2nd is a 165 yard par 3 that needs a carry over the lake to the green. The 4th is a 137 yard par 3 and also has the lake in play to the left. The par 5 9th is probably the other hole worth mentioning. It climbs back up to the clubhouse and needs a precise drive down the left side of the fairway. The slope will feed the ball right and then you may be able to get to the green in two. Like many of the other green complexes, the 9th is framed by mounds.

I didn’t find any of the par 4’s all that interesting as they are tight, have sloping fairways, and three of the four are 345 yards or less. Driver isn’t really the play off the tee on these holes, but who wants to layup?!

The conditions were fair. For $18 so late in the day, I expected a bit more. Everything was firm, fast, and dry with some bare spots off the fairways. The fairways were cut short but gave huge first hops and the ball went sideways a couple times for me after landing. The greens were slick and rolled well, definitely the highlight of the maintenance. The greens had that trickle to them and oddly, they were quicker than Cypress Creek!

My real reason for playing the Lake course was to occupy that hour so that I could play the lighted par 3 course. Sadly, that didn’t work as there was a haunted trail on the par 3 course and it was closed for the night. That was disappointing for sure, but I’m hopeful I can play it one of these days. Overall, the Lake course wasn’t for me. It is a good test of precision with tree lined fairways and small greens, but I’m looking for a more relaxing round and easier walk if playing nine holes.

#1 (463 yard par 5):