5 Virginia Golf Courses to Enjoy This Fall

As the long, hot summer gives way to fall, it is the perfect time to break out those golf clubs! Fall temperatures are wonderful for a comfortable, leisurely round of 18 holes.

Virginia is one of the best places for golf in the fall—enjoy the cooler days, the gorgeous fall foliage, and some of the best golf courses in the country. Here is our guide to the five best courses around the state of Virginia for this fall golf season.

1. Kinloch Golf Club

While there is, naturally, debate when ranking courses statewide, Kinloch Golf Club is undisputedly the top course in the state and among the best in the country. Enthusiasts laud the excellent design of the course which offers many risk-versus-reward holes and fast greens that are maintained in perfect condition during the playing season.

The course winds through the rolling hills and pine woods just north of Richmond, Virginia. Course designers Lester George and Vinny Giles preserved the natural landscape by moving just a minimal amount of earth during the course’s creation in 2001.

A pleasant surprise at the end of the course is an actual 19 ^th hole—a 188-yard par three that goes over the lake and is commonly known as the “settle-the-bet” hole. A round of golf at Kinloch in the cool temperatures and bright foliage of fall is pure pleasure for any golf enthusiast.

2. The Olde Farm

Though it opened relatively recently, in 2000, The Olde Farm is a course deep-rooted in history. Built by well-known course architect, Bobby Weed, the course lies in a valley that was frequently used as a thoroughfare by the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The course is only a par 71, but there are plenty of demanding holes that require a long, straight shot to reach the green.

Course membership is highly sought-after, and new members are initiated with what is called the marble ceremony, created by the course’s founder, Jim McGlothlin. Each new member must reach blindly into a bag containing one blue marble and one gray marble. The color of the marble they choose determines the side they will play for in the annual Interclub Tournament—the Union or the Confederacy.

Though the war waged on the course soil may be long over, the spirit of competition still lives on.

3. Robert Trent Jones Golf Club

The name Robert Trent Jones is arguably the most recognized in the world for distinctive golf architecture. It was late in his life when the legendary Jones came across the 850 acres of land that would become his namesake course.

Beautifully positioned on the banks of Lake Manassas, this course features all of Jones’s hallmark design traits—large fairways and greens, plenty of water hazards, and challenging bunker complexes. Some jaded players may think if you’ve played one RTJ course, you’ve played them all, but those players will miss the enjoyment of playing a course that features each of his signature design elements in their highest form.

4. The Cascades Course at the Omni Homestead Resort

Nestled in the foothills of Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains, the Homestead Resort is the perfect, cozy mountain retreat, and the Cascades course is the main attraction for golf enthusiasts. The course may look completely natural, winding effortlessly through its surroundings of woods, streams, and rocks, but the creation was anything but effortless. Course designer William S. Flynn spent over a year blasting his way through the layers of limestone to carve his ideal course, which eventually opened in 1923.

Though Robert Trent Jones did a course redesign in 1961, it has since been returned to Flynn’s original design. As recently as this year, the course embarked on a tree removal plan to reveal more hidden streams and offer more route selection on each hole. With so many sloping greens and natural hazards, the Cascades is not a course that can be mastered in just one round—you’ll want to return year after year to try again.

5. The Highland Course at Primland

Though often compared with the Cascades, this mountain course easily stands on its own. Course designer Martin Ebert skillfully utilized the 12,000 acres of the Blue Ridge Mountains to create a course that would demand the utmost skill and focus. With fairways that run on top of high ridges and down into the shaded valleys, each hole offers unique challenges that will keep even the most experienced golfer engaged from the first tee to the last. The Primland Resort is full of relaxing outdoor pursuits, but the Highland Course absolutely should not be missed.

Final Thoughts

Virginia is well-known as a golfer’s paradise, but arguably the best time to play is coming up soon. The days may be shorter but, at these five courses in Virginia, the golf is still excellent in the fall!