GreatHoles
No.18
K
KINLOCH GOLF CLUB
by DAVID PARTRIDGE
inloch Golf Club in Manakin Sabot will host the 2020
U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in September. Two
hundred and fifty-six of the finest mid-amateurs in
the world (aged 25 and older) will come to Kinloch
in hopes of becoming one of 64 players to advance
to match play to compete for the national championship. Two
qualifying rounds, one at Kinloch and one at the co-host venue,
Independence Golf Club, will determine the golfers who progress
to match play, all of which will be conducted at Kinloch.
Opening in 2001 to rave reviews both for its marvelous design
and immaculate conditioning, Kinloch was named the Best New
Private Golf Club in America that year and since that time, the club
has amassed prolific awards including recognition among the Top
100 Courses in America from 2005 to the present and being named
the best course in Virginia from 2011 through 2019. Designed by
Lester George in collaboration with Vinny Giles, one of the found-
ers of the club and one of the greatest amateur golfers of all time,
Kinloch is an outstanding test of golf that will be an ideal host for
this prestigious championship.
Despite its relatively short history, the Mid-Amateur will
be the second national championship held at Kinloch, having
previously hosted the 2011 U.S. Senior Amateur. An ardent sup-
porter of golf and steadfast in its commitment to the honorable
traditions of the game, Kinloch has also been the venue for many
other premier events including the VSGA Amateur, the Middle
Atlantic Amateur and Senior Amateur, and the Captain’s Putter
Team Matches.
In preparation for the U.S. Mid, Kinloch decided to strengthen
its already challenging finishing hole by lengthening it from 422
yards to 450 yards and adding a fairway bunker. In a testament to
the superb test of golf Kinloch presents to players, the course now
has seven par-4s of 447 yards or longer and measures 7,373 yards
from the tips. The 18th at Kinloch is an outstanding driving hole that
demands both distance and accuracy. To reach the flat of the fairway
vsga.org
from the championship
tee—and thereby gain
any roll and moreover
avoid the risk of the ball
being rejected into the
YARDAGES
punishing Kentucky
Bluegrass rough or the
Black:
Blue:
water on the left—the
450/422
375 yards
drive must carry at
yards
least 260 yards. The
White:
visually intimidating
Gold:
350 yards
400 yards
tee shot is made even
more daunting by a
Red:
310 yards
huge, encroaching
sentinel tree along
with three perfectly
positioned fairway bunkers on the right as well as Kinloch Lake
that borders the entire left side of the hole.
Even after a strong drive, the 18th commands a long, challeng-
ing approach to a green protected by sand and water. The putting
surface, which evokes the feeling of a timeless, William Flynn
designed green, is large and unusually deep—and thus it provides
a multitude of excellent hole locations—contains a strategic ridge
along with just enough pitch to test the player without being
extreme. While always a strong hole in the past, following the
recent enhancements the 18th at Kinloch has now been elevated to
the pantheon of truly outstanding golf holes in the commonwealth.
This classic design, in combination with the spectacular 16th and
17th holes, creates the perfect closing crescendo to the magnificent
course that is Kinloch Golf Club.
PAR 4
A five-time VSGA Player of the Year, David Partridge was recently
elected to the Virginia Golf Hall of fame. David lives in the
Richmond area and works as a mortgage banker.
M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 0 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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