GREAT Holes
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PRINCESS ANNE COUNTRY CLUB
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. | by BRUCE H. MATSON
S
teeped in history, Princess Anne
Country Club will celebrate its
centennial next year. Although a
few clubs trace their beginnings
to around the turn of the 20th
century, the Virginia State Golf
Association started in 1904 and the real
growth of the royal and ancient game came
the following decade and in the 1920s.
The south Hampton Roads-based club was
laid out by the club’s first president, Clarence
Neff. He was known as a clubhouse architect
for the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club and
The Country Club of Virginia, as well as
for his work at Princess Anne. The layout’s
routing was designed to fit within a new
residential subdivision. An early club history
notes the following: “This specification
created two unique situations; more than
125 homes border the course and the course
is crossed at 10 different places by the lanes
and roads that provide access for the homes.”
Despite renovations in the 1980s and more
recently in 2007, the intimate feel of the layout
as it meanders by home sites and crosses a
number of lanes and roads remains a dominant
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V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 5
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YARDAGES
BLACK:
192 yards
GREEN:
aspect of a round at the club. The most recent
makeover of Princess Anne was overseen by
golf course architect Tim Liddy, a protégé
of Pete Dye. Princess Anne reopened to the
membership on May 17, 2008, following the
completion of the changes.
“The golf course was remodeled with
emphasis on classic design characteristics and
strategic elements,” Liddy says. “Iconic views
out to the surrounding ocean inlets were
re-established on several golf holes.”
A good example of the designer’s vision is
found at the beautiful, but confounding, par-3
11th hole that he created to challenge players.
Prior to Liddy’s restoration, originally No. 10
was a demanding par 4 while the ensuing hole
was a short par 4. Liddy transformed the duo
into a 560-plus yard par 5 and followed it with
an interesting par 3 to start the second nine.
Now, No. 11 measures j