GreatHoles
by DAVID PARTRIDGE
T
he Golden Eagle Golf Club in Irvington has long
been considered one of the best-designed courses
in the commonwealth. Part of the historic Tides
Inn that dates back more than 65 years, The Golden
Eagle was laid out by famed architect George W.
Cobb and opened for play in 1976.
A prolific designer with well over 100 courses to his credit
including such classics as Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte (the
site of the Wells Fargo Championship and the 2017 PGA Cham-
pionship) and Green Island Country Club (venue for the former
Southern Open for over 20 years on the tour), Cobb is perhaps
most famous for serving as the design consultant at Augusta
National Golf Club for more than 20 years. While there Cobb
created the wonderful par-3 course that has been a special part
of the Masters Week since 1960.
Carved out of beautiful wooded landscape and built around a
50-acre lake, The Golden Eagle features a number of dramatic
elevation changes, strategically placed bunkers, and numerous
water hazards. The course is a superb test of golf that Cobb
considered one of his best creations. Cobb’s routing includes a
number of outstanding holes and certainly one of the best is the
splendid par-4 5th that is among the finest four pars in Virginia.
A classic cape hole made even more challenging given its
length, the golfer must carry his/her tee shot over the large
5
lake that borders the
entire left side of the
hole. Players who take
a more conservative
line of play off the tee
not only bring the huge
trees that hug the right
side of the fairway into
play, but also create a
longer, more demand-
ing approach shot.
YARDAGES
The green is well
protected by two large
Gold:
White:
flanking bunkers on
445 yards
412 yards
the right and water on
the left. The putting
Blue:
Red:
surface slopes toward
428 yards
361
yards
the water so golfers
who bail out to the
right will face a diffi-
cult recovery from the sand or deep bermuda rough. Trouble
abounds on this difficult hole where par is always a great score.
The Golden Eagle Golf Club is an avid supporter of the VSGA
and has been the venue for numerous state championships
including two State Amateurs, the VSGA Four-Ball and Senior
Four-ball events, as well as the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play
Championship. It is also a regular site for VSGA One-Day Events
and this year Golden Eagle will host a One-Day on August 29;
register early at VSGA.org as this is always a very popular site.
PAR 4
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 Richmond
area and works as a mortgage banker.
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V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U ST 2 0 1 9
vsga.org
No. 5
GOLDEN EAGLE
GOLF CLUB