Like many holes at Potomac Shores, the par-3 fourth
requires precise distance control.
First Look
A
eight years has passed since the initial
battalion of bulldozers roared to life on a
practically perfect property back in 2006. It’s
been a circuitous journey to that time before
arriving at the widely-anticipated official
opening of the course in May.
And right from the start, there has been
highly justified buzz that it’s already a
potential top 100 public venue nationwide.
So what took so long?
The course was to be the centerpiece
of what is now a 2,000-acre development
scheduled for completion in 2015 that will
also include a town center, retail stores, a
luxury hotel and 3,800 homes, starting at
$600,000 and up.
And then came the disastrous U.S.
recession of 2008. The original developer,
MaLean-based Kettler, simply walked away
from the project, even after $175 million of
infrastructure was already in place. A bank
took over, halting all work on the property
and doing just enough watering and mowing
at the golf course to keep it on life support
for any potential buyers.
RECLAMATION PROJECT RESULTS
IN GOLFING GEM
Finally, in 2011, SunCal, one of the country’s leading developers of master planned
communities and commercial developments, purchased the project for $55 million, replanned the original concept and
The land’s natural terrain and high-arching hardwoods
help to define the playing corridors.
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resumed work. A year later, Englishman
David McGregor, previously the assistant
superintendent at nearby Robert Trent Jones
Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., signed on to
begin the restoration of a Golden Bear golf
course that literally had been in hibernation
for almost three years.
And oh what a splendid job he did.
“The biggest challenge was bringing
the golf course back from being totally
overgrown,” McGregor says. “There were
locust trees that had grown up in bunkers.
Every green had been mowed in an oval,
the lazy person’s way to mow. And we had a
hard time determining the original fairway
perimeters. It was really a mess.”
No longer.
On as gorgeous a late spring day as one
could possibly imagine, the writer, with a 16.2
Handicap Index, joined two other 10-pointsomething handicappers for a delightful
18-hole round on a truly memorable course.
For one, it was in magnificent shape, with
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 4
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well-manicured fairways, quicksilver greens,
rough that’s just tough enough to test a
player’s skill level and virtually pristine teeing
grounds all the way around.
Aesthetically, the course has been built on
a hilly piece of property that has numerous
changes in elevation. The landscape allows
for some breathtaking views from elevated
tees down toward generous fairways, only to
have approach shots being played back up to
slightly elevated green complexes. Like many
Nicklaus courses, bunkers in all the right
places force players to take the aerial route
to the flagsticks as opposed to bumping and
running a ball up toward the hole.
DESIGN DIVERSITY
Only two holes on the entire course run
parallel to each other: the first and the
17th holes. The other 16 are totally distinct
entities, virtually every one of them framed
by mature, tall trees that run from tee to
green. The generous fairways have more
w w w. v s g a . o r g
POTOMAC SHORES GOLF CLUB (2)
At Potomac Shores, nearly