GreatHoles
No. 18
T
ELIZABETH MANOR GOLF
& COUNTRY CLUB
by DAVID PARTRIDGE
he Eastern Amateur is one of the most prestigious
amateur championships conducted annually in the
United States. Drawing elite golfers from not only
throughout the U.S. but also internationally, the
Eastern has been played since 1957 at its permanent
venue: Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club in Portsmouth.
The quality of the Eastern Amateur and the field it attracts is
reflected by the fact that nearly 75 past participants have gone
on to play on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A list
of the superb golfers who have won the Eastern contains many
Virginians including Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins, Vinny Giles,
Tom McKnight, J.P. Leigh III, Roger Newsom, Mikey Moyers,
Joey Lane, Jon Hurst, Steve Liebler and Tom Strange.
The Eastern has been the scene of many exciting finishes over
the years and one of the best occurred in 1973 when then-reign-
ing U.S. Amateur Champion, Vinny Giles—knowing that he had
to make it—holed a 45-yard pitch (with a sharp break, no less)
on the last hole for a birdie to get into a four-man playoff that he
eventually won. While Giles modestly describes the remarkable
shot as “more divine guidance than execution,” anyone who’s
seen Vinny’s short game knows his magical ability for getting the
ball into the hole (and almost always faster than anyone else).
One of the best holes at Elizabeth Manor is the classic-finishing
18th, which at the time of Giles’ heroics was a long par 4 but after
being lengthened slightly, now plays as a par 5. A gentle dog-
leg-right, the tee shot is made difficult by a bordering water haz-
ard on the right and out of bounds on the left. A strong, accurate
vsga.org
drive is vital—both
to avoid the trouble
and also enable the
player to advance his
YARDAGES
second shot over a
crossing lake about
150 yards from the
Gold:
Black:
green—to set up a
454 yards
548 yards
good birdie opportu-
Burgundy/
Green:
nity. Otherwise, the
Silver/White:
472 yards
golfer will be forced
403 yards
to lay up short of the
pond which creates
a long, challenging
third shot.
The green is reasonably generous and well protected by a large
bunker on the left that comes into play anytime the cup is on the
left. The putting surface has multiple strategic slopes that give
this green tons of character and provides numerous, excellent
hole locations. The 18th at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club
is an outstanding hole that has helped produce many of the great
finishes at the Eastern Amateur.
PAR 5
A five-time VSGA Player of the Year and a multi-time winner of
the VSGA Amateur, Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur, David
Partridge is the author of this series. David lives in the Richmond
area and works as a mortgage banker.
J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 19 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
7