GREAT Holes
No.6
PAR 3
T
his year, Jefferson Lakeside
Country Club in central Virginia
celebrates its centennial. Students
of golf course design know
Jefferson Lakeside for its fine
Donald Ross layout, one of just a very few
in the commonwealth. From a historical
standpoint, golf has been played over the same
ground at the club’s site north of Richmond
for more than 120 years. That’s longer than
any other place in Richmond and just a year
or two after golf got its start in Virginia at
The Homestead and at Washington Golf and
Country Club in Arlington.
In 1895, Lewis Ginter built The Jefferson
Hotel in the city and opened the nine-hole
Jefferson Links golf course at the north side
park at the end of his trolley line. Nearby
sports enthusiasts at the Lakeside Wheel
Club, who rode bicycles together, took an
interest in the odd new stick game called
“golf” and changed their name in 1896 to the
Lakeside Country Club. That club, however,
would last only until 1909. Six years later a
group of Jewish businessmen formed the
Suburban Country Club, acquired the old
Lakeside property, and built an 18-hole
4
LAKESIDE:
GINTER:
168 yards
156 yards
course. In 1917, the Suburban Club took the
Lakeside name and a new Lakeside Country
Club was established.
Lakeside brought Donald Ross to
Richmond to design a new 18 holes, which
opened in 1921. A decade later the club would
change its name to Jefferson Lakeside. For
many, the north side course is known as
having the toughest opening stretch of holes
anywhere in Virginia. By the time golfers
reach the par-3 sixth hole, they’re eager for
rest. After some truly brawny holes, No. 6 is
beautiful to behold and all about strategy and
finesse. Designer Kris Spence restored and
enhanced this great one-shot hole during a
major course renovation in 2011.
A great par 3 is inevitably about the green
complex. The challenge of the putting
surface is complemented by the hazards
that must be avoided and how the green site
and contours examines the putting game
and one’s ability to recover. Measuring 168
yards from the back tee markers, the sixth
at Jefferson Lakeside places an emphasis on
precision and shot placement.
With a green sloping from back to front
and significant internal shaping, the best way
VIRGINIA GOLFER | MARCH/APRIL 2015
04_VSGA_MarApr15.indd 4
ROSS:
JEFFERSON:
RICHMOND, VA. | by BRUCE H. MATSON
148 yards
140 yards
to par the hole, and perhaps the only way to
have a reasonable birdie attempt, is through
careful planning and expert execution of the
tee shot. Inevitably this means often aiming
away from the flagstick and avoiding a shot
that comes to rest above the hole. The hole
is a physical beauty and a strategic challenge,
but not the stern test that the first few holes
provide to players. That said, golfers seeking
refuge from a scoring challenge will need to
look elsewhere. The par-3 sixth will remind
golfers how good a score par can be on even
the shortest of holes.
A longtime supporter of the VSGA, golfers
can experience the course firsthand when the
club welcomes a VSGA One-Day event on
Monday, July 13. Jefferson Lakeside will also
host a VSGA Junior Stroke Play qualifier on
Thursday, July 16.
Author Bruce H. Matson is a writer and golf
historian from Richmond and serves on the
VSGA’s board of directors. He is a member of
Golfweek’s national rating panel for its
“America’s Best 100 Courses.”
SCOTT K. BROWN
JEFFERSON LAKESIDE COUNTRY CLUB
YARDAGES
w w w. v s g a . o r g
3/18/15 2:19 PM
VA GOLFE